Category Archives: Birds of Prey

Schenley Park Owl Update

Bird Behavior, Birds of Prey
Great horned owl youngsters in Schenley Park, 25 March 2025. Muppet the rescued female + Sibling (photos by Dana Nesiti)

27 March 2025

This week Dana Nesiti is having a great time observing Schenley Park’s great horned owl family. Yesterday was exceptional when he found and photographed all four family members and confirmed the well-being of both youngsters. See the complete story in Dana’s Facebook post here.

Composite photo of the great horned owl family in Schenley Park by Dana Nesiti: Top left

Dana’s photo contains:

  • Top left: Historical perspective: Mother and two youngsters more than a month ago approx 23 Feb.
  • Top right: Mother owl and Muppet on the same branch on 26 March.
  • Bottom left: Father owl perched high above Sibling on 26 March.
  • Bottom right: Sibling on 26 March.
Who is Schenley Park’s great horned owl family?

We don’t know much about the parents except that a pair of great horned owls has nested year after year in various locations in or near the park. In late March 2016 an owlet was rescued in Schenley after it fluttered to the ground from the nearby Anderson Bridge.

This year’s two owlets are celebrities, easy to tell apart because they have different markings and even different personalities.

Great horned owl youngsters, Schenley Park 25 March 2025. Muppet the rescued female + Sibling (photos by Dana Nesiti)

Muppet a.k.a. “Muppet the Marauder” is the whiter of the two youngsters. She fell 100′ from the nest on 27 February and was rescued and taken to Tamarack Wildlife Center where she acquired her nickname. Tamarack returned her to Schenley Park on 11 March where she branched for a couple of days and soon began making short flights from branch to branch and tree to tree. Tamarack says she has the personality of an avid explorer. At this point Muppet has been flying for about two weeks.

Sibling, whose sex is unknown, stayed in the nest until 24 March and was seen making short flights the next day. Sibling is cautious compared to Muppet. Dana captured him/her making a flying leap.

video embedded from Dana Nesiti, Canonusr on YouTube

True to her personality Muppet flew much sooner than I expected. Sibling more is in line with my flight-date predictions.

If you want to find the owls in Schenley Park I suggest you look for the photographers or listen for blue jays. Both are good indications that an owl is nearby. 😉

Owlet Flying + Peregrines Not Incubating Yet

Bird Behavior, Birds of Prey, Nesting & Courtship, Peregrines
Schenley Park great horned owlet, 19 March 2025 (photo by Kate St. John)

20 March 2025

Schenley Owlet flying

The Schenley Park owlet, who spent two weeks in rehab at Tamarack and came home on 11 March, has been making fast progress. Many have seen her roosting in trees this week and assume she must have flown to get there, but we never see it. She only moves in the dark. Fortunately, Dana Nesiti captured a video of her in flight before sunrise on Tuesday. He slowed down the video so you can see her.

video embedded from Dana Nesiti, Canonusr on YouTube)

And click here for Dana’s 10 minute video of her chilling in Schenley Park.

Pitt peregrines not incubating yet

Carla laid two eggs at the Cathedral of Learning peregrine nest on 16 and 18 March and a third egg is due this evening.

However, we’ve seen both parents cover the eggs and we know incubation begins when the next to last egg is laid. Are they incubating? Is Carla going to lay only 3 eggs?

As of this morning, 20 March, we have nighttime evidence that the peregrines are not incubating yet. Both were off the eggs the majority of the time last night as seen in this time lapse video.

Nighttime timelapse at Pitt peregrine nest, 19 March 7pm to 20 March 2025 7am ()

When peregrines are truly incubating they open the feathers that cover their brood patches before laying down to place their skin on the eggs. If they don’t, those feathers keep the eggs from reaching incubation temperature.

On the falconcam it is impossible to see if their skin is touching eggs but we can tell if they are opening the feathers. Watch for them to bob their bodies before they lay down. Ecco does this in a more exaggerated way than Carla.

Speaking of Ecco, did you notice that he relieved Carla around 3am? The literature says that the female incubates all night, but not last night. Peregrines can always surprise us.

