Category Archives: Books & Events

Remembering A Falcon Sweep

Birds of Prey, Books & Events, Peregrines
Dorothy bathing at Duck Hollow during the 2013 Pittsburgh Christmas Bird Count (photo by Michelle Kienholz, 28 Dec 2013)

26 December 2020

The success of a Christmas Bird Count really depends on the weather. If the weather is good the birds are active and easy to find. In bad weather — heavy rain, snow, fog, high winds — birds are scarce.

Today is the Pittsburgh Christmas Bird Count (CBC) in the circle shown below. At 8am it’s 14 degrees F with gusty winds, overcast skies and light snow showers. It feels like 2 degrees F. What birds will I find in my city neighborhood under these conditions? Not many I fear.

Pittsburgh Christmas Bird Count circle (map from audubon.org)

Seven years ago the 2013 Pittsburgh CBC had a Falcon Sweep at a single location. In one half hour there was a peregrine falcon (Dorothy), a merlin, and an American kestrel at Duck Hollow — all the possible Falco species — described in this 2013 article: Take Me To The River.

Merlin bathing in the Mon River, 28 Dec 2013 (photo by Michelle Kienholz)

Today if I’m lucky in bad weather I’ll see a peregrine at the Cathedral of Learning and a merlin at dusk in Schenley Park. It would be a miracle if I saw a kestrel.

For old times sake, here’s a kestrel in June 2016 at an unusual city location.

American kestrel at the Gulf Tower peregrine nest on 9 June 2016 (photo from the National Aviary falconcam at Gulf Tower)

More news later. Brrrr!

(photos by Michelle Kienholz and the National Aviary falconcam that used to be at Gulf Tower)

Eight Tiny Reindeer?

Books & Events, Mammals
Santa Claus at Christmas Parade, Toronto, Ontario, 2009 (photo from Wikimedia Commons)

“Twas the night before Christmas when all through the house not a creature was stirring not even a mouse.

… out on the lawn there arose such a clatter, I sprang from the bed to see what was the matter …

When what to my wondering eyes should appear, but a miniature sleigh, and eight tiny reindeer.”

— excerpt from The Night Before Christmas, 1823 in The Troy Sentinel

24 December 2020

Miniature sleigh? Tiny reindeer? A human-sized Santa Claus needs a normal sleigh and full-sized reindeer to pull it. Just two reindeer take up a lot of space.

Santa in sleigh pulled by two reindeer, 2007, Torquay, UK (photo from Wikimedia Commons)

Imagine eight of these!

Reindeer to take part in Christmas festivities, Yate, UK 2004 (photo from Wikimedia Commons)

Reindeer (Rangifer tarandus), called caribou in North America, range in size from 5.3 to 7 feet long. Males weigh 350 – 400 lbs, females weigh 180 – 260 lbs. Both sexes have antlers though at different times of year.

Reindeer in Norway (photo from Wikimedia Commons)

These are not small animals. Eight full-sized reindeer and a full-sized sleigh would damage any house they landed on. Santa really needs tiny reindeer. Perhaps he went to Svalbard, a Norwegian archipelago between mainland Norway and the North Pole, to get them.

Like other island species the reindeer on Svalbard have evolved to a smaller size. If you need small reindeer they’re the smallest on Earth, only 50-60% the size of other caribou.

Female reindeer on Svalbard, late winter (photo from Wikimedia Commons)

Problem solved.

Christmas lights, Etobicoke, Ontario (photo from Wikimedia Commons)

It’s safe for Santa to come tonight.

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

Start Counting! Christmas Bird Counts Coming Soon

Books & Events
Watching birds in the forest in Sweden (photo from Wikimedia Commons)

3 December 2020

Cold weather has chased us indoors and we’re stir crazy because of the pandemic but we can still have fun in the next four+ weeks. Join Audubon’s 121st annual Christmas Bird Count (CBC) Monday 14 December 2020 through Tuesday 5 January 2021.(*)

During the CBC, volunteers count birds in more than 2,500 count circles in the North America. Each count has a 15-mile diameter circle, a single scheduled day, and a count coordinator who keeps track of volunteers, areas covered, and data received.

It’s easy to participate. No experience is necessary.  Spend a day counting birds at your feeder or in the field.

