Duck Hollow on a sunny day in November 2023 (photo by Kate St. John)
18 Nov 2024
In the Old Days 20 years ago, freezing weather would sweep across Canada in late October bringing migratory ducks to Pennsylvania in early November. But our climate has warmed and the ducks come later now. As of yesterday, they hadn’t made it to Duck Hollow yet.
This might be the week the ducks arrive. On Thursday the temperature will drop 20°F when a strong low pressure system brings widespread precipitation, strong wind gusts and possibly wet snow north of Pittsburgh. (NWS says of the forecast: “There is still a great deal of uncertainty right now.”)
By Sunday the weather may be good enough to check for ducks. So, weather permitting, join me at Duck Hollow on Sunday 24 November 2024, 8:30am to 10:30am for a bird and nature walk.
Meet at the Duck Hollow parking lot at the end of Old Browns Hill Road. Bundle up for the weather and wear comfortable walking shoes.
I hope we’ll see our one exception to “no ducks yet.” For more than a month a flock of 6-7 common mergansers has been hanging out at Duck Hollow. When they arrived in early October they were all in eclipse plumage but in the past two weeks at least one of them is molting in adult male breeding plumage.
Common mergansers, Duck Hollow, 9 Nov 2024 (photo by Charity Kheshgi)
Looking forward to next Sunday. Fingers crossed about the weather.
As of this morning I’ve written 6,282 articles but not all of them are winners. On the blog’s anniversary I look for the most popular articles in the last 12 months.
One Day Wonders: These Top 5 posts caused the biggest single day surge in viewers. Click the links if you haven’t read them.
What Happens When a Dam is Removed? Locks and Dam #3 were about to be removed from the Monongahela River at Elizabeth. What would happen? (3 July; 7,265 readers)
Roost Rings on Radar Watch expanding rings on radar when thousands of purple martins leave their roosts all at once. (16 July; 3,446 readers)
Black Walnuts Amazingly popular because it includes photo and video of FLORY machines sweeping and vacuuming walnut orchards. (23 Nov last year; 3,121 readers)
This article was a joke about the resemblance of the Devils Tower to a large petrified tree stump. I am surprised that viewers are still drawn in year after year.
Daily readership hums along at 700-800 readers (YOU!) and soars to a new record of 7,200 viewers in unexpected ways.
Thank you, my readers, for your enthusiasm. I couldn’t have blogged every day for 17 years without you. And a big thank you to all the photographers who let me use your photos. I’ve made a lot of new friends.
Sunset times in Pittsburgh, late 2024 (photo by Kate St. John)
2 November 2024
Spring Forward, Fall Back. Daylight Saving Time ends tonight as our clocks turn back an hour. Tomorrow the sun will set an hour earlier. A lot of us will be grumpy. Some will be depressed.
Most Americans agree that changing the clocks is bad.
Numerous polls have found that most Americans believe that a standard time should be fixed and permanent—as many as 75% favor no longer changing clocks twice per year. One of the most common observations among researchers of varying backgrounds is that the change itself causes most of the negative effects, more so than either standard time or daylight saving time. Researchers have observed numerous ill effects of the annual transitions, including reduced worker productivity, increased heart attacks and strokes, increased medical errors, and increased traffic incidents.
But there is an area in northeastern Arizona of self-governed indigenous tribal land where part of it uses Daylight Saving Time (DST) and the center does not. The DST area is the Navajo Nation which spans three states and has chosen to use DST. The donut hole is the Hopi Reservation that uses Standard Time. Here’s a closer look.
If you drive from Tusayan, AZ to Tuba City to Ganado to Window Rock in March through October, you will change time zones seven times between Standard Time and DST. (Did I count correctly?) People who have to make that trip will be relieved that everyone is on Standard Time tomorrow.
Changing your clocks: Everything connected to the Internet — mobile phones, etc. — will change automatically at 2:00am Sunday. The rest of the clocks are up to us.
On Halloween 2008 I came across a small bat roosting on a tree in Schenley Park, described in A Bat on Halloween. Every time I pass the tree, especially on Halloween, I look for a bat but the chances of finding one are slim to none.
Little Brown Bat clinging to an oak in Schenley Park on Halloween 2011 (photo by Kate St. John)
Little brown bats (Myotis lucifugus) used to be one of the most common bats in North America but their population in the Northeast has declined 90% since 2006 because of white nose syndrome (WNS), a disease caused by a European fungus that was accidentally introduced by cave explorers near Albany, NY.
The fungus spreads rapidly. It was confirmed county by county in southwestern PA in 2010, 2011 and 2012 and now it spans the continent. Little brown bats were listed as Endangered by the IUCN in 2021.
There are far fewer bats in Pennsylvania this Halloween than there were 16 years ago. It is unlikely that I will ever see a little brown bat in daylight again.
Yesterday’s outing at Duck Hollow, 27 Oct 2024 (photo by Charity Kheshgi)
28 October 2024
Six of us went birding yesterday at Duck Hollow and we didn’t just stand around. Here we are on the move to look in the thickets.
Before the rest of us arrived, Claire Staples captured this image of sky, sun and fog on the Monongahela River at 7:55am.
Sky, sun, fog at Duck Hollow, 27 Oct 2024 (photo by Claire Staples)
As 8:36am the sky cleared a bit. Two contrails make dogleg turns to the north.
Sky and fog at Duck Hollow, 27 October 2024 (photo by Charity Kheshgi)
Our Best Bird skulked in a thicket, of course, but kept making noise. He soon became the most photographed bird of the day: a winter wren in shadow and then in the open.
Winter wren in shadow, Duck Hollow, 27 Oct 224 (photo by Jeff Cieslak)Winter wren in the open periodically scolding, Duck Hollow, 27 Oct 2024 (photo by Charity Kheshgi)
Duck Hollow’s northern mockingbird is still present and noisy.
