This morning I’m taking a break from peregrines to look at a butterfly found in southwestern Pennsylvania, though we don’t often notice him.
The Hackberry Emperor doesn’t stand out like a monarch butterfly because he’s not poisonous like they are. Instead he matches his habitat and flies quickly and erratically to outmaneuver the birds that want to eat him.
He is twice named for his favorite food. In the caterpillar stage the Hackberry Emperor (Asterocampa celtis) eats trees and shrubs in the hackberry (Celtis) genus.
Last winter I found many northern hackberry trees in Schenley Park so I’d expect to find these butterflies there, but they’re hiding. They rest upside down on tree trunks and look like bark.
The adults eat sap, dung, rotting fruit and carrion and will sip moisture where they find it.
On a hot day at Buck Run last weekend, this one sipped the sweat from Bob Machesney’s hand. Dianne took his picture.
Dorothy and E2’s peregrine chicks are raring to go. They’re going to make their first flight next week — maybe as soon as Sunday — so I’ve changed the Fledge Watch schedule.
See the young peregrines walk on the ledges and exercise their wings. Watch Dorothy and E2 show their kids how to fly with some really cool flight demonstrations. Come learn about peregrines and swap stories about the nesting year, including news of Pitt peregrine alumni and the Downtown peregrines (!).
Here’s the revised schedule, weather permitting. Bad weather will change this plan, so watch the blog for updates.
Sunday June 3, 1:00pm to 2:00pm. Showers and gusty winds are predicted. The chicks may lay low but I’m going to check anyway. If it’s raining this watch will be cancelled.
Monday, June 4, noon to 1:30pm. Monday’s the first day of really good weather since the weekend. We ought to see a lot of activity today at lunchtime.
Tuesday, June 5, 12:30pm to 1:30pm (and after work, 5:30pm to 7:00pm). The weather looks good for Tuesday. Somebody’s going to fly today.
Wednesday, June 6, noon to 2:00pm. I’m staying longer at lunch on Wednesday because I think it’ll be a good day.
Thursday, June 7, noon to 2:00pm (and after work, 5:30pm to 7:00pm). Activity on the ledge might be on the wane but I’m hoping for a good burst of flapping on Thursday. If they’ve all flown away from the nest area, this date will be a bust. Stay tuned.
Friday, June 8, 1:00pm to 2:00pm (and after work, 5:30pm to 7:00pm). Soon I’ll be chasing the “kids” around campus instead of sitting at the tent. Today will be good to start at the tent.
Saturday & Sunday, June 9 & 10, no time set. At this point the fledglings will probably be flying to other buildings. When they do I’ll be either at the tent or on campus circling the Cathedral of Learning and Heinz Chapel. Check the blog for news.
Plan on joining me at the tent for Pitt Peregrine Fledge Watch.
See these links (May 31, June 3, June 4) for news of last year’s fun and this Peregrine FAQ that describes what you’ll see on camera as the young peregrines leave the nest.
(photo of the Schenley Plaza tent by Kate St. John)
Chickadee with nesting material (photo by Marcy Cunkelman)
21 May 2012:
Last week several families of chickadees fledged in Schenley Park. Because they keep their nests well hidden, I had no idea so many chickadees were nesting until I encountered hotspots of begging babies.
What does a chickadee nest look like? Marcy Cunkelman sent me photos of one in her yard.
The Nest:
Chickadees build their nests in cavities using old woodpecker holes, birdhouses, or holes they excavate for themselves in soft rotting wood. It takes a pair of chickadees 7-10 days to excavate a new hole 5″ deep. While digging they carry the chips away from the site. Marcy’s chickadees saved a lot of time by using the PVC-pipe birdhouse she provided.
Chickadee eggs and nest (photo by Marcy Cunkelman)
When the nesting hole is complete, the female spends 3-4 days lining it with wool, hair, fur, moss, feathers, fuzzy insect cocoons, and cottony fibers(*). When it’s soft and cozy she lays 5-10 eggs. Marcy’s chickadee laid six.
The Eggs
The eggs are 15.2 x 12.2 mm — smaller than a dime! The female begins incubation after laying the next-to-last egg and incubates them alone until they hatch in 12-13 days. Her mate feeds her on the nest so she doesn’t have to leave the eggs.
Nestlings
When the eggs hatch the babies are naked and sightless but soon begin to grow feathers as shown below. At this stage their big wide mouths are their most noticeable feature. The babies keep their parents busy filling those mouths.
Chickadee nestlings (photo by Marcy Cunkelman)
At 12 days old, the babies look like chickadees and are the same size as the adults. They can fledge at this age if the nest is attacked but will wait until they’re 16 days old if the nest is safe. Here the six babies are just a little too young to fledge. They already look like chickadees. Very cute!
Chickadee nestlings almost ready to fledge (photo by Marcy Cunkelman)
Normally the entire brood fledges within 24 hours. Marcy says hers fledged while she was out for the day.
Chickadees usually raise only one brood per year so this pair is done for now — except that they have a big job ahead of them. They have to teach six juveniles how to stay safe.
(photos by Marcy Cunkelman. (*) Nesting information is from the Petersen Field Guide to Birds’ Nests by Hal H. Harrison)
p.s. Black-capped and Carolina chickadees have mostly separate ranges (north and south) but on the chickadee border they hybridize. Marcy’s house is on the chickadee border so she can’t say for sure which species nests here.
This morning I’m being lazy. Every May I remind Pittsburgh’s peregrine fans to Save the Date for the Pitt Peregrine Fledge Watch. What I wrote last year is worth saying again this year, so here’s the same text with new dates. 🙂
As amazing as it seems, Dorothy and E2’s youngsters will be ready to fly in early June. They’ll lose their fluffy, white, Buddha-look and become sleek with brown and cream-colored feathers. And then they’ll learn to fly.
