Last Sunday, October 7, it felt like summer when Steve Tirone and I went looking for Armillaria in Schenley Park. We didn’t find any honey mushrooms but Steve found an amazing insect along the Beacon-Bartlett meadow trail.
This praying mantis (possibly Tenodera sinensis) was not alone. When we paused to take photographs, we saw another mantis perched nearby and a third one flew away from us. Gigantic flying bug!
Fall is mating time for praying mantises. The adults will die but their egg masses will survive the winter. Here’s what the egg sac looks like. Don’t take one home until you’ve read these Praying Mantis Egg Sac instructions. They will hatch in your house!
Praying Mantis egg mass (photo by Marcy Cunkelman)
Last weekend was a busy time for praying mantises, hanging out in Schenley Park.
Three Duquesne Light trucks at fallen oak on Bartlett Street, Schenley Park, 30 Sept 2018, 6:40pm (photo by Kate St. John)
Yesterday morning this oak was intact as we searched it for warblers in Schenley Park. Last evening three Duquesne Light trucks were parked below it, fixing the wires it hit when a big chunk fell on Bartlett Street.
Here’s what broke (photo below). Most of the tree still stands but I wouldn’t be surprised if DPW chops it down now that it “misbehaved.”
Oak branch broke and fell on Bartlett Street, Schenley Park, 30 Sept 2018 (photo by Kate St. John)
This is not the only 100-year-old oak that’s fallen in the park in recent weeks. This oak fell across the Falloon Trail in July …
Oak tree fallen across the Falloon Trail, 18 July 2018 (photo by Kate St. John)
… and this one fell last week at the edge of Overlook Drive.
Oak down on Overlook Drive, Schenley Park, 30 Sept 2018 (photo by Kate St. John)
None of the crashes were caused by strong wind. The trees just broke and fell. The Fallon and Overlook trees had root rot, caused by Armillaria fungus. (See below for more on the Bartlett tree.)
You can see it inside this fallen trunk: black sheets of old Armillaria and white sheets of mycelium, the new growth, in the center.
Root rot inside fallen oak, black Armillaria rot and white mycelium (photo by Kate St. John)
If this stump was damp on a warm, very dark night (impossible in Schenley Park) the fungus would glow in the dark — a phenomenon called foxfire.
We usually don’t know that a tree is infected but the fungus will give us a hint this month. Armillaria produces fruit in autumn that we call honey mushrooms. (Here’s a USDA photo of one species, Armillaria tabescens.)
If you find honey mushrooms at the base of a tree, that tree is infected.
Unfortunately there’s a lot of Armillaria in Schenley Park. I’ll look for mushrooms this month to find out who’s in trouble.
NEWS about the Bartlett tree: The branch that fell on Bartlett Street was hollow — probably not Armillaria but it was bad nonetheless. Here’s a photo of the thickest part of the branch after it was chopped up.
Inside of hollow branch that fell on Bartlett Street, 30 Sept 2018 (photo by Kate St. John)
At the end of the hike, I forgot to tell everyone to smile (photo by Kate St. John)
Despite the Great Race road closures, eleven of us met at Bartlett Shelter this morning for a walk in Schenley Park. The air was chilly but the birding was good because the north wind brought us new migrants.
I took the group photo, above, at the end of the walk because we were distracted from the start. There were warblers in the trees above us! Cape May, Black-throated Green, Magnolia and Blackpoll.
Ultimately we saw 23 species + an unidentifiable flycatcher (listed as Empidonax sp). We were surprised to find no thrushes or sparrows so we crossed the road beyond our cars to find two song sparrows at the end. Still no thrushes other than robins.
Best find for the day: Mushrooms! My favorite was spectacularly orange but I’m saving it for late October.
And here’s another mushroom. Do you know what it is? (I don’t remember.)
Thanks to all for coming out today. My last scheduled walk for the year will be on October 28 at Duck Hollow.
At the end of September the weather’s fine and there’s plenty to see outdoors. Goldenrod and asters are blooming but everything else has gone to seed, fruit, and nuts. This is great news for chipmunks.
Join me for a bird and nature walk in Schenley Park on Sunday, September 30, 8:30a – 10:30a.
Meet at Bartlett Shelter on Bartlett Street near Panther Hollow Road. We’ll see birds, fall flowers, fruits, seeds, acorns and busy chipmunks.
Dress for the weather and wear comfortable walking shoes. Bring binoculars and field guides if you have them.