Northern mockingbird, Duck Hollow, 27 October 2024 (photo by Charity Kheshgi)
We found a bumper crop of honeysuckle fruit along the Lower Nine Mile Run Trail.
Bush honeysuckle fruit, Lower Nine Mile Run Trail, 27 Oct 2024 (photo by Kate St. John)
Unfortunately …
Invasive honeysuckle berries aren’t strictly bad for birds. They’re an easy food source when birds are in a pinch, but they’re kind of like junk food: Compared to native berries, they have less fat and nutrients that birds need to fuel their long-distance flights.
Our “rare” bird of the day was a flock of 16 fish crows vocalizing as they flew. eBird didn’t believe we could find that many but eBird’s “rare” filter doesn’t know about, or cannot pointpoint, the fish crow phenomenon in Pittsburgh’s East End.
The Monongahela River at Duck Hollow, 19 Oct 2024 (photo by Kate St. John)
22 October 2024
Last month’s outing was rained out by the remnants of Hurricane Helene so I’m going to try again …
Join me at Duck Hollow on Sunday 27 October 2024, 8:30am to 10:30am for a bird and nature walk.
Meet at the Duck Hollow parking lot at the end of Old Browns Hill Road. Dress for the weather and wear comfortable walking shoes. Bring binoculars, field guides and a birding scope if you have them.
When I stopped by there yesterday I saw only two mallards(!) but there were three golden-crowned kinglets similar to this one, photographed by Charity Kheshgi last year.
Golden-crowned kinglet, Frick Park, 26 Oct 2023 (photo by Charity Kheshgi)
As always, remember to check the Events page before you come in case of changes or cancellations!
What Best Bird will show up next Sunday? Come to Duck Hollow and see.
Bumblebee on goldenrod, 20 Sep 2024 (photo by Kate St. John)
23 September 2024
UPDATE ON 29 SEPT, 7:15AM: THIS OUTING IS CANCELED DUE TO FOG AND RAIN.
Next Sunday we’re heading back to Frick Park at Commercial Street to avoid Forbes and Fifth Avenue road closures during Pittsburgh’s Great Race. Don’t miss maps and instructions at end.
We’re sure to see fruits, seeds, goldenrod and bees as we check out Nature’s activity near the trailhead on our way to the boardwalk.
Last Saturday in Frick Park Charity Kheshgi and I saw Swainson’s thrushes and six species of warblers (checklist here). The mix of migratory species will change by the time we reach Frick next Sunday but I can promise blue jays and red-bellied woodpeckers. Both have a lot of personality.
Dress for the weather and wear comfortable walking shoes. Bring binoculars and field guides if you have them.
Visit my Events page before you come in case of changes or cancellations.
Avoiding Great Race Road Closures on 29 Sept
The Great Race will close Fifth Avenue from Bigelow Blvd to Downtown at 6:30am (corner of Soldiers & Sailors and Cathderal of Learning). Forbes and Fifth-at-Bigelow will close at 8:30am. CLICK HERE FOR THE OFFICIAL RACE and ROAD CLOSURE MAP.
The parking lot is circled on the map below. NOTE: If you park in one of the small dirt lots near a Frick Park entry gate, cross the road and walk under the arching Parkway Bridge to join us. See map and photo below.
Park anywhere along Commercial Street but meet at the Nine Mile Run Parking area (screenshot map from Google)If you park on Commercial Street, follow this path to the meeting place
Dress for the weather and wear comfortable walking shoes. Bring binoculars and field guides if you have them. If it’s hot be sure to bring water, sunscreen and a hat.
Visit my Events page before you come in case of changes or cancellations. The outing will be canceled if there’s lightning or heavy downpours.
Metallic green bug on spotted knapweed, July 2013 (photo by Kate St. John)
22 July 2024
Insects are singing while songbirds are quiet as they wrap up the breeding season.
Join me for a bird & nature walk in Frick Park on Sunday, July 28, 2024, 8:30a – 10:30a.
Meet me at the Nine Mile Run Trail Parking lot. We’ll check out the birds, flowers and bugs in the Nine Mile Run trailhead area before heading over to the boardwalk.
NOTE: If you park in one of the small dirt lots near a Frick Park entry gate, cross the road and walk under the arching Parkway Bridge to join us.
Park anywhere along Commercial Street but meet at the Nine Mile Run Parking area (screenshot map from Google)From Commercial Street at Frick Park follow the path to the meeting place
We’re sure to hear goldfinches — will they have fledglings? — and see plenty of insects. This walk will go past the place where we saw ebony jewelwings in early July. Will they be there?
Dress for the weather and wear comfortable walking shoes. Bring water, a sun hat and binoculars (if you have them).
Before you come, visit my Events page in case of changes or cancellations. The outing will be canceled if there’s lightning or heavy rain.
Statewide, wild turkeys (Meleagris gallopavo) in Pennsylvania declined again last year. Did their status improve in the last 12 months? To answer that question, the PA Game Commission (PGC) is conducting their Annual Pennsylvania Wild Turkey Sighting Survey from July 1 through August 31 and is asking the public to help. Right now this link shows prior results. Click here to enter data after July 1.
In the survey press release PGC reported:
The Statewide reproductive success last summer, which is measured by the number of young turkeys (poults) seen per all hens seen, was 2.9 poults per hen, compared to 3.1 poults per hen in 2022 and 2021.”
Allegheny County’s predominant Wildlife Management Unit, WMU 2B below, had mixed results. Overall, there were fewer turkeys but reproductive success was higher than in 2022. However, our WMU contributed to the downward spiral as we had only 2.24 poults per hen.
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