While they’re learning, the young peregrines walk and flap on the ledges above their nest. It’s easy to see them with binoculars so I sit at the Schenley Plaza tent (shown above) to watch the fun.
Come join me to see the youngsters exercise their wings. Watch Dorothy and E2 show their kids how to fly. Swap stories about peregrines and the nesting year.
Save these dates, weather permitting. (I guarantee the weather will change this schedule, so watch the blog for the latest updates.)
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, June 4 – 6, 1:00pm to 2:00pm. The chicks will be walking on the ledges near the nest and easy to see from the ground. I’ll spend my lunch hour at the tent hoping my first-flight hunch is correct. Will the first baby fly on June 5? Come join me and see.
Thursday and Friday, June 7 & 8, noon to 2:00pm. I’m staying longer on Thursday and Friday because I think these will be the best days (but I may be wrong).
probably Thursday and Friday evenings, 5:30pm to 7:00pm. If midday is good, I’ll be at the tent after work, too. These times may change — stay tuned.
Saturday June 9, 10:00am to 2:00pm. Almost all the chicks will have flown by Saturday but the family’s focus may still be at the nest area. Watch for news on the blog during the week of June 4.
Sunday June 10, no time set yet. This is a rain date whose schedule depends on what the peregrines are doing.
Don’t miss the fun. Plan on joining me at the tent for Pitt Peregrine Fledge Watch.
See these links (May 31, June 3, June 4) for news of last year’s fun and this Peregrine FAQ that describes what you’ll see on camera as the young peregrines leave the nest.
(photo of the Schenley Plaza tent by Kate St. John)
Gray catbirds are mimics who sing whistles and squeaks and fragments of other birds’ songs. Their phrases are short syllables and single notes punctuated by uneven pauses and mewing cat sounds.
Catbirds are not good singers. However…
This month in Schenley Park there’s a catbird who must have taken singing lessons. His delivery is loud and confident. His phrases are longer and identifiable as bird song. I’ve heard him give good imitations of cardinals, robins, blue jays, eastern towhees, Carolina wrens and song sparrows. Song sparrows are hard for catbirds to mimic. I am amazed.
Ornithologists would be amazed too. Cornell’s Birds of North America says, “Laboratory evidence indicates that male [gray catbird] song results mostly from improvisation and invention, not via imitation.”
In other words, catbirds are jazz singers. But this particular bird is trying out for an opera career. He is so good I thought he was a brown thrasher until he sang from an exposed perch.
I walked home through Schenley Park on Tuesday hoping to see a lot of birds after the rain. As usual the birds were not very active in the evening but I found something so cute it made me laugh: two baby woodchucks!
I call them woodchucks because the word “groundhog” doesn’t fit something so cute. They were compact and furry, the size of large guinea pigs and very naive.
At first they were oblivious to my presence but when I paused to watch they froze. I moved again and they retreated into their den but they were so anxious to come out and play that they didn’t wait long enough for me to leave. I took their picture with my cellphone when they came out again.
Extremely cute! But they’ll have to learn to avoid predators or they’ll become breakfast for the red-tail babies.
(photo by Kate St. John)
p.s. I went back on Wednesday with a nicer camera but the woodchucks didn’t make an appearance.
When I saw a hooded warbler in Schenley Park Tuesday morning I knew it was time…
The warblers are here!
Tuesday’s birds were just the leading edge of a huge, singing wave of tiny, colorful birds heading north to breed.
Many warbler species are just passing through. We see them for a week or two and then they’re gone. In the fall they pass through again heading south, but then they’re silent and dull looking.
So there’s no time to waste. I’m dropping everything and heading for Magee Marsh in northwestern Ohio where I know the warblers are easy to see and very plentiful. I’ll be there for part of The Biggest Week in American Birding and so will thousands of others. It’s a crowd scene of birds and birders.
If you’re thinking of birding Magee Marsh there’s still time. The warblers will be going strong through mid-May.
This weekend I plan on seeing a prothonotary warbler. That’s where Bob Greene photographed this one.
Songbirds migrate at night and they like to have a tail wind so this week’s weather has been great for moving north.
Before dawn on Monday the wind swung around to the south. That morning I saw my first Baltimore oriole of the year and heard a red-eyed vireo in Schenley Park.
Yesterday I saw a chestnut-sided warbler, a hooded warbler (pictured above), white-throated sparrows and many rose-breasted grosbeaks.
Despite the rain I bet it will be another good day for birds.
Last Wednesday, April 25, I found the first ones blooming in Schenley Park. This feels very early but my records on Mayapple blooming times are sparse and unreliable. 🙁
The ones in Schenley may be three weeks ahead of schedule.
Perhaps they should be called April-apples this year.
I’m getting my ears in tune for the wave of birdsong that’s migrating through Pennsylvania, now through the end of May.
It’s hard to do. Not only is my song memory a little rusty but the birds all sing at once. Their overlapping sounds can be confusing and there’s often a problem with background noise. In parts of Schenley Park the traffic roar from the Parkway East is a real auditory challenge, even for birds.
How do birds pick out the individual songs of their own species amidst the cacophony?
They’re able to do it, just like we are, using a technique called the Cocktail Party Effect — the ability to hear one voice in a noisy environment.
In 2010 scientists tested auditory nerve cells in zebra finches as the birds listened to various sounds, including their own species’ song. The tests were conducted in both quiet and noisy environments. In both situations the neurons in the birds’ brains lit up in a special way when they heard their own song. Like we do, birds have neurons tuned to filter out background noise.
Because birds’ auditory structures are similar to ours, scientists hope this finding will help develop better hearing aids and voice recognition systems.
Meanwhile I’m hoping that, with practice, birdsong will light up my brain in that special way too.
