Just a reminder that this coming Friday is GASP’s Night at the Aviary, September 30, 6-9 pm.
As part of the festivities I’ll present a short talk on “Clean Air is for the Birds … and People Too.”
It’s a fundraiser so tickets are $50 to $65. Click here for more information.
The weather was great this morning — cool and sunny — as 16 of us explored Schenley Park.
We started at the Westinghouse Fountain, checked the Phipps Run valley behind it and walked part of the Steve Falloon Trail but there were almost no birds except for woodpeckers and blue jays.
I extended the walk to the golf course road where we added mourning doves, Carolina chickadees and an eastern phoebe (Best Bird). Then to the Bartlett Shelter area where we added American goldfinches, common grackles and European starlings. Here’s the bird checklist.
I was surprised by the abundance of mushrooms, especially Chicken-of-the-woods.
If we’d been out there counting chipmunks we’d have had a fantastic day.
(photo by Kate St. John)
p.s. All the thrushes were at Beechwood Farms in Fox Chapel.
Just a reminder: I’m leading a bird and nature walk at Schenley Park this Sunday, September 25, 8:30am – 10:30am.
Meet at the Westinghouse Memorial Fountain. Then, depending on the mud, we’ll walk the Falloon Trail or the Serpentine Road keeping our eyes open for fall migrants. We’ll watch for flowers, too,.
Dress for the weather and wear comfortable walking shoes. Bring binoculars and field guides if you have them.
Note: This is Pittsburgh’s Great Race Day and the course follows Forbes Avenue, so approach the park from the south.
Click here for more information and in case of cancellation. So far the weather forecast looks great!
(photo by Kate St. John)
You might be surprised to know that when I’m not birding I’m an active member of the Group Against Smog and Pollution (GASP), a 47-year old non-profit that fights for clean air in western Pennsylvania.
My history with GASP goes back to the late 1990’s when Pittsburgh’s mayor proposed a new coke plant at Hazelwood just after LTV’s heavily polluting plant closed in 1998. I live one mile as the crow flies from that site and had to breathe LTV’s proof that their coke plant polluted too much to stay open. When the plant closed, we suddenly had clean air so the prospect of new pollution was frightening. LTV changed my life. They made me fight for good air quality.
My concern extends to birds, too. We don’t often think about it but what’s bad for our health is also bad for wildlife. Clean air is for the birds? You bet!
On September 30 I’ll speak on this topic at GASP’s annual fundraiser. Held at the National Aviary, the event includes private admission, three live bird encounters, craft making for kids, auctions, and great food. It’s a family friendly event with lots of birds.
GASP will also present a Lifetime Achievement Award to Board member Walter Goldburg, PhD who helped found GASP in 1969. Walter has inspired us all.
For more information, click here or on the event logo below:
It’s a fundraiser so tickets are…
Members: $50
Non-Members: $65 (includes membership)
Child: $20
Register online here.
Clean air is for the birds … and people too!
(GASP Night at the Aviary logo)
On this last day of summer, may you find a marbled godwit at the beach.
Happy Labor Day!
(photo by Brocken Inaglory via Wikimedia Commons. Click on the image to see the original)
On the morning of August 28, fifteen of us braved the humidity to explore the lower end of Panther Hollow in Schenley Park.
There were wildflowers and insects galore, plus 22 species of birds. Highlights included Baltimore orioles, two immature rose-breasted grosbeaks and at least one ruby-throated hummingbird.
A noisy flock of blue jays alerted us to a red-tailed hawk perched on a pole above the lake while northern flickers and American robins joined the fray. Here’s the eBird checklist.
By the end of our walk we were feeling the heat. At 10:30am it was 82oF. That doesn’t sound bad but the dewpoint was 70oF. Dripping with sweat, many of us looked forward to a cool respite at home.
Thank you all for coming. The next outing will begin at the Westinghouse Memorial on September 25.
(photo by Kate St. John)
Just a reminder: I’m leading a bird and nature walk at Schenley Park this Sunday, August 28, 8:30am – 10:30am.
Meet at the Schenley Park Cafe and Visitor Center to see birds, late summer flowers, bugs and hummingbirds.
Dress for the weather and wear comfortable walking shoes. Bring binoculars and field guides if you have them.
Click here for more information and in case of cancellation. So far the weather forecast looks great!
(photo by Kate St. John of Asian lady beetles mating, August 2015 at Schenley Park)
Every year the Wissahickon Nature Club holds a late summer outing at Jennings Environmental Education Center to enjoy the wide variety of wildflowers that grow on the prairie.
This year the outing will remember our late president Chuck Tague who passed away in June.
What: Wissahickon Nature Club outing led by Dianne Machesney
When: Saturday, August 6, 10:00am
Where: Jennings Environmental Education Center, also called Jennings Prairie, Butler County. Directions From Pittsburgh: 79N to 422E roughly 5.8 miles to 528N. Go 7 miles. Meet in the Jennings Prairie parking lot on the left (west) side of the road.
Bring binoculars, field guides, lunch, beverages and water for the trail. The Prairie is hot and shadeless. Wear a hat and sunscreen.
This walk is open to the public. All are welcome and encouraged to bring a friend.
We’re sure to see Culvers root, tall sunflowers, dense blazing star and purple fringed orchids. And though we’ll focus on flowers, Wissahickon is a “general” nature club so we’ll look at everything that strikes our fancy — flowers, birds, butterflies and all.
Click on the links above to read more about the flowers.
(photo at Jennings by Kate St. John, photo of Chuck Tague in 2011 by Marianne Atkinson)
This morning was foggy and cooler (yay!) when eight of us walked the Lower Nine Mile Run Trail.
We started at Duck Hollow but the river was very high after heavy rains — 0.82 inches on Saturday — and there were few birds there. Our walk along the Nine Mile Run Trail was more productive.
Best Birds were lots of indigo buntings and American goldfinches, a big flock of mourning doves, an American kestrel, and an immature red-tailed hawk. Two male indigo buntings chased near us. So blue!
Best Animal was found by our youngest participant — a land snail. Look at his tiny antennae next to her fingertip.
Thanks to all for coming and for being such good spotters of birds and wildlife.
My next walk will be August 28 at Schenley Park; meet at the Visitors Center.
(photos by Kate St. John)
Just a reminder that I’m leading a bird and nature walk on Sunday, July 31, 8:30am – 10:30am, at Duck Hollow and the south end of Frick Park’s Nine Mile Run Trail.
Meet at the Duck Hollow parking lot at the end of Old Browns Hill Road.
Dress for the weather. Bring binoculars and field guides if you have them.
Click here for more information and updates in case the walk is canceled for bad weather.
If the river isn’t too high we’ll see killdeer on the Nine Mile Run delta.
See you soon.
(photo of killdeer by Chuck Tague)