Before you come, visit my Events page in case of changes or cancellations.
Pale beauty moth touching my toe in Schenley Park, 29 Aug 2018 (photo by Kate St. John)
My toe isn’t beautiful but the moth is. His name is Pale Beauty (Campaea perlata).
When I tried to take his picture in Schenley Park on August 29, the moth landed on my sandal and touched my toe with his foot. Since butterflies and moths taste with their feet he (or she) must have been tasting my toe. Oh!
Pale beauty moths are generalists whose larvae feed on a wide variety of trees including ash, (black)cherry, maple, beech and oak.
Schenley Park is full of these trees. Pale beauty is right at home.
Ten (of 12) on the Schenley Park outing, 26 Aug 2018 (photo by Kate St. John)
The big question before this morning’s walk in Schenley Park was, “Will it rain?” We didn’t think so. It had poured north of town but that cloud was gone, Oakland was dry, and weather radar showed no rain on the way. We set off without raingear to look for birds, bugs and flowers.
But the sky kept getting darker.
We had just reached the Phipps Run valley beneath the tufa bridge when the first heavy drops began. How convenient! We waited under the bridge while it poured for at least 5 minutes.
Gray clouds persisted after the rain so birds were hard to find. Best Bird was a rose-breasted grosbeak — but I didn’t see it because I was distracted by a squirrel taunting an immature red-tailed hawk. Squirrels are hawk-food but this one won the contest. The red-tail flew away.
Though it was wet we saw a few good birds. Thanks to everyone for coming out on a gray day.
p.s. The complete checklist of 20 species is at this link.
Participants at the Schenley Park outing, 29 July 2018 (photo by Kate St. John)
Eleven people joined me on Sunday July 29 for a walk in Schenley Park. The outing started from the Westinghouse monument and began with a surprise: a juvenile great blue heron was fishing in the ornamental pond.
Young great blue heron fishing in Westinghouse pond, Schenley park, 29 July 2018 (photo by Kate St. John)
Those who came early found the heron perched on top of the monument. (Sorry I missed that!) He caught and ate a small frog, then flew away.
There were still plenty of frogs left. Here’s one of many adult bullfrogs.
Bullfrog in Westinghouse pond, 29 July 2018 (photo by Peter Bell)
As the day warmed up the butterflies and moths came out. A silver spotted skipper landed on my hat and stayed so long that I tried to photograph it — but couldn’t. These photos are by Peter Bell.
I’m trying to take a photo of the skipper on my hat, 29 July 2018 (photo by Peter Bell)
Silver spotted skipper on my hat, Schenley park, 29 July 2018 (photo by Peter Bell)
We saw squirrels, chipmunks and young rabbits … and, yes, there were birds. Of the 19 species we saw/heard, we voted these the Best: (Click here for the complete checklist.)
The juvenile great blue heron in the pond.
Two young wood thrushes in a tangle of old branches.
A male scarlet tanager in the trees above us and later a female as well.
Beautiful American goldfinches eating thistle seeds.
At the end of the walk we stood by the pond and pondered the frogs.
We think about identifying those frogs (photo by Anne Marie Bosnyak)
(photos by Kate St. John, Peter Bell and Anne Marie Bosnyak)
Male scarlet tanager on an ash tree, August 2015, Chemung County, NY (photo by Tim Lenz via Flickr, Creative Commons license)
Yesterday in Schenley Park I saw a scarlet tanager with blotches on his belly. He was starting to turn green.
Scarlet tanagers (Piranga olivacea) molt twice a year. In January through March they molt into breeding or “alternate” plumage while on their wintering grounds in South America. The females don’t change color but the males turn from green to scarlet. Young males often retain a bit of green (click here to see).
When the breeding season is over, they molt back to basic plumage in July through September. The males look blotchy at first but when they’re done they’re bright olive green with black wings as shown below. By then they’re on their way to South America.
(photo at top in August, Tim Lenz; photo below in Oct, Andy Reago & Chrissy McClarren)
Scarlet tanager in October 2015 (photo by Andy Reago & Chrissy McClarren via Flickr, Creative Commons license)
I was lucky to see yesterday’s scarlet tanager because he hardly made a sound. Tanagers have stopped singing now that breeding is over. This one was singing very softly.
p.s. Did you know that female scarlet tanagers sing? According to All About Birds: “The female Scarlet Tanager sings a song similar to the male’s, but softer, shorter, and less harsh. She sings in answer to the male’s song and while she is gathering nesting material.”
