Category Archives: Phenology

Seen This Week: August Flowers

Deer, Phenology, Plants & Fungi
Cosmos in bloom, Shadyside, 5 Aug 2024 (photo by Kate St. John)

10 August 2024

This week a flower garden caught my attention with bright yellow-orange cosmos flowers. The plants were in three stages: flowering, going to seed, and seeds formed.

Cosmos suphureus petals are quite showy to attract pollinators to the central disk. When the small flowers inside the disk are fertilized the petals fall off and the disk begins to develop into long thin seedpods.

Cosmos: A single flower going to seed, 5 Aug 2024 (photo by Kate St. John)

When complete the seed pods resemble the hitchhiking seeds of beggar ticks (Bidens frondosa). Both are in the Coreopsideae tribe along with coreoposis, dahlias and many others.

Cosmos: Seeds maturing, 5 Aug 2024 (photo by Kate St. John)

Also seen …

It’s August and, as expected, deer are more visible in Schenley Park. Two does and two fawns approached Panther Hollow Lake on Friday. We can expect to see lots of deer lounging in the city parks in the days ahead. It is The Calm Before The Rut.

Four deer in Schenley Park, 9 Aug 2024 (photo by Kate St. John)

On the cloudy morning of 6 August, daisy fleabane (Erigeron annuus) was still opening its flowers in Frick Park. Fleabane petals respond to light levels. It’s part of Fleabane’s daily exercise program.

Daisy fleabane, still opening flowers, Frick Park, 6 Aug 2024 (photo by Kate St. John)

After all these years I’ve just discovered that horseweed (Erigeron canadensis) is a fleabane. (That’s what comes of learning plants on the fly.)

Horseweed in bloom, near Aspinwall Riverfront Park, 8 Aug 2024 (photo by Kate St. John)

Seen Last Week: Water beads and Insects

Phenology, Plants & Fungi, Water and Shore
Water beads on a few leaves, 23 July 2024 (photo by Kate St. John)

4 August 2024

Recent outdoor attractions include flowers, insects and the play of light on water. Here are few things seen last week … and even earlier.

Water beads made tiny magnifying lenses two weeks ago. Since that morning the weather has been too hot for condensation.

Pokeweed (Phytolacca americana) and teasel (Dipsacus fullonum) are in bloom.

Pokeweed flowers at the tip and fruit forming at the bottom, Duck Hollow, 2 August 2023 (photo by Kate St. John)
Small teasel completely in bloom, Herrs Island backchannel, 3 Aug 2024 (photo by Kate St. John)

Insects are busy in the heat. On 28 July sycamore tussock moths (Halysidota harrisii) dangled by silk threads as they lowered themselves from the sycamore trees. The only way to photograph one was to wait until he landed.

Sycamore tussock moth at Frick, 28 July 2024 (photo by Kate St. John)

Zabulon skippers (Lon zabulon) have been easy to find. Some of them look ragged.

Zabulon skipper, Frick Park, 31 July 2024 (photo by Kate St. John)

We found a pair of greenhouse millipedes (Oxidus gracilis) who kept walking as they mated. Two million legs in one photo?

Greenhouse millipedes mating, 31 July 2024 (photo by Kate St. John)

And on 29 July I was surprised to see seven common mergansers (Mergus merganser) at Duck Hollow. They made arrow shapes on the river’s reflection as they swam. (The seventh one is underwater.) All but one of them looked female — in eclipse or molting.

Common mergansers make arrowheads on the surface of the Monongahela River, 29 July 2024 (photo by Kate St. John)

Seen This Week: FLowers at Jennings

Phenology, Plants & Fungi
Lesser purple fringed orchid, Jennings, 26 July 2024 (photo by Kate St. John)

27 July 2024

At yesterday’s annual Wissahickon Nature Club outing at Jennings Prairie we found many familiar plants in the expected places, but some that should be at peak in late July were already past their prime, probably due to this year’s heat. We found some other surprises as well.

We usually have to search with binoculars to find a lesser purple fringed orchid (Platanthera psycodes) nestled in the distance but yesterday we saw this one near the trail.

