21 April 2022

CANCELED due to lots of rain in the forecast as of 4:30pm Sat.

Spring migration has been slow in Pittsburgh but things will improve in the week ahead so let’s get outdoors.

Join me at the Schenley Park Visitors Center for a bird & nature walk on Sunday 30 April, 8:30a – 10:30a.

Because of this month’s super-hot weather most trees will be in Full Leaf and the early flowers will have gone to seed but there’s still more to see. The second wave of migrating birds will be coming through and the wood thrushes (Hylocichla mustelina) will have come home.

We’ll peek through the leaves to look for birds. Will we see tuliptree flowers?

Will the mayapples be blooming? Or forming fruit?

Meet me at the Visitors Center at 8:30am. Dress for the weather and wear comfortable walking shoes. Don’t forget your binoculars!

I’ll be there rain or shine, but not in downpours or thunder. Check the Events page before you come in case of a cancellation.

Hope to see you there.

p.s. If the birding is good I’ll give an option to continue until 11a.

(photo by Donna Foyle on taken at Schenley Park on 24 April 2020!)

26 March 2023

This morning it was brilliantly sunny and becoming warmer as 15 of us walked at Duck Hollow.

Because of recent rain, especially in West Virginia, the river was running high though not quite as high as I found it during yesterday’s gloomy, rainy, windy weather (below).

High water cut down on the number of waterfowl so we were happy to find a common merganser and pied-billed grebe. Best Mammal was a muskrat swimming up Nine Mile Run.

Today’s checklist is here: https://ebird.org/checklist/S131891621 and below.

Duck Hollow, Allegheny, Pennsylvania, US
Mar 26, 2023 8:30 AM – 10:00 AM
Protocol: Traveling, 1.4 mile(s)
Checklist Comments: Also 1 muskrat, 1 rabbit, 1 squirrel
23 species

Canada Goose (Branta canadensis) 2
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) 6
Common Merganser (Mergus merganser) 1 Female
Pied-billed Grebe (Podilymbus podiceps) 1
Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura) 2
Ring-billed Gull (Larus delawarensis) 2
Herring Gull (Larus argentatus) 1
Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) 1
Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura) 5
Cooper’s Hawk (Accipiter cooperii) 1
Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis) 4 One pair courting. One pair with occupied nest under the bridge.
Red-bellied Woodpecker (Melanerpes carolinus) 1
Downy Woodpecker (Dryobates pubescens) 2
Blue Jay (Cyanocitta cristata) 4
Carolina Chickadee (Poecile carolinensis) 3
Carolina Wren (Thryothorus ludovicianus) 4
Northern Mockingbird (Mimus polyglottos) 1
American Robin (Turdus migratorius) 30
House Finch (Haemorhous mexicanus) 8
White-throated Sparrow (Zonotrichia albicollis) 6
Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia) 6
Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus) 2
Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis) 10

My next outing will be in Schenley Park on Sunday 30 April at 8:30am. Stay tuned.

(photos by Kate St. John)

17 March 2023

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

Spring is coming in fits and starts, here one day and not the next. By late March we’ll have mild weather. Let’s get outdoors!

Join me on my first bird and nature outing of 2023 at Duck Hollow and Lower Frick Park on Sunday, March 26, 2023 — 8:30am to 10:00am.

Meet at Duck Hollow parking lot at the end of Old Browns Hill Road.

We’ll check the river for ducks and walk nearby trails to see a red-tailed hawks’ nest. Migrating ducks will have left by then but I hope for killdeer, kingfishers, and cardinals.

We’ll also see new flowers and leaves. Will we find a four-leaf clover?

Dress for the weather and wear comfortable walking shoes. Bring binoculars, field guides and a scope for river-watching if you have them.

Check the Events Page before you come in case of bad weather.

Hope to see you there!

(duck photo by Steve Gosser; remaining photos from Wikimedia Commons; click on the captions to see the originals)

10 February 2023

Have you ever wondered how many wild birds live on Earth? Scientists came up with a very good estimate in 2021 by using data algorithms on the sightings logged in Cornell Lab’s eBird database. The answer two years ago was 50 billion — six birds for every human — but the numbers change so they plan to rerun the analysis every couple of years. And that’s where we come in. They need our help by counting birds.

Every sighting logged in eBird contributes to the global knowledge of birds. Like an individual raindrop each sighting is added to the river of data that tells the story. Three times a year we create a momentary global deluge during the Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC) in February, Migratory Bird Count Day in May and the Christmas Bird Counts at year end.

So here comes our opportunity. Join people around the world for the Great Backyard Bird Count, Friday to Monday, 17-20 February 2023.

The Great Backyard Bird Count is more than just backyard birding. You can count birds anywhere — from your window, while on a trail, on the beach, or parked to count from your car.

Everything you need to know is at BirdCount.org. The How To Participate instructions are quoted below:

“Participating is easy, fun to do alone or with others, and can be done anywhere you find birds.

Step 1: Decide where you will watch birds.

Step 2: Watch birds for 15 minutes or more, at least once over the four days, 17-20 February 2023.

Step 3: Identify all the birds you see or hear within your planned time/location and use the best tool for sharing your bird sightings:

• If you are a beginning bird admirer and new to bird identification, try using the Merlin Bird ID app to tell us what birds you are seeing or hearing.
• If you have participated in the count before and want to record numbers of birds, use the eBird Mobile app or enter your bird list on the eBird website (desktop/laptop).

If you already contribute to eBird or Merlin, continue what you are doing! All entries over the 4-days count towards the GBBC.”

Count birds and have fun.

For more information on the number of wild birds on Earth, see Scientists Determine How Many Wild Birds Populate The Planet And… It’s A Lot.

(photo by Marcy Cunkelman)

24 December 2022

Brrrrr! It’s -1^oF this morning in Pittsburgh, too cold to enjoy the outdoors.

Last Tuesday the temperature was a balmy 33^oF when I visited Phipps Conservatory’s Holiday Magic at dusk. The Winter Garden glowed.

As daylight faded a few white-throated sparrows made contact calls before they fell asleep. The garden is their winter home.

And then the garden was brighter than the sky.

Phipps Holiday Magic continues through Sunday 8 January 2023. By Wednesday 28 December Pittsburgh’s high will be 42^oF! Click here for a timed ticket.

(photos by Kate St. John)