Seen This Week: Owlet, Planets, and Incipient Spring

Birds of Prey, Phenology, Schenley Park, Weather & Sky
Great horned owlet in a tree in Schenley Park on 14 March 2025 (photo by Dana Nesiti)

15 March 2025

The great horned owlet that fell from its nest in Schenley Park and was returned on 11 March was relatively easy to find on Wednesday, posed like a statue on a sloping tree branch (below).

Great horned owlet on a branch, Schenley Park, 12 March 2025 (digiscoped by Kate St. John)

The owlet spent Thursday well camouflaged on an inaccessible-to-humans cliff ledge. On Friday she was in a tree, see photograph at top. Juvenile owls use their claws to climb trees. (Note: in case you hear people calling her Muppet, Tamarack gave her that nickname.)

Mercury and Venus

After sunset on 9 March I noticed a bright planet in the west with a divot out of the top of it like a phase of the moon. It was Venus about to set. How did I live this long without knowing that Venus has phases?

Phases of Venus (diagram from Wikimedia Commons)

When I digiscoped Venus I saw a shadowy planet next to it. Mercury was also about to set, pinkish and to the left of Venus whose brightness plays havoc with my optics.

Mercury and Venus with a divot off the top, 9 March 2025 (digiscoped by Kate St. John)

Here’s a view that shows Venus a bit better.

Mercury and Venus, 9 March 2025 (digiscoped by Kate St. John)
Incipient Spring flowers and leaves

Incipient is a good word to describe spring flower and leaf status this week. As of Thursday 13 March spring was “in an initial stage; beginning to happen or develop.”

Common whitlowgrass blooming in Aspinwall, 11 March 2025 (photo by Kate St. John)

Common whitlowgrass (Draba verna), a member of the cabbage family, blooms very early. It is native to Europe, western Asia and North Africa and is now spread around the world.

Honeysuckle leaves were just beginning to open on Thursday.

Incipient honeysuckle leaves in Greenfield, 13 March 2025 (photo by Kate St. John)

And the Cornelian cherry tree near Panther Hollow Lake had a single tiny flower open in the bud.

Incipient Cornelian cherry flowers, Schenley Park, 13 March 2025 (photo by Kate St. John)

All of these plants are from other continents and they start blooming sooner than our native plants.

After yesterday’s very warm weather everything else will speed up.

Why Owls Can Turn Their Heads So Far

Bird Anatomy, Birds of Prey
Great horned owl with head facing over its back (photo from Wikimedia Commons)

13 March 2025

Owls have excellent eyesight but they see the world differently than we do.

When we look straight ahead (fixation point below) our peripheral vision allows us to faintly see our hand waving near our ear — a 200-220° field of view.

Human field of view (diagram from Wikimedia Commons)

Owls have binocular vision similar to ours but their peripheral vision is much narrower. They cannot even see 180°.

Field of View diagram for owl derived from an illustration on Wikimedia Commons

To make matters worse they cannot move their eyes!

Great horned owl eye closeup (photo from Wikimedia Commons)

Since their eyes are always facing forward, they have to move their heads or their bodies to see anything outside their narrow field of view. Moving their bodies would alert their prey, so owls have evolved to move their heads as far back as they need to see — up to 270°.

  • Owls have 14 neck bones for greater flexibility. We have only 7 neck bones
  • The owls’ atlanto-occipital neck joint has evolved to move the head further back.

When you can’t move your eyes, you have to move your head.

video embedded from Garry Hayes on YouTube

Fallen Owlet Returned to Schenley Park

Birds of Prey, Nesting & Courtship, Schenley Park
Great horned owlet about to be delivered to temporary nest, Schenley Park 11 March 2025 (photo by Dana Nesiti)

12 March 2025

Almost two weeks ago — on 27 February — this 6-week-old great horned owlet fell 100 feet from her nest on the Panther Hollow Bridge and was rescued and taken to Tamarack Wildlife Center. Tamarack determined her injuries were so minor that she was ready for release quite soon. But where to take her? Her birth-nest is inaccessible.

