Phenology may sound like a medical term, but it actually refers to the study of changes in nature. Specifically, it refers to how plants and animals response to changes in climate – either between seasons or between years. A recent episode of Maine Public Radio’s (MPBN) Maine Calling brought together experts to explain this underappreciated term. It is a particularly appropriate time to learn about phenology as we welcome and begin to see the signs of spring. Beth Bisson, Associate Director of Maine Sea Grant, described their Signs of the Seasons (SOS) program; Eric Topper, Director of Education at Maine Audubon talked about their programs at Gilsland Farm; and Noah Perlut, Asssociate Professor of Environmental Studies at the University of New England, spoke about what scientists are doing to study seasonal natural phenomena.  

The repeated message was that anyone can get out there and observe these changes and that by creating a community of scientists, we can better understand these natural cycles – even eight-year-olds. Starting in September, I have taken my daughters to the same spot every week to make observations about how things are changing. Sometimes the changes are dramatic (“The ice is gone!”), and sometimes they are more subtle (“The only difference is that it is windy today”). But, as noted Harvard zoologist Jean Louis Rodolphe Agassiz (1807-1873) said repeatedly to his student Samuel Scudder, future renowned entomologist, when he was studying a fish and thought he’d seen all there was to observe after only ten minutes, “Look, look, look.” Scudder recalls this as one of the best lesson he ever learned.  

Observing nature repeatedly inevitably leads to newfound knowledge. I recently had the pleasure of getting to know Glenn Michaels, a local nature photographer who has been taking pictures of Maquoit Bay nearly every day throughout the year for the last few years. “I’m not a scientist,” he notes, “But the things I have learned from watching nature always surprise me – especially when you’re able to stop the action and look in close like in a photograph. It’s like you’re almost touching the animal,” he says. “I never knew eiders ate mussels until I looked at this photograph of one pulling up grass from under the water and saw that there was a mussel attached.” Michaels draws on helpful resources like Cornell’s Merlin Bird ID app to help him identify local waterfowl. “On a recent trip to South Carolina, I saw egrets and blue herons and learned that they could be the same ones I see up here. It made me realize what an amazing resource we have right here in our town.”  

Maquoit Bay is rare in its combination of species richness and habitat diversity along with public accessibility. In 2010, it was officially designated as a “Statewide Area of Ecological Significance” by the Maine Natural Areas Program in order to highlight the importance of prioritizing its conservation. It has also been classified by Maine Audubon as an important birding area. Because of this, much of the area around the Bay has been protected in different ways. Wharton Point, for example, is a property of the Department of Inland Fish and Wildlife and is a public boat launch used daily by shellfish harvesters as well as by avid birders. Adjacent to that is the Maquoit Bay Conservation Land, a 124-acre easement managed by the Brunswick Topsham Land Trust with a trail leading to the shoreline. There is a lot that is protected, but it is protected in such a way that it is much of it is still accessible. “Maquoit Bay is this amazing resource right here in our town,” says Michaels. “When you have a chance to watch, you see things you never knew were here. I lived in town just three miles away for 37 years and never thought about where the eagles made their nests or where the geese went to feed. This was here the whole time, but I’m just discovering it now.” 

Getting back to phenology, Michaels is out there every day and every evening watching, listening, and documenting changes in the natural world as the seasons change. There are opportunities for anyone interested to do the same, whether it is in a place like Maquoit Bay or simply in your back yard. Like the King Tides project I mentioned last week where community members photograph unusually high tides, “community scientists,” the newly expanded term for “citizen scientists,” are critical contributors to our understanding of the natural world. They can provide detailed information to scientists and managers that they could not gather without the participation of the community.