Category Archives: Schenley Park

Papery Husks

Schenley Park, Trees
American hazelnuts, Schenley Park, July 2018 (photo by Kate St. John)
American hazelnuts, Schenley Park, July 2018 (photo by Kate St. John)

In late July, you may find nuts wrapped in papery green husks.

They’re American hazelnuts, Corylus americana, so closely related to the beaked hazel-nut Corylus cornuta that the two species can hybridize.  The nut wrappers tell them apart.

The husks on C. americana’s nuts are two leaf-like bracts with ragged tips. This photo by Paul Wray at forestryimages.org shows hairy leaf bracts and an unwrapped nut.

American hazel nut (photo by Paul Wray, Iowa State University via Bugwood.org, Creative Commons license)
American hazel nut (photo by Paul Wray, Iowa State University via Bugwood.org, Creative Commons license)

Beaked hazel-nut (C. cornuta) husks are so long and thin that they look like beaks, as seen in this photo from forestryimages.org.

Fruits of beaked hazelnut ((Caleb Slemmons, National Ecological Observatory Network, Bugwood.org, Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 3.0 License))
Fruits of beaked hazelnut (Caleb Slemmons, National Ecological Observatory Network, Bugwood.org, Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 3.0 License))

The nuts I found in Schenley Park don’t have long beaks but they aren’t quite the same as the C. americana photo above.

I wonder if they’re hybrids.

 

(two photos by Kate St. John. photo number 5556599 by Caleb Slemmons, National Ecological Observatory Network, at Bugwood.org)

Schenley Park Outing: July 29, 8:30am

Books & Events, Schenley Park
Bindweed in bloom, Schenley Park, July 2016 (photo by Kate St. John)
Bindweed in bloom, Schenley Park, July 2016 (photo by Kate St. John)

In late July, the songbirds are wrapping up the breeding season and it’s summer flower time.

Join me for a bird & nature walk in Schenley Park on Sunday, July 29, 8:30a – 10:30a.

Meet at the Westinghouse Memorial Fountain to walk Serpentine Drive or the nearby Falloon Trail.  I know we’ll see Joe-pye weed (Eutrochium purpureum) and bindweed (Convolvulus arvensis) in bloom. I hope to see swallows at the golf course.

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. The outing will be canceled if there’s lightning.

Hope to see you there!

 

(photo by Kate St. John)

Bottlebrush

Plants & Fungi, Schenley Park
Bottlebrush buckeye flower spike, Schenley Park, 6 July 2018 (photo by Kate St. John)
Bottlebrush buckeye flower spike, Schenley Park, 6 July 2018 (photo by Kate St. John)

This week the bottlebrush buckeyes (Aesculus parviflora) were in bloom at Schenley Park. You can see how the shrub got it’s name from the bottlebrush shape of the flower spike.

Here’s what the hillside near Panther Hollow Lake looks like when the buckeyes are blooming.  They were probably planted shortly after the lake was completed in 1909.

Bottlebrush buckeye bushes in bloom, Schenley Park, 3 July 2018 (photo by Kate St. John)
Bottlebrush buckeye bushes in bloom, Schenley Park, 3 July 2018 (photo by Kate St. John)

These bushes hid an added bonus: When I stopped to photograph them a wood thrush walked out from them and paused to look at me.

Click here to read more about this native shrub, originally from the Deep South.

 

(photo by Kate St. John)
Historical Information: the first landscape architect of Schenley Park: William Falconer.

Today in Schenley Park

Books & Events, Schenley Park
Schenley Park outing, 24 June 2018 (photo by Kate St. John)
Schenley Park outing, 24 June 2018 (photo by Kate St. John)

Eight of us went birding in Schenley Park today and saw lots of cool bird behavior.

In the first fifteen minutes we saw an unusual scarlet tanager — bright orange like an oriole instead of scarlet like a tanager.  We also had good looks at our Best Bird of the day:  a beautiful male rose-breasted grosbeak.

Down the trail we found a tiny sentinel.  A male ruby-throated hummingbird perched high on a dead snag watching his domain.  We also found an Acadian flycatcher on her nest and an American robin feeding nestlings.

After so much rain the creek and first waterfall were running fast.  Last Wednesday’s downpour washed a culvert into the gravel trail that reached right down to the bedrock — a layer of blue-green slate.

In all we saw / heard 29 species.  The complete checklist is here.

p.s. I promised daisy fleabane and we did see it. Whew!

 

(photo by Kate St. John)

Schenley Park Outing: June 24, 8:30am

Books & Events, Schenley Park
Fleabane blooming in Schenley Park, 10 June 2016 (photo by Kate St. John)
Fleabane blooming in Schenley Park, 10 June 2016 (photo by Kate St. John)

Summer arrived before the solstice.  It’s time to get outdoors!

Join me for a bird & nature walk in Schenley Park on Sunday, June 24, 8:30a – 10:30a.

Meet at Bartlett Shelter on Bartlett Street near Panther Hollow Road. We’ll look in the meadow for birds and flowers, then explore the woodland trails.  I’m sure we’ll see daisy fleabane. It’s blooming now.

Dress for the weather and wear comfortable walking shoes. Bring binoculars and field guides if you have them.

Before you come, visit the Events page in case there are changes or cancellations.  The outing will be canceled if there’s lightning.