Hairy willowherb (Epilobium hirsutum) was exactly where we expected it in the valley under the footbridge, but we also found some in the woods.

Hairy willowherb, Jennings Prairie, 26 July 2024 (photo by Kate St. John)

Jumpseed (Persicaria virginiana) flowers are usually white but these were pink as well.

Jumpseed with unusually pink flowers, Jennings, 26 July 2024 (photo by Kate St. John)

Jack-in-the-pulpit fruit is still green. It won’t turn red until next month.

Jack-in-the-pulpit fruit, Jennings, 26 July 2024 (photo by Kate St. John)

Here’s a two-step lesson on how halberd-leaf tearthumb (Persicaria arifolia) got its common name.

  • Halberd-shaped leaves. Jennings, 26 July 2024

Seen Yesterday: Flowers and Oh, Deer

Deer, Phenology, Schenley Park, Spotted Lanternflies
New York ironweed, Schenley Park, 19 July 2024 (photo by Kate St. John)

20 July 2024

Yesterday was my first opportunity to visit Schenley Park in more than a week.

  • Deep purple flowers on New York ironweed (Veronia noveboracensis)
  • Feverfew (Tanacetum parthenium) in bloom, a non-native plant from Eurasia.
  • Eastern bottlebrush grass (Elymus hystrix) with tiny spider threads.
  • Pavement glowing in the sun? No, pond scum on Panther Hollow Lake.
  • Dead adult spotted lanternfly nose-down with legs flexed open. Shadyside, 18 July.
  • Oh deer … Details near their photos.
Feverfew, Schenley Park, 19 July 2024 (photo by Kate St. John)
Eastern bottlebrush grass with tiny spider webs, Schenley Park, 19 July 2024 (photo by Kate St. John)
The surface of Panther Hollow Lake, Schenley Park 19 July 2024 (photo by Kate St. John)

I took a brief walk in my neighborhood on Thursday 18 July and found a dead adult spotted lanternfly, my first this year but I was out of town. It is nose-down to the pavement because its legs are flexed open.

Dead adult spotted lanternfly, Shadyside in Pittsburgh, 18 July 2024 (photo by Kate St. John)

Oh deer. Yesterday I saw four deer in Schenley Park; three in this family. The two spotted fawns appear to be a month younger than this year’s cohort that were born in May. If so, it was because their mother bred later than the rest of the herd, perhaps because she was a fawn herself last year.

One-year-old mother (probably) with two spotted fawns, Schenley Park, 19 July 2024 (photo by Kate St. John)

In the photo above, notice how little food there is on the ground. Without much to eat, deer in Schenley Park browse on foods they don’t like, such as the Japanese knotweed below.

Japanese knotweed browsed by deer, Schenley Park, 28 June 2024 (photo by Kate St. John)

Neighborhood gardens have a lot more food, so guess where the deer go. Last month I saw two in a garden with plants up to their shoulders. Not for long, though. As I watched one of them opened its mouth to take a large bite.

Deer eating in a garden on Ellsworth Ave, Pittsburgh, 17 June 2024 (photo by Kate St. John)

Seen This Week: Sunset and Heat

Phenology, Weather & Sky
Sunset in Pittsburgh, 10 July 2024 (photo by Kate St. John)

13 July 2024, Pittsburgh

Hot. Sultry. This week’s oppressive heat and humidity was curiously exhausting. Where have I experienced this weather before? Ah, yes. Florida in July. For the most part I stayed indoors so there’s not much “Seen This Week.”

On a brief foray around the Cathedral of Learning I did not find the peregrines but did see a beautiful flowerbed of black-eyed susans.

Flowers at Cathedral of Learning, 9 July 2024 (photo by Kate St. John)

The peregrines cope with the heat by perching in the shade. Carla looks sleepy an hour before sunset on 9 July.

Carla resting on the green perch, 9 July 2024, 7:25pm (photo from the National Aviary falconcam at Univ of Pittsburgh)

I’m not looking forward to next week’s heat wave, though it won’t be as bad in Pittsburgh as further east.