Panther Hollow Bridge, Schenley Park, with owls’ nest indicated (photo by Kate St. John)

She needed to be in a foster family with siblings her age but she is older than other known nestlings in western PA. (Her parents nest really early.) In the end the best choice was to return her to her parents by placing her in a temporary nest near the bridge.

Yesterday, 11 March, she went home with help from Tamarack Wildlife Center, City of Pittsburgh Forestry and Pittsburgh Park Rangers. Her adventure is documented in these photos by Dana Nesiti.

First, her temporary nest was placed 20-30 feet up in a tree within sight and sound of her parents. Then George DeSavage of City Forestry received her from Tamarack staff.

The handoff, great horned owlet on his way to the temporary nest in Schenley, 11 March 2025 (photo by Dana Nesiti)

As a parting shot she bite the gloved finger of her Tamarack handler. Fortunately those gloves are very thick.

Owlet bites a finger during the handoff, fortunately in a stout glove! Schenley Park, 11 March 2025 (photo by Dana Nesiti)

Then she rode in the bucket truck to her temporary nest …

Owlet on his way to the temporary nest via bucket truck, Schenley Park, 11 March 2025 (photo by Dana Nesiti)

… and settled in.

Great horned owlet in his temporary nest, Schenley Park, 11 March 2025 (photo by Dana Nesiti)

She is just the right age to begin “branching” — walking off the nest — so her parents will not be surprised to hear her away from the birth-nest. When she wakes up hungry she will make begging calls like this and her parents will bring her food.

Tamarack explains:

Over the next 3-4 weeks, she will practice perching, hopping, flapping and short flights before being fully able to fly at around age 9 weeks.

Great Horned Owls spend more time with their young than any other owl species in Pennsylvania. Six months or more are spent supporting their young and teaching them hunting skills, before encouraging their young to disperse in the fall.

— Tamarack Wildlife Center Facebook pAGE

Read more about her adventure in the Post-Gazette Great horned owl named Muppet, rehabbed after 100-foot fall, returned to Schenley Park.

Follow Tamarack Wildlife Center on Facebook where they mention how to help them rehab wildlife.

If you would like to contribute and to be part of making this and other treatments and reunions possible, check out www.tamarackwildlife.org

— Tamarack Wildlife Center Facebook pAGE

Look Who Has Wings!

Birds of Prey, Nesting & Courtship, Schenley Park
Great horned owl nestling showing new wings, 4 Mar 2025 (photo by Jim McCollum)

7 March 2025

On Tuesday 4 March Jim McCollum visited Schenley Park to see the great horned owls’ nest. While there he was lucky to see a nestling stand up and stretch. Look who has wings!

Great horned owls in Schenley Park, 4 March 2025 (photos by Jim McCollum)

These wings are not fully developed yet but they are looking good and will be further along today than they were three days ago.

When will the Schenley owlets fly?

Here is my best guess at when the nestlings will fly from the Schenley Park bridge nest.

  • Based on their appearance and behavior I think the first egg hatched around 5 February and the second about two days later. Approximate hatch dates = 5-7 Feb. [Update from Tamarack: Hatching was approx 28-30 January.]
  • Great horned owl nestlings walk off the nest and start “branching” at 5-6 weeks = approximately 12-21 March.
  • Branching youngsters fly away from the nest — “fledging” — at 9-10 weeks = early April. I am not sure of this estimate. It may be sooner (late March) though I doubt it will be later in April.


Recap: Where to View the Nest
If you want to see the owls’ nest bring binoculars, a camera and a scope if you have them to this location in Schenley Park near the stone bench on the Lower Trail (click this link for the map).

Here’s what the bridge looks like when you get there. Look for the nest at the red circle area in this photo.

