Category Archives: Books & Events

Chat with Dr. Todd Katzner, April 28 at 7:00pm

Books & Events, Peregrines

This Wednesday, April 28, Dr. Todd Katzner of the National Aviary will be available from 7:00pm-7:30pm in the Cathedral of Learning webcam chat to answer your questions about peregrines. 

Dr. Katzner is a raptor expert, the Director of Conservation and Field Research at the National Aviary and an Adjunct Assistant Professor in the Department of Biological Sciences at the University of Pittsburgh.  His research includes satellite tracking of eastern golden eagles to assess the risks of wind energy development in their migration corridor. 

To participate on Wednesday at 7:00pm, login at the “Please sign in or sign up for free” links on the Cathedral of Learning webcam page. 

Bring your questions for a lively discussion.

Streaming Webcams update

Books & Events

If you’ve been having trouble seeing the National Aviary’s streaming webcams, here are some technical tips on what to do.

  • If you used to be able to see the stream but now see a big, white, spinning circle or no video at all:  This means your computer thinks it’s connected to the stream but it it isn’t.  To set it straight, close all your browser windows.  Then open one browser window — !do not go to the webcam pages yet! — and empty cache.  To empty cache in Internet Explorer 8, choose Tools > Internet Options > [Delete] browsing history.   To really convince your computer to behave, reboot it, empty cache and don’t view either of the streaming videos until your computer has been running for about 5 minutes.
  • Chat problems:
    • Chat does not work on the Gulf Tower webpage.  You can sign in but you’ll see nothing.
    • If you sign into Gulf Tower chat it may confuse your computer.  Close your browser windows and reopen.  Only sign in to Cathedral of Learning chat.
  • If you’re having problems all the time:
    • Wildearth has learned that Firefox’s update 3.6 does not work with their web pages.  NOTE ON MARCH 23:  Firefox 3.6.2 does work.  If your Firefox is not on that version, you’ll need to update it
    • If you don’t have java enabled on your computer, you won’t be able to see the streams.
  • AUDIO WITH NO VIDEO was fixed (we hope) on March 24:  If you can hear the audio and see the ads but have no video, then empty your browser’s cache and reload the page.  In Internet Explorer 8, choose Tools > Internet Options > [Delete] browsing history.

If your problems persist after this Wednesday, please leave a comment here and I will forward it to the National Aviary or you can contact them yourself.

Where is the Nature Observer?

Books & Events

Brown marmorated stink bug (photo from The Bugwood Network via Wikimedia)Those of you who read Chuck Tague’s blog have noticed he hasn’t updated it since January 21.

I did too.  Around the end of January I emailed him saying “You must be away having fun since there’s no news on your blog.”

No, he isn’t away.  He’s alive and well but his blog has a bug.  There’s some kind of software problem that causes it to crash the minute he tries to change anything.  The best he is able to do is post this comment on his last entry.

JANUARY 28, 2010
DEAR READERS:
MY APOLOGIES.  BECAUSE OF A SOFTWARE PROBLEM I HAVEN’T BEEN ABLE TO ACCESS THE NATURE OBSERVER WEBSITE TO ADD OR EDIT FOR THE LAST WEEK.  TECH SUPPORT AT APPLE IS WORKING ON THE PROBLEM.
CHUCK

Meanwhile, Chuck’s been busy birding and taking pictures while he waits for Apple to make the bug go away.  It’s a pesky one and it’s still not solved.

It may be a real bug but it’s not a “true bug” like this brown marmorated stink bug that plagues us indoors.

😉

(photo from Wikimedia Commons, via The Bugwood Network at the University of Georgia.  Click on the photo to see the original at Wikimedia.)

Great Backyard Bird Count, Feb 12-15

Books & Events

Child with binoculars (linked from allbestbinoculars.com)
Get ready for the easiest bird count you’ll ever do ’cause you can do it in your jammies.

This coming weekend — February 12 to 15 — is the Great Backyard Bird Count.  Participants across North America will spend time counting birds and recording the greatest number of individuals they see per species.  The results show trends in winter bird populations.  It’s a great “citizen science” event for all ages.

And it’s easy.  You can be as ambitious or laid back as you like.  You can go outdoors looking for birds in cold, windy places, or you can fill your feeders and count birds outside your window while you lounge in your pajamas.  You can count every day for four days, or you can count for as little as 15 minutes in the comfort of your home.  When you’re done, just turn on your computer and report it online at Birdsource.

Don’t want to count alone?  Do your kids want to learn about birds?  There will be many opportunities to gather and learn at events across North America.   In the Pittsburgh area, Fern Hollow Nature Center will hold children’s workshops and bird-count walks in Sewickley Heights Borough Park.  (NOTE ON FEB 11, 2010:  THE WALKS IN THE PARK ARE CANCELED DUE TO SNOW DEPTH.)

And if you like to take pictures you can enter the Great Backyard Bird Count photo contest.

So no matter what the weather is – even if it snows two feet – you can safely plan to count birds next weekend.  Click on the photo above for all the details.

Easy!

(photo linked from allbestbinoculars.com Click on the image to see the original article about Birding for kids)

Tomorrow is a really big day

Books & Events, Mammals

Groundhog Day 2005 (photo by Aaron Silvers, Wikipedia, Creative Commons license)
If you’ve got nothing to do at dawn tomorrow, jump in your car right now and head for Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania.  You’re going to have to leave early because the festivities are already underway and the really big show starts long before dawn.

Yes, tomorrow is Groundhog Day and people across North America will pull their groundhogs out of hibernation and ask them what they think of the weather.  If the groundhogs see their shadows they’ll scurry back to their burrows and we’ll have six more weeks of winter.  If dawn is overcast the groundhogs will be happy and predict an early spring.

