Jack Rossi made his arrival at Martha’s Vineyard Hospital at 6 p.m. on Monday — the first baby born on the Island in 2018. He is welcomed by his parents, Ellen and Ryan Rossi of West Tisbury.

It was an estimated not-so-balmy six degrees Monday morning when an extra-hardy group of 11 people took a polar plunge into Vineyard Sound to celebrate the New Year.

One immature bald eagle, five snowy owls, 22 great blue herons and a thick-billed murre. This was just part of the tally for the annual Christmas Bird Count.

Ticks and right whales dominated headlines, but 2017 was also filled with quieter environmental stories, from rare plants to visiting birds.

Reversals of fortune. Institutional turmoil. Environmental stress. This could be a pencil sketch of 2017 in America — and a way to envision the year on Martha’s Vineyard as well.

Tobias Vanderhoop may have moved clear across the country, but in many ways he finds himself in familiar surroundings: on an Island serving in a leadership role for a tribal community.