Category Archives: Birds of Prey

A Falcon That Eats Bats

Bat falcon (photo by Joao Quental via Wikimedia Commons)
Bat falcon (photo by Joao Quental via Wikimedia Commons)

On a birding trip in Costa Rica:

There are more members of the Falcon family here in Costa Rica than in North America (*). Though some species are the same I expect to see at least three Life Bird Falconidae while I’m here: the yellow-headed caracara, the laughing falcon, and the bat falcon.

Like other members of the family, bat falcons (Falco rufigularis) capture birds and flying insects in mid air but they also capture bats. This earned them their name even though bats make up only 14% of their diet.

About the size of merlins, bat falcons live in open woodlands and tropical forests from Mexico to Brazil.  Because they hunt for bats they’re often seen at dawn and dusk perching high on conspicuous snags and bobbing their heads as they look for prey. Their flight is so fast and direct that they focus on eating the fastest birds:  swifts, swallows and hummingbirds (oh my!).

During the breeding season bat falcons are very vocal and sound almost like kestrels.  Hear their calls in these videos at the Handbook of Birds of the World.

So in the days ahead I’ll be checking all the bare treetops for a charcoal gray falcon with a dark face, white neck, and strikingly reddish belly, legs and undertail coverts.

Bat falcon in Colombia (photo from Wikimedia Commons)
Bat falcon in Colombia (photo from Wikimedia Commons)

I’ll be extremely lucky if I see one catch a bat.

 

(*)
12 members of Falconidae in Costa Rica: 3 Forest-falcons (barred, slaty-backed, collared), 3 Caracaras (red-throated, crested, yellow-headed), 1 Laughing falcon, 5 Falcos (American kestrel, merlin, aplomado falcon, bat falcon, peregrine).

7 members of Falconidae in North America: 1 Caracara (crested), 6 Falcos (American kestrel, merlin, aplomado falcon, peregrine, prairie falcon, gryfalcon).

 

(photos from Wikimedia Commons; click on the images to see the originals)

Day 2: Tárcoles River birding

Seasonal Movements: One Owl

Eastern screech-owl, Schenley Park (photo by Kate St. John)
Eastern screech-owl, Schenley Park (photo by Kate St. John)

Last month I mentioned that a pileated woodpecker lives in Schenley Park, but only in the winter.  Here’s another bird that seems to do the same thing.

On sunny days this eastern screech-owl perches motionless in an unusual tree opening.  He’s not there every day in winter, but he’s never there when spring comes.

Though the range maps says eastern screech-owls live in Pittsburgh year round, this individual bird probably lives in Schenley during the winter and goes somewhere else to nest.

Range map of eastern screech-owl (linked from All About Birds website)
Range map of eastern screech-owl (linked from All About Birds website)

 

Sorry … I’m not going to tell you exactly where he is because too much public attention will scare him off.  And if you find him, please don’t publicize his location for the same reason.

 

(photo by Kate St. John)

p.s.  In January this blog has 400-700 readers a day.  That’s a lot of public attention.

Eagle Season Is Warming Up

Bald eagle pair at their nest in Hays, 11 Jan 2017 (photo from the Hays Eaglcam thanks to PixController and ASWP)
Bald eagle pair at Hays nest, 11 Jan 2017 (photo from Hays Eaglecam at ASWP’s Pittsburgh Eagles Facebook page)

Pennsylvania’s bald eagle season is warming up.  Eagle pairs are visiting their nests and the first egg in Pittsburgh is only four weeks away.  Here’s how to stay in touch while we wait for that happy event.

Two Pittsburgh eaglecams — Hays and Harmar — are up and running thanks to the collaboration of Audubon Society of Western Pennsylvania (ASWP), PixController and the PA Game Commission.  The cams are on ASWP’s Eaglecam website including links to Bald Eagle Q&A and Educator Resources.

  • The Hays eaglecam in the City of Pittsburgh is broadcasting all day but not overnight until February because its solar batteries aren’t getting enough sun. (No surprise in Pittsburgh’s overcast winter.)
  • The Harmar eaglecam above Route 28 near the Oakmont Bridge is currently running overnight but may need to go into No-Night mode for the same reason.
  • You can Chat about eagles with other watchers by clicking on the chat button to the left of the camera views.

If you missed a few days of activity and want to catch up, visit ASWP’s Pittsburgh Eagles Facebook page for recent news.  The Hays photo (above) and screenshot (below) are from their January 11 Facebook post.