Panther Hollow Bridge, Schenley Park, with owls’ nest indicated (photo by Kate St. John)

Schenley Great Horned Owl Update, 3 March

Birds of Prey, Schenley Park
Mother great horned owl and owlet, 2 March 2025 (photo by Dana Nesiti)

3 March 2025

Yesterday’s great horned owl outing in Schenley Park was a great success. More than 25 people got to see the nest and the mother owl. Near the end of our visit one owlet poked up its head but we were gone by the time it stood up and gave Dana Nesiti this lovely view, above. (See NOTE below on the number of owlets.)

We also trooped down the path to find the father owl who is so camouflaged at his roost that we had to sit or crouch to see his face. I set my scope quite low to digiscope two photos.

Male great horned owl (“Papa”) roosting in tree in Schenley Park, 2 March 2025 (photo by Kate St. John)
Another view of the male great horned owl roosting in Schenley Park, 2 March 2025 (photo by Kate St. John)

Dana and I were not surprised to see only one baby owl. On Thursday 27 February an owlet fell from the nest and was rescued by Sarah Mateskovich & WIN. It was taken to Tamarack Wildlife Center where they determined it had a minor injury to its beak and tongue. Tamarack may foster the rescued owl at another nest since the bridge nest is inaccessible for her return. Click on the embedded Facebook post to see the rest of Tamarack’s news.

It appears that the rescued owlet was one of three because there were still two at the nest on Friday the 28th when Ankur photographed and videoed them with late day sunlight shining through the bridge.

He describes their behavior in the video as “including pecking at each others’ beaks, wing flapping, scratching, and defecating.”

video embedded from Ankur Dave on YouTube

If you want to see the owls’ nest bring binoculars, a camera and a scope if you have them to this location in Schenley Park near the stone bench on the Lower Trail (click this link for the map).

Here’s what the bridge looks like when you get there. Look for the nest at the red circled area marked up on this photo of the bridge.

(photo by Kate St. John, April 2016)

NOTE: KEEPING TRACK OF THE OWLETS AS OF 26 MARCH 2025.

Seen Last Week: Owls and More in Minnesota

Birds of Prey, Travel
Great gray owl at Sax-Zim Bog, 26 Feb 2025 (photo by Frank Nicoletti)

2 March 2025

My goal for last week’s birding trip to Minnesota was to see a Life Bird great gray owl (Strix nebulosa), and there he is at Sax-Zim Bog! He was our First Bird of the day on Wednesday 26 February.

In the photo below our guide Frank Nicoletti is telling me about the features of this bird. For instance, the brown primaries indicate it’s immature.

Frank Nicoletti tells me about the features of my Life Bird great gray owl, 26 Feb 2025 (photo by Lisa Walker)

I was especially fascinated by the ridge of feathers between the owl’s eyes which directs sound to each ear independently.

Great gray owl at Sax-Zim Bog, 26 Feb 2025 (photo by Frank Nicoletti)

On our way back to the car I noticed very large canine footprints. A gray wolf (Canis lupus) had walked the road before we got there.

Gray wolf prints along the road at Sax-Zim Bog, 26 Feb 2025 (photo by Kate St. John)

At the Sax-Zim Bog Welcome Center we paused for a group photo: Lisa and Chad Walker and me.

Lisa & Chad Walker & myself at Sax-Zim Bog, 26 Feb 2025 (photo by Frank Nicoletti)

Lisa and Chad had heard barred owls (Strix varia) hooting on their property but had never seen one. We found their Life Bird roosting by the road.

Barred owl, Sax-Zim Bog, 26 Feb 2025 (photo by Frank Nicoletti)

And we found three snowy owls, surprisingly, at the refinery in Superior, Wisconsin. Lisa spotted the first one on the roof near the center of this photo.

Refinery in Superior, WI with snowy owl’s building in the center of the photo (by Kate St. John)

Moving closer, can you see his silhouette in the center of this photo? He’s on the roof above the red life preserver.

Snowy owl silhouetted on a roof at the refinery in Superior, Wisconsin, 27 Feb 2025 (photo by Kate St. John)

Best seen in my digiscoped photo.