Choose a location and date that suits you from the national map at audubon.org or from the list of Pittsburgh area Christmas Bird Counts at Audubon Society of Western PA. Contact the Count Coordinator(s) to let them know you’re counting. They’ll make sure you don’t double-count someone else’s territory and will let you know the COVID-19 rules.

Screenshot of 121st Christmas Bird Count map from audubon.org

I’ll be counting in the Pittsburgh circle on Saturday, December 26. There are so many participants that it’s divided into 12 sections. Click here for the sections and contacts.

Pittsburgh Christmas Bird Count circle (map from audubon.org)

Wear a mask, get outdoors and have fun. Start counting!

(photo from Wikimedia Commons, maps from audubon.org; click on the captions to see the originals)

It’s Deer Season

Books & Events, Deer, Mammals
Dumpster deer at the Bigelow Boulevard construction site, 22 Nov 2020 (photo by Kate St. John)

28 November 2020

Today is the first day of Deer Season in Pennsylvania. Specifically it’s the start of antlered deer regular firearms (rifle) hunting season which runs from 28 November to 12 December and includes Pennsylvania’s first ever Sunday rifle deer hunt on 29 November. Click here for season details; they depend on location.

Be sure to wear blaze orange in the woods and fields every day of the week.

Wear Orange sign (PA Game Commission), Blaze Orange Vest available on Amazon

In the City of Pittsburgh our huge and growing deer population has no predators. Hunting is prohibited and the deer know it.

Buck in velvet at Allegheny Cemetery, July 2015 (photo from Wikimedia Commons)

The only thing city deer are afraid of are dogs off-leash.

Deer cross the road in Schenley Park (photo by Kate St. John)

Last weekend I found a target-practice deer taking refuge in the city. Poking his head out of a pink dumpster on Bigelow Boulevard, he knew he was safe near the Cathedral of Learning (at top).

Stay safe out there.

(photos by Kate St. John and from Wikimedia Commons, PA Game Commission and Amazon. Click on the captions to see the originals)

Counting to Thirteen

Books & Events, Crows & Ravens
Crows flying over Soldiers and Sailors Hall, 24 Oct 2020. 13 in the circle (photo by Kate St. John)

9 November 2020

For the past three months I’ve been trying to count Pittsburgh’s crows but it’s incredibly hard to do. Last night I tried again as they flew from a staging area in Shadyside to a roost somewhere west of Bellefield Avenue. After 20 minutes I suddenly realized I’d missed a steady stream flying in from the Allegheny Valley. How many thousands had I missed? Aaarrg!

My sister-in-law suggested I use photos to count them so here are four photos with 13 crows circled in each one.

Crows roosting near Heinz Chapel, 1 Dec 2017. 13 in the circle (photo by Kate St. John)
Crows flying past Chevron Hall, 24 Oct 2020. 13 in the circle (photo by Kate St. John)
Crows flying at sunset over Wilkins Ave. 13 in the circle (photo by Joanne Tyzenhouse)

Why 13?

Today is Outside My Window‘s 13th anniversary. Since my first blog post on 9 November 2007 I’ve written nearly 5,000 articles, uploaded more than 10,600 photos, and moderated more than 20,000 comments.

In its 13th year the blog has …

Thanks to all of you, my readers, who have kept me blogging about birds, nature and peregrine falcons.  Your enthusiasm keeps me going. And a big thank you to all the great photographers who let me use their photos.  See who they are here.

Woo Hoo!  Happy 13th Bird-thday!

p.s. This is my blog’s birthday (my own is in May). And on the subject of birthdays, this Friday the 13th is King Friday the XII’s birthday. Happy 13th!

(sunset photo by Joanne Tyzenhouse, remaining photos by Kate St. John)

What’s Wrong This Time?

Books & Events
Analog alarm clock (photo from Wikimedia Commons)

So what’s wrong this time?

Hourglass (photo from Wikimedia Commons)
Digital clock (photo from Wikimedia Commons)
Xiaomi smartwatch (photo from Wikimedia Commons)

Well, for one thing, all these clocks are backwards.

I’m not a fan of Daylight Saving Time “spring forward and fall back.” Our bodies cue on light levels, just like everything else in nature, so our brains won’t jog an hour just because we change the clocks. Ask your dog what he thinks about Fall Back. It takes us humans as much as a week to adjust.

However, unless you live in Arizona(*) or Hawaii where they don’t participate in Daylight Saving Time, tonight’s the night to turn the clocks backward to Standard Time.

