by Allisence Y. Chang

An experienced bird watcher and member of the Somerville Conservation Commission volunteered to lead a family bird watch Saturday morning as part of a promotion of the state-wide environmental consciousness week, Biodiversity Days.

“The Massachusetts Association of Conservation Commissions uses Biodiversity Days to document the diversity of plant and animal species in the Commonwealth,” said Michael A. Fagger, leader of the hike along the Mystic River.

Equipped with binoculars and a scope, participants of the trip met at the Blessings of the Bay Boathouse on Shore Drive and followed the Mystic eastbound on reservation land. Upon reaching the Amelia Earhart Dam, which separates the river from the harbor, the group retraced its path back to the boathouse.

Within a period of  less than two hours, the group saw 25 different species of birds and two types of mammals: a muskrat and a couple of grey squirrels.

Interestingly enough, they saw the Eastern Kingbird, a Red-tailed Hawk perched on a pole, the Great Black Back Gull, a Double Crested Cormorant, and a Warbling Vireo, among many more, said Fagger. “But there weren’t any crows, orioles, or woodpeckers like I had more or less expected.”

Biodiversity Days is part of an effort to familiarize people with the wildlife in their own communities, said Stephen P. Winslow, the city’s conservation agent and trip participant.

“City residents should be aware of the fact that even in urban areas, unique wildlife is a part of our daily lives,” he said.

One resident of the city said his childhood amazement for birds has become a life passion.

“Growing up in the city, we never thought about birds, but one day, I came upon a Rufous-sided Towhee with its white feather-tips against a Hyacinth bush and it struck me,” said Jerry E. Lauretano, called the “bird guy.”

Lauretano is better known as the Jerry of Jerry’s Underground, a salon at 38A Bow St. in Union Square.

“After that, I just started asking questions. What is this bird? Why wasn’t I taught about this bird? Why aren’t people talking about these beautiful birds? And I was hooked,” he said.

Service has been one way Lauretano has brought his passion for the birds to his community, he said. “I’ve helped groups landscape school yards with the right trees, shrubs, and vines to attract the right type of birds.”

Using the Neighborhood Improvement Council grant, Lauretano helped plant bird-attracting plants in parks, along streets, and covering old rail road tracks. “Thanks to Jerry, we not only have beautiful trees and plants, we have wonderful birds too,” said Janice C. Cormier, a city resident.

Lauretano has now been watching birds in Somerville for over 35 years, he said.

“Events like Biodiversity Days are essential in educating our young people to be more sensitive toward nature, its plants and its animals, and ultimately protecting this precious planet.”

This year, the MACC, with a three-year grant from the Massachusetts Environmental Trust and in collaboration with the Executive Office of Environmental Affairs, is bringing back and organizing Biodiversity Days events in all the state’s cities and towns.

“Events like Biodiversity Days inspire ‘citizen science’ which help to strengthen links between the need to preserve the increasingly threatened web of life and the Commonwealth’s smart growth policies,” said Ellen Roy Herzfelder, the state’s secretary of environmental affairs.

There is a lot of work that needs to be done just in Somerville alone, said Fagger. “My vision is that the city would buy up all this land and turn it into a giant park.”

“I would also like to see fish ladders to let fish though next to the Amelia Earhart Dam and between the upper and lower Mystic lakes,” he said.

But most importantly, people just need to be informed about the environment around them, he said. “How many people do you think know that during the wintertime, you can see seals in the harbor?”

More information about ways to get involved with environmental consciousness in the city can be found at the Web site: maccweb.org or by contacting Winslow through the city switchboard: (617) 625-6600.