If you presented me with a sunny or cloudy day and asked me the same question my prediction would be the opposite but I am not Punxsutawney Phil, the Seer of Seers, Sage of Sages, Prognosticator of Prognosticators and Weather Prophet Extraordinary.

You may be wondering… Why does this festivity happen on February 2nd?  Groundhog Day, which is also Candlemas, is an old celebration of the date that falls exactly halfway between the winter solstice and the spring equinox.  For winter-weary humans it’s just about the only thing we can celebrate at this time of year and it happens to be six weeks away from spring.  Funny how that works into Phil’s prediction.

So don’t delay!  It’s a huge celebration.  The trek to Gobblers Knob begins at 3:00am.  The fireworks start before 7:00am and Phil makes his prediction at daybreak (approximately 7:25am).

If you can’t make it to Punxsy, watch it live online on the VisitPA website.

(photo of Groundhog Day 2005 by Aaron Silvers, from Wikipedia via Creative Commons license)

Hummingbirds on January 10th!

Books & Events, Songbirds

A Velvet-purple Coronet from Nature: Hummingbirds: Magic in the Air
It’s cold and snowy here in Pittsburgh but we’re about to be delighted by hummingbirds.  Next Sunday January 10 at 8:00pm PBS’s Nature show will feature Hummingbirds: Magic in the Air. 

I watched the preview last weekend and was wowed by these tiny jewels.  Did you know that hummingbirds are the smallest warm-blooded animal on earth?  That they only occur in the Western Hemisphere?  That their wings provide lift from both sides?  That they’re related to swifts?   I learned a lot, and that wasn’t even the best part.

Filmed in high definition, high speed video the producers slowed down the action so you can see the hummingbirds’ wingbeats.  There was slow motion footage of hummingbirds courting, eating and fighting (imagine that!).  The closeups are so close that you can see the claws on the hummingbird’s toes as he grasps the edge of a flower.  They recorded the 60 mph courtship dive of the male Anna’s hummingbird and the waving tail feathers of the rare Marvelous Spatuletail.  Beautiful and amazing!

The producers traveled far and wide to film these gorgeous birds.  You might even recognize the people in the film including hummingbird bander Nancy Newfield of Louisiana.  But the birds themselves are the stars. 

Click on the photo to watch previews of the show.  Then tune in at 8:00pm EST on Sunday, January 10 to see Hummingbirds: Magic in the Air.   In Pittsburgh watch it on WQED or check your local PBS schedule for exact times in your area.

(photo of a Velvet-purple Coronet from Nature: Hummingbirds: Magic in the Air)

Happy New Year!

Books & Events

Snowy trail scene (phot by Dianne Machesney)

I’m taking the day off and hoping for a nice hike in the woods, but the weather doesn’t look promising.

Watch for the bird anatomy lesson tomorrow.

And while you’re waiting, check out the Hooters Calendar whose pictures made me laugh out loud (it’s not what you think).  The link shows the 2009 .pdf calendar which takes a while to download.  Sales of the calendar benefit the “models.”

Happy New Year!

(photo by Dianne Machesney)

Out With the Old Year, In With the New

Books & Events

A Blue Moon (photo by Chuck Tague, retouched by Chuck himself)Since I’m going to feature a Beyond Bounds photo on New Year’s Eve, today’s my day for assessing the past year and dreaming of the future.

What was the best of 2009?  What can we expect in 2010?

2009 had many favorite moments:

  • January brought thousands of white-winged crossbills to Pittsburgh, a treat to see this northern finch at home.
  • Peregrine nesting season, March through June, brought many highs and a couple of lows.  Four successful nests fledged a total of 12 birds from Gulf Tower, Pitt, Monaca and McKees Rocks.  Sadly two of the young peregrines died: one at the airport, the other on a rooftop.
  • In May Budgie taught me a valuable lesson about freedom.
  • In September pigeons made me laugh.
  • All year long the city’s wildlife amazed me.  I saw a toad, groundhogs, raccoons, a red fox and on December 18th a 10-point buck chasing two does around Carnegie-Mellon’s intramural field at the corner of Forbes and Margaret Morrison.
  • This month Dan Yagusic identified a new peregrine pair at Tarentum.  J commented that if this new male’s identity holds it means Pittsburgh’s peregrines are continuing their dynasty:  Erie at Pitt, his son Louie at Gulf, Louie’s son E2 at Pitt and now E2’s son at Tarentum.
  • Tomorrow the year will close with a Blue Moon, a parting gesture to 2009.

What can we expect in 2010?

  • January: Snow and cold, snow buntings and horned larks, short-eared owls and maybe a snowy owl.
  • February: The least bird-y month in southwestern Pennsylvania.  Fortunately it’s a short month.
  • March: Blackbirds and grackles return, coltsfoot blooms, peregrines lay eggs.  I hope for 5 peregrine nests in southwestern Pennsylvania in 2010.
  • April and May: Spring flowers and spring migration capped by the arrival of warblers.
  • June: Nests everywhere, peregrine nestlings fledge.
  • July and August: Hot weather, butterflies and moths, field flowers, fall migration begins.
  • September: Chimney swifts leave, thrushes pass through, hawk watches begin.
  • October: Fall colors, ducks migrate, the winter crows arrive.
  • November: Overcast skies, first snow, tundra swans pass through.
  • December: Winter solstice, huge flocks of robins, starlings and crows, Christmas Bird Counts.

Do you have favorites of 2009?  Expectations for 2010?  Leave a comment with your answers.

And have a happy, healthy new year.

(photo of the moon by Chuck Tague which he retouched to make it blue.)