The official moment to make the change is at 2:00am on 1 November 2020 — which at that moment becomes 1:00am. Who wants to get up at 2am for the official moment? Not I!

p.s. Any recent gadget that’s on a network, including your cellphone, will make the change automatically.

(photos from Wikimedia Commons; Click on the captions to see the originals)

(*) Janet Campagna points out in the comment below that the Navajo Nation (sovereign inside Arizona) does observe Daylight Saving Time.

The Largest Jack O’ Lantern

Books & Events, Weather & Sky
Jack O’ Lanterns face off (photo from Wikimedia Commons)

30 October 2020

Halloween is almost here. Who has the largest jack o’ lantern?

Two pumpkins in Jersey would like to win the honor. They’re nearly as wide as a picnic table.

Jack O’Lanterns at Hampton, Jersey (photo from Wikimedia Commons)

They would lose to this 905.5 pound pumpkin from Ohio. Even if scooped out it would break the picnic table.

Pumpkin contest, Barnesville, Ohio, 2008 (photo from Wikimedia Commons)

No squash can match the Ericsson Globe in Stockholm, Sweden when dressed for Halloween. At 360 feet in diameter it’s wider than a football field, the largest jack o’ lantern in the world.

Ericsson Globe arena in Halloween costume, Stockholm, Sweden, 2014 (photo from Wikimedia Commons)

However, the universe wins the prize for size. The Jack O’ Lantern nebula is a cosmic cloud of radiation and particles emitted by a huge star 15-20 times heavier than our sun. This 2019 animation from NASA/JPL-Caltech shows why it’s called The Jack O’ Lantern.

PIA23403-Jack-o'-lanternNebula

Jack O’ Lantern nebula animation from NASA/JPL-Caltech via Wikimedia Commons

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

p.s. Betty Rowland reports there’s a 1,179 pound pumpkin in Aspinwall raising money for Project Bundle Up. Here are her photos.

1,179 pound jack o’ lantern in Aspinwall, PA, 30 Oct 2020 (photo by Betty Rowland)
1,179 pound jack o’ lantern in Aspinwall, PA, 30 Oct 2020 (photo by Betty Rowland)

Yesterday Morning in Schenley Park

Books & Events, Phenology, Schenley Park
Witch hazel blooming in Schenley Park, 25 Oct 2020 (photo by Kate St. John)

On Sunday morning 25 October 2020 three of us braved the suddenly cold weather and were rewarded with lots of birds and witch hazel in bloom.

Though we saw only 23 species bird activity was intense at the wetland near Panther Hollow Lake. A large flock of robins fed on fruit and bathed in the creek. White-throated sparrows poked through the underbrush, woodpeckers fed on fallen logs and ruby-crowned kinglets flitted in the trees. (Our eBird checklist is here.)

None of us had a camera so Joanne Tyzenhouse contributed this ruby-crowned kinglet photo she took in the spring.

Ruby-crowed kinglet (photo by Joanne Tyzenhouse)

Despite the cold weather I’m glad we went.

p.s. I forgot to take our picture so you will have to imagine what we looked like.

(photos by Kate St. John and Joanne Tyzenhouse)

Schenley Park Outing, Oct 25, 8:30a

Books & Events, Schenley Park
White-throated sparrow reaches for a berry (photo from Wikimedia Commons)

Back in March I canceled all my 2020 outings because of COVID-19. The disease has not disappeared — in fact it’s resurging now in the U.S. and Allegheny County — but we’ve learned more about how it spreads and the relative safety of being outdoors. Today I’m announcing my first and probably last outing of 2020 (winter is coming).

Next Sunday morning, 25 October 2020, I will hold an outing in Schenley Park with restrictions to keep us safe.

  • UPDATE: FEW PEOPLE HAVE SIGNED UP (cold weather) so there is no chance of too many of us. Meet me at 8:30am at Bartlett Shelter(*) .
  • Everyone must wear a mask that covers their nose and mouth.
  • We’ll social distance as we walk.

We’re sure to see fruits, seeds and fallen leaves. Birds may be few but there will certainly be acorns, chipmunks and blue jays. Will we find a white-throated sparrow? I hope so.

To prepare: WEAR A MASK. 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.

(*) ORIGINAL TEXT SAID: Participation will be limited. To join you must “register” by leaving a comment on this blog post (not in Facebook). I will respond via email & tell you where and when to meet.