Hope to see you there!

 

(photo by Kate St. John)

Let’s Go, Kids

Mammals, Schenley Park
  • Uh oh! We've been seen.

Last week in Schenley Park I heard unusual mewing sounds above me.  Three raccoon kits were whining as their mother assessed whether I was dangerous. She saw me before I saw her family.

Eventually Mama decided her kits should move up the tree for safety’s sake.  “Let’s go, kids!”

After they were safely (almost) hidden she looked down to see if I was gone.  That tiny tail in the last photo is one of her kits.

(photos by Kate St. John)

 

Amaze Your Friends

Insects, Schenley Park
Yellow poplar weevil on black locust, Schenley Park, 8 June 2018 (photo by Kate St. John)
Yellow poplar weevil on black locust, Schenley Park, 8 June 2018 (photo by Kate St. John)

10 June 2018

At this time of year the weevils appear.  I found one on black locust leaves in Schenley Park on Friday June 8.

At first, they hang out on plants but they can fly.  In a “big year” they spread everywhere, landing on buildings and people and just about anything.  By late June people are freaking out.  They think they’re ticks.

But you won’t freak out. You’ll know what they are.

This is a yellow poplar weevil (Odontopus calceatus), a vegetarian that feasts on yellow poplars, tuliptrees, sassafras and cucumber magnolia trees.  He’s usually kept in check by predatory insects but in “big years” there aren’t enough predators and his population goes wild.

The weevil’s body structure shows why he’s not a tick:

  • Ticks have 8 legs (they’re related to spiders). Weevils have 6.
  • Ticks don’t have wings.  Weevils have wings under their elytra (wing covers). Though they don’t fly much you may see one raise his wing covers and zoom away.
  • Ticks do not have snouts.  Weevils have snouts like inflexible elephants’ trunks and 2 antennas on the snout.
  • Ticks never swarm.  Weevils swarm in June because they’re mating.
Yellow poplar weevil is not a tick (photo by Kate St. John)
Yellow poplar weevil is not a tick (photo by Kate St. John)

Late in June when the weevils swarm, amaze your friends . “Nope, it’s not a tick.”

(photos by Kate St. John)

Red-Tailed Hawks Getting Ready To Fly

Birds of Prey, Nesting & Courtship, Schenley Park

Young red-tailed hawk nearly airborne, 3 June 2018 (photo by Gregory Diskin)
Young red-tailed hawk nearly airborne, 3 June 2018 (photo by Gregory Diskin)

The Pitt peregrines have flown. The young red-tailed hawks in Schenley Park are getting ready to go. Here are photos of their recent activity by Gregory Diskin.

The youngsters are fully feathered now, ledge walking and wing exercising.  On June 3, one of them flapped so hard he was nearly airborne.

Young red-tailed hawk exercising his wings, 3 June 2018 (photo by Gregory Diskin)
Young red-tailed hawk exercising his wings, 3 June 2018 (photo by Gregory Diskin)

When they aren’t busy exercising, they gaze at their parents who often perch in a large sycamore tree across the way.

Young red-tailed hawks in Schenley Park, almost ready to fly, 2 June 2018 (photo by Gregory Diskin)
Young red-tailed hawks in Schenley Park, almost ready to fly, 2 June 2018 (photo by Gregory Diskin)

And they watch intensely as their parents fly.  “So that’s how it’s done.”

Red-tailed hawk takes off from the nest as a chick watches, 30 May 2018 (photo by Gregory Diskin)
Red-tailed hawk takes off from the nest as a chick watches, 30 May 2018 (photo by Gregory Diskin)

For more photos of the hawk family’s progress, click here to see Gregory Diskin’s album.

 

(photos by Gregory Diskin)

Yesterday in Schenley Park

Books & Events, Schenley Park

Schenley Park outing, 27 May 2018 (photo by Kate St. John)
Schenley Park outing, 27 May 2018 (photo by Kate St. John)

No it didn’t rain! Though the clouds lingered we had a great time in Schenley Park on Sunday morning.

The leaves obscured some of the birds but they were very active after Saturday night’s storms.  We chased scarlet tanager songs without seeing them, found one of the many wood thrushes we heard in the park and had good looks at these Best Birds:

A pair of eastern phoebes guarded their nest site at the Visitors’ Center. This one watched us walk into the park.

Eastern phoebe, Schenley Park, 27 May 2018 (photo by Peter Bell)
Eastern phoebe, Schenley Park, 27 May 2018 (photo by Peter Bell)

We saw a pair of cedar waxwings beak-touching and courting.

Cedar waxwing pair touching beaks, Schenley Park, 27 May 2018 (photo by Peter Bell)
Cedar waxwing pair touching beaks, Schenley Park, 27 May 2018 (photo by Peter Bell)

And a male pileated woodpecker attracted our attention by constantly hammering on an enormous hollow tree. Peter Bell found him high up the slope. Best Bird for the outing and Life Bird for Peter!

Pileated woodpecker in Schenley Park, 27 May 2018 (photo by Peter Bell)
Pileated woodpecker in Schenley Park, 27 May 2018 (photo by Peter Bell)

The complete checklist is here — 22 species.

 

(photo of participants by Kate St. John; bird photos by Peter Bell)