We complain about staying indoors during winter but now we’re staying indoors in the summer, too.

Seen On Laurel Mountain

Phenology, Plants & Fungi, Songbirds
Canada warbler, Laurel Mtn, 9 June 2024 (photo by Charity Kheshgi)

15 June 2024

During spring warbler migration I try to see as many species as possible as they pass through Pennsylvania and Ohio. Unfortunately, I missed some of my favorites this year, most notably the Canada warbler (Cardellina canadensis), so Charity Kheshgi and I went to Laurel Mountain last Sunday to find them on their breeding grounds.

The air was filled with veery (Catharus fuscescens) songs when we arrived at Laurel Summit State Park.

We thought we’d be able to see at least one of the two Canada warblers we heard singing along Spruce Bog Trail, but not. However, we got lucky on the Picnic Trail when the bird pictured above and below approached us making his warning call.

Canada warbler, Laurel Mtn, 9 June 2024 (photo by Charity Kheshgi)

Here’s an example of what he sounded like:

There was plentiful shade in the forest, but that made the birds harder to see. This ovenbird (Seiurus aurocapilla) is nicely lit but still in the dark.

Ovenbird, Laurel Mtn, 9 June 2024 (photo by Charity Kheshgi)

We found other delights on the mountain. A tiger swallowtail butterfly sipped nectar from pitcher plant flowers at Spruce Bog.

Tiger swallowtail at pitcher plant flowers, Spruce Bog, Laurel Mtn, 9 June 2024 (photo by Kate St. John)

Pennsylvania’s state flower, mountain laurel (Kalmia latifolia), was in bloom.

Mountain laurel in bloom, Laurel Summit State Park, 9 June 2024 (photo by Kate St. John)

This trillium gone to seed showed well in dappled sunlight.

Trillium gone to seed, Laurel Mtn, 9 June 2024 (photo by Kate St. John)

We heard more birds than we could see, ultimately tallying 24 species in our checklist here.

Now Blooming: Pretty Invasives

Phenology, Plants & Fungi
Orange day-lily, Three Rivers Heritage Trail near Herrs Island, 9 June 2024 (photo by Kate St. John)

10 June 2024

Between the glory of woodland spring ephemerals and summer’s splash of native field flowers, June has fewer blooming natives. On a walk yesterday along the Three Rivers Heritage Trail near Millvale I found a host of pretty flowers, many of them invasive.

Orange day-lily (Hemerocallis fulva) is native to Asia and well established in Pennsylvania. You’ll see it blooming in ditches, along railroad tracks and in gardens. It pops up in so many places that it has at least 10 common names. Orange day-lily is considered invasive in Pennsylvania because its tubers create thick clumps that crowd out native plants in sensitive habitats.

Japanese knotweed (Reynoutria japonica) is listed as one of the world’s worst invasive species. Right now its flowers have just opened in southwestern PA. By the end of summer the flowers will be in long, sweet-smelling racemes, a favorite of bees and butterflies.

New flowers on Japanese knotweed, , Three Rivers Heritage Trail near Herrs Island, 9 June 2024 (photo by Kate St. John)

Crown vetch (Securigera varia), native to Eurasia and Africa, is in now full bloom. Read about its invasive qualities here.

Crown vetch in bloom, Three Rivers Heritage Trail near Herrs Island, 9 June 2024 (photo by Kate St. John)

What’s that popcorn-like smell? It’s poison hemlock (Conium maculatum) and it’s in bloom. You won’t want this plant anywhere you find it. Here’s how to get rid of it; expect a multi-year effort.)

Poison hemlock flowers, Three Rivers Heritage Trail near Herrs Island, 9 June 2024 (photo by Kate St. John)

(all photos by Kate St. John)

Puzzling Objects Seen This Week

Deer, Musings & News, Phenology, Plants & Fungi
Leaf-out reveals the browseline, Schenley Park, 5 May 2024 (photo by Kate St. John)

11 May 2024

This week I photographed a few puzzling objects for the record.