Screenshot from Pittsburgh Eagles Facebook page (click on the image to see the post on Facebook)
Screenshot from Pittsburgh Eagles Facebook page (click on the image to see this post on Facebook)

 

The eagles aren’t always on camera, though, and the nestcams don’t show them in flight.  When the weather’s fine you can see a lot from the ground.  Click here for directions to the Hays viewing area or see excellent photos online by Annette Devinney and Dana Nesiti, two of the many photographers who visit our Pittsburgh area eagles.

So keep on watching in the days ahead.  If history is any guide, the first egg will appear at Hays February 14-20.

It won’t be long now!

 

(photo and screenshot from ASWP’s Pittsburgh Eagles Facebook page; click on the images to see the Facebook post)

Hawks Soaring

Red-tailed hawk soaring (photo by Cris Hamilton)
Red-tailed hawk soaring (photo by Cris Hamilton)

Though they won’t lay eggs until March or April, red-tailed hawks are already thinking ahead in western Pennsylvania.

On sunny days in January, they claim their nesting territory by soaring above their chosen land, a gesture that says “This is mine!”

Red-tailed hawks (Buteo jamaicensis) are generally monogamous and mate for life.  The pairs soar together in courtship flight, the male higher than his lady.  Sometimes both of them dangle their legs or he approaches her from above and touches her with his toes.

After the female zooms to the nest area the male goes into roller coaster mode, steeply flying up and down, ending with his own zoom to the female and then … perhaps they’ll mate.

Watch for soaring hawks today.  The weather promises to be sunny.

 

(photo by Cris Hamilton)

7 Peregrines, 7 Merlins

Peregrine on porch railing at Lawrence Hall, 30 Sep 2016 (photo by Lori Maggio)
Peregrine on porch railing at Lawrence Hall, 30 Sep 2016 (photo by Lori Maggio)

Seven was the magic number for two iconic falcons during Pittsburgh’s Christmas Bird Count last weekend.

During Count Week, which includes the three days before and after Count Day (31 Dec 2016), observers saw seven peregrine falcons and seven merlins within the circle.

Two of the seven peregrines were elusive on Count Day but visible during Count Week.

  • 2 at the Cathedral of Learning on 30 December, (We saw one on Count Day.)
  • 1 Downtown at Lawrence Hall on 2 January 2017, perched as shown in Lori Maggio’s photo above,
  • 1 in Kilbuck Township on Count Day December 31,
  • 1 in Oakmont area on Count Day,
  • 2 in Shaler Township on Count Day.
Merlin (photo by Chuck Tague)
Merlin (photo by Chuck Tague)

All seven merlins were seen on Count Day, December 31:

  • 1 in the Oakmont area
  • 3 in Penn Hills
  • 3 in the City of Pittsburgh: 2 at Schenley Park and 1 along the Ohio River within the city limits.

So if you’re looking for falcons this winter, visit Pittsburgh’s 15-mile-diameter count circle shown below.

Map of Pittsburgh's Christmas Bird Count circle, PAPI (screenshot from Audubon Society Christmas Count map)
Map of Pittsburgh’s Christmas Bird Count circle, PAPI (screenshot from Audubon Society Christmas Count map)

Seven is the magic number.

 

(photo of Downtown peregrine by Lori Maggio, photo of merlin by Chuck Tague. Screenshot of Pittsburgh Count Circle map from Audubon CBC website; click on the image to see the original)

Owls Come A’Courting

Great-horned owl, hooting (photo by Chuck Tague)
Great-horned owl, hooting (photo by Chuck Tague)

On Throw Back Thursday:

January’s the month when great horned owls court and nest in southwestern Pennsylvania.  If you hear them hooting, they’re planning to nest in your neighborhood.

Read more about their courtship and hear them hooting in this vintage article from 2010: Whoooo Said That?

 

p.s. Listen in South Oakland near the Anderson Bridge. The pair in Schenley Park will let you know they’re there.  🙂

(photo by Chuck Tague.  The owl’s white throat feathers are showing because he’s hooting.)

Bald Eagle Hatchling in Florida

Screenshot from Southwest Florida eaglecam
Screenshot from Southwest Florida Live Eaglecam

Are you anxious for bald eagle season to get underway in Pittsburgh?   Can’t wait to watch baby eagles on camera?  Get a jump on the season at the Southwest Florida Eaglecam.

Bald eagles M15 and Harriet are nesting in Fort Myers, Florida in view of three eaglecams.  This year Harriet laid two eggs and one hatched on December 31.  Their eaglet is already growing.

Click here or on the image above to watch M15, Harriet and eaglet E9.  Will Harriet’s second egg hatch?  We’ll have to wait and see.