Young male snowy owl on a roof at the refinery, Superior, Wisconsin, 27 Feb 2025 (photo by Kate St. John)

All told we saw 32 species including: common goldeneyes, a ruffed grouse in a tree, 3 snowy owls, 3 great gray owls, barred owl, northern shrike, Canada jay, black-billed magpies, evening grosbeaks, redpolls, red crossbills and pine siskins.

Since I happened to visit Minnesota during a warm spell when it was above freezing every day, we didn’t see any boreal owls. They had no reason to be out sunning in the open.

And today we’re back in the deep freeze in Pittsburgh with 17°F.

Looking For Another Owl

Birds of Prey, Travel
Great gray owl at Sax-Zim Bog, Dec 2015 (photo from Wikimedia Commons)

25 February 2025

After a month of excitement over Schenley Park’s great horned owls nest, I’m switching gears this week to find the owls I missed in Minnesota eleven years ago.

Back in 2014 I attended the Sax-Zim Bog birding festival during one of the coldest winters of the century. I had a wonderful time full of new experiences and Life Birds but I never saw my target bird, the great gray owl, so I’m going back this week with Frank Nicoletti as my guide to find one.

From the top of their heads to the tip of their tails great gray owls (Strix nebulosa) are the world’s largest owl by length with a wingspan up to 5 feet long.

Although it appears to be more massive than other owls of the northern forest, its actual body mass is at least 15% smaller than the more common Great Horned Owl (Bubo virginianus), with which it shares habitat. Thus its plumage makes up much of the bulk of the bird, allowing it to withstand the bitter cold of northern winters.

— Birds of the World: Great Gray Owl — emphasis added

This cross section of a taxidermied model at the Zoological Museum in Copenhagen shows how small the bird’s body really is.

Cross sectioned taxidermied Great Grey Owl, Strix nebulosa, showing the extent of the body plumage, Zoological Museum, Copenhagen (photo from Wikimedia Commons)

To give you an idea of their size, here’s a video from the Owl Research Institute of banding an adult male great gray owl and his chicks in (probably) northern Montana in 2020. Note that the male is smaller than his mate.

video from May 2020, embedded from Daniel J Cox on YouTube

Perhaps I’ll only see one from a distance but you can tell by its shape that this is a great gray!

Great grey owl in Ontario (photo from Wikimedia Commons)

p.s. I checked my Life List again and discovered I’ve never seen a boreal owl (Aegolius funereus). Fingers crossed for both.

Schenley Park Outing to See the Owls, Sun 2 March, 9:30

Birds of Prey, Books & Events, Schenley Park
Mother owl with two owlets at Schenley Park nest, 19 Feb 2025 (photo by Dana Nesiti)

1 March UPDATE: Yes this outing is happening as planned and yes it will be COLD. Dress warmly. Here’s some news:

  • One of the owlets fell from the nest on Thursday 27 Feb and was rescued by Sarah Mateskovich & taken by WIN to Tamarack Wildlife Center where they determined it has only a minor beak injury. The rescued owlet may be fostered at another nest since this bridge nest is inaccessible for her return.
  • As of 28 February there were still 2 owlets in the nest, apparently there were 3 to begin with!

23 February 2025

You’ve been hearing about them. Now come see them!

Join me on a daytime great horned “owl prowl” in Schenley Park on Sunday 2 March 2025. Meet at 9:30am in front of the Schenley Park Visitor Center (40.438514, -79.946479). We’ll walk from there to the viewing area.

NOTE the time! 1 HOUR LATER THAN USUAL!     9:30AM

Dana Nesiti photographed two owlets in the nest on 19 February, above. Since this outing is 11 days after his photo I expect the owlets to be halfway to adult size.

Dress warmly in layers and wear comfortable WARM socks and boots. Bring binoculars, field guides and a scope if you have them. We probably will be standing still on frozen ground while we wait for the owls to move. This is a very cold activity so be prepared!

The outing will last 60+ minutes, depending on the weather.

And just to tantalize you, here’s what they looked like this morning

Great horned owls in Schenley Park: Mother and two owlets, Sunday 23 Feb 2025, 9:15am (photos by Kate St. John)