When I took a photo of Full Leaf trees in Schenley Park on 5 May I noticed something newly visible in the presence of leaves. Can you see it?

Look at the center of the photo where the path disappears in the distance. Above the path is a gap that allows you to see further under the trees. The gap flows to the right and follows the contour of the hillside. That’s the browseline, the cumulative effect of too many deer eating at the same location over and over.

I saw a native(!) honeysuckle this week. Pink with fused leaves, it’s called limber or glaucous honeysuckle (Lonicera dioica).

Limber or glaucous honeysuckle, Moraine State Park, 7 May 2024 (photo by Kate St. John)

Was this a cattle egret at Moraine State Park? If so it was a rare bird! Nope. It’s a white bag.

Cattle Egret at Moraine State Park? (photo by Kate St. John, 7 May 2024)

On 3 May a leaf-footed bug appeared to walk across the sky.

Leaf-footed bug walks across the sky, 3 May 2024 (photo by Kate St. John)

During the Pittsburgh Marathon Dippy the dinosaur watched near the halfway mark.

Dippy wears black and gold for the Pittsburgh Marathon, 5 May 2024 (photo by Kate St. John)

What puzzles will we see this week?

Tigers and Tents

Insects, Phenology
Eastern tiger swallowtail in PA (photo from Wikimedia Commons)

9 May 2024

We’re more than a week into May now, so it’s likely you’ve seen the tigers and tents that first appeared in late April. If you haven’t, here’s who they are.

Tigers

I first noted tiger swallowtails at Enlow Fork on 25 April but I remember seeing one earlier in Schenley Park. When was your earliest tiger swallowtail?

Find out more about them in this vintage blog: Flying Tigers

Tents

Tentworms in Schenley Park, 25 April 2016 (photo by Kate St. John)

I saw the first tentworms on 30 April in Frick Park, but it seems this is not a big year for them. I haven’t seen many other tents. Did you know that tentworms are a favorite food of yellow-billed and black-billed cuckoos? Have you seen a cuckoo yet?

Learn more about these social insects in this vintage article: Tents

(photo by Kate St. John)

Spring Update: Where Are We Now?

Migration, Phenology, Trees
Oak tree in bloom with dangling pollen flowers (photo by Kate St. John)

1 May 2024

Since our last spring checkup six weeks ago, Pittsburgh has galloped into summer. Last weekend we had July-in-April weather with official highs of 83°F and even higher in town.

Pitt peregrine Carla felt the heat at 10am on 29 April as she shaded her chicks and gular fluttered (panted) to cool herself off.

It’s hot at the Pitt peregrine nest, Carla shades the chicks, 29 April 2024, 10am (photo from the National Aviary falconcam at Univ of Pittsburgh)

Pittsburgh is not alone. In a wide swath of the U.S. from Iowa to New York spring was 20+ days early this year. In Pittsburgh nearly half of April was more than 10°F above normal while we had only one cold day at 12°F below normal.

U.S. Daily Spring Index Leaf Anomaly, 1 May 2024 (map generated by USANPN Visualization Tool)

So what temperature should we expect if we’re only 20 days ahead of schedule? April 29th ought to have been like a normal 19 May but it was way beyond that.

The heat prompted the trees to leaf out early and flowers to bloom ahead of schedule. Maples and buckeyes are in full leaf now and our oaks are at flower+leaf stage as shown at top. The leaves are hosting food for birds in the form of tiny caterpillars, so …

Migratory birds are taking advantage of the south winds and early leaf out. Since 27 April we’ve seen our first scarlet tanagers, rose-breasted grosbeaks, Baltimore orioles, indigo buntings and warblers.

Charity Kheshgi has been documenting our good luck with warblers at Frick Park. Notice the size of the leaves in her photos!

p.s. And where am I? Right now I’m at Magee Marsh a week ahead of The Biggest Week in American Birding. I don’t expect to see the swarms of migratory birds that will be here next week (I’m leaving on 3 May) but I’ll learn what happens before the people show up and why everyone waits until next week. 😉

(credits are in the captions)