 

p.s. Thanks to Tom Balistreri (@tombalist) for alerting me to this happy event.

(screenshot from Southwest Florida Live Eagle Cam sponsored by Dick Pritchett Real Estate.  Click on the screenshot to watch the eaglecam.)

Merlins This Month At Schenley Park

More than a decade ago four merlins used to hang out at Schenley Park Golf Course every winter.  They were often seen at dusk in the area near the club house just before they flew to roost.  For a few years they were reliable every winter and then they were gone … until now.

Merlins (Falco columbarius) are small falcons that eat birds for a living, though they choose smaller prey than peregrines do.  You could mistake one for an immature peregrine except for this:  Merlins are smaller and darker, their malar stripes are less pronounced, and they are very fast in level flight, rapidly pumping their wings.

Most merlins nest in Canada and migrate south with their prey.  Some go as far as South America.  Others stay in the southern U.S. and a few, very few, spend the winter in southwestern Pennsylvania.

This month two merlins came back to Schenley Park.  Just like those a decade ago, these birds prefer perches with long views in every direction.  You can find them at dawn or dusk at the highest elevation of the golf course near Darlington Road at Schenley Drive. They perch on treetops or dead snags near hole #2 and the fairways of holes #3 and #4.

If you’ve never seen a merlin, watch this video of a falconer’s merlin on the hunt to get an idea of their size and flight style.

 

p.s.  If you go look for the merlins, keep in mind that this is a golf course.  You must stay out of the way of golfers and not tread on the tees and greens!  Watch from the sidelines.

(video by Primitive Tim on YouTube)

Bald Eagle Days

Bald Eagle at Conowingo, Nov 2016 (photo by Annette Devinney)
Bald eagle watching the parking lot, Conowingo, Nov 2016 (photo by Annette Devinney)

This month the Hays bald eagles are at home in Pittsburgh but not nearly as easy to find as they will be during the nesting season. If you need an “eagle fix” make a trip to Conowingo Dam in Darlington, Maryland, just south of the PA border on the Susquehanna River.  The dam’s tail waters attract hundreds of bald eagles in November.

To celebrate the eagles locals hold an annual event called Conowingo Eagle Day.  This year it was on Saturday November 12 and was so well attended that sponsors had to run a shuttle bus to the viewing site.

Annette and Gerry Devinney went to Conowingo Eagle Day and, yes, the eagles were spectacular.  Annette brought back these photos.

Bald eagle with fish at Conowingo (photo by Annette Devinney)
Bald eagle carrying a fish at Conowingo, Nov 2016 (photo by Annette Devinney)

 

Three bald eagles, chasing at Conowingo, Nov 2016 (photo by Annette Devinney)
Two immature bald eagles chase an adult, Conowingo, Nov 2016 (photo by Annette Devinney)

 

Bald eagle at Conowingo (photo by Annette Devinney)
Bald eagle fishing in flight, Conowingo, Nov 2016 (photo by Annette Devinney)

 

Bald eagle at Conowingo (photo by Annette Devinney)
Another drag of the talons. Did he get it? (photo by Annette Devinney)

 

Caught it! (photo by Annette Devinney)
Caught it! (photo by Annette Devinney)

 

This year’s Eagle Day is over and the huge crowds are gone, but the eagles are still at Conowingo for a couple of weeks.  If you have the time, it’s worth a November trip to see them on the Susquehanna.  Here’s a map.

Thank you, Annette for sharing your photos.

 

p.s. If you don’t know Annette Devinney, she’s the heart of Pittsburgh’s bald eagle community. Annette knows a lot about bald eagles, she takes gorgeous photographs, and she knows everyone. Every August Annette throws a big picnic reunion for Pittsburgh’s bald eagle fans.  Annette and her husband Gerry travel far and wide keeping track of the area’s eagles.  You’ll find them at the Hays Eagle Viewing Site in the months ahead.  See her photos on Facebook.

(photos by Annette Devinney)

Some Mouse Is Gonna Die

Red-tailed hawk on the hunt at the Allegheny Front (photo by Steve Gosser)
Red-tailed hawk on the hunt at the Allegheny Front (photo by Steve Gosser)

Steve Gosser captured this red-tailed hawk on the hunt at the Allegheny Front Hawk Watch last week.

He wrote on Facebook:

While seeing this isn’t that scary for us, if you’re a little mouse seeing this would be terrifying. Caught this Red-tailed doing a dive at the hawk watch today.

Some mouse is going to die of fright … if nothing else.

 

For more cool photos, see Steve Gosser’s website at gosserphotos.com

(photo by Steve Gosser)