Category Archives: Schenley Park

Porcelain

Plants & Fungi, Schenley Park

With berries this beautiful no wonder this plant was imported.

Porcelainberry (Ampelopsis brevipedunculata) is native to China, Korea, Japan and far eastern Russia.  Brought to the U.S. as an ornamental in the 1870’s it grows so well that it’s now invasive in Pennsylvania.  You can find it easily in Pittsburgh, draped over hillsides and all the trees in its path.

Porcelainberry resembles grapevine except that its stem pith is white, its bark doesn’t peel, and its berries are stunningly beautiful in turquoise, blue and pink.  Birds eat the berries and give the seeds a free ride.

Do nothing and you’ll soon have porcelainberry in your garden.

Want to see it up close?  Visit Schenley, Frick or Riverview Parks.

The berries are worth it, though the vine is not.

 

(photo by Jonathan Nadle)

In Just Five Minutes

Musings & News, Schenley Park

The weather will be beautiful for the next six days so now’s the time to get outdoors.

In October, every day brings a change to the landscape.  Are the leaves changing color?  Are there new migrating birds in your area?  Have you seen monarch butterflies flying south?  Yes!

Not only is it fun to observe nature but it’s good for you.  Did you know that a nature walk relieves stress and boosts your mental health?

In 2010, UK researchers published an analysis of 10 studies on 1,250 people that showed that exercise in a green space greatly improves your mood and self esteem.

According to the BBC, “the research looked at many different outdoor activities including walking, gardening, cycling, fishing, boating, horse-riding and farming in locations such as a park, garden or nature trail.

The biggest effect was seen within just five minutes. … An [even] bigger effect was seen with exercise in an area that also contained water — such as a lake or river.”

So take time to get outdoors.  Be happy.

It works for me.

(photo of a park in Plawniowice, Poland by Jan Mehlich from Wikimedia Commons. It resembles Schenley Park, doesn’t it?)

Little King

Migration, Schenley Park, Songbirds


As predicted, the cold, oppressive rain that lingered for four days finally moved east yesterday afternoon.  The sun came out and so did all the migrants who’d been waylaid by the weather.  The world was beautiful again.

On my walk home through Schenley Park I found many small flocks of warblers foraging in the trees.  Best of all, the golden-crowned and ruby-crowned kinglets were with them.

Our kinglets are Old-World Warblers similar to the goldcrest of Eurasia.  Their genus name, Regulus, and their English name, kinglet, refer to the crown of golden or ruby-colored feathers they raise when aroused or annoyed.

Neither bird breeds in Pittsburgh so their arrival marks a seasonal change.

The golden-crowned kinglet doesn’t travel far.  He breeds in the southern tier of Canada, in northern New England, in Appalachia and in the Laurel Highlands of southwestern Pennsylvania.  He spends the winter in the continental U.S., including Pittsburgh, so he’s here to stay for a while.

The ruby-crowned kinglet is a twice-a-year treat.  He breeds in the Rocky Mountains and in Canada all the way north to the edge of the Arctic and spends the winter in the southern U.S.

His winter range curls up the East Coast enough to include southeastern Pennsylvania.  But here he visits for only a short time where I greet him with joy in April and October.

Welcome back, Little King.

(photo of a ruby-crowned kinglet by Steve Gosser)

White Snakeroot

Plants & Fungi, Schenley Park


Composite flowers are putting on their last big show.  Goldenrods, asters and white snakeroot are blooming everywhere in the weeks before first frost.  They’re easy to find in Schenley Park.

White snakeroot (Ageratina altissima, formerly Eupatorium rugosum) has white umbels that resemble Boneset (Eupatorium perfoliatum) but the leaves are much different.  Instead of large perfoliate leaves white snakeroot has smaller leaves with stems.

Use a magnifying glass on the flowers and you’ll see Y-shaped stamens poking up from the tiny five-pointed flower cups.

…”The better to pollinate, my dear.”

Read the story of this plant — and who it killed — on the Flora Pittsburghensis blog, the source of this photograph.

(photo by Christopher Bailey on Flora Pittsburghensis)

Last Gasp of Dying Ashes

Schenley Park, Trees


If you live in the Pittsburgh area, now is the time to see it.  Our ashes are dying.

Since 2007 when emerald ash borer was found in Cranberry Township, I’ve known our ash trees were doomed by this insect pest but their death is occurring faster than I expected.

In May 2010 I noticed emerald ash borer in Schenley Park.  At that time only one tree was noticeably affected with branch dieback, bark holes and woodpecker damage.

Now only 16 months later nearly all the ashes in Schenley Park are visibly infected and dying.  Only the few being treated with insecticide by the Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy have any chance at survival.

Trees under stress lose their leaves early and that’s exactly what’s happening.  Throughout Schenley Park the ash leaves haven’t even bothered to change color.  They just fall off.  There are usually tufts remaining near the top to show the tree isn’t dead yet.  That’s what you see in my photo above.

In this brief period before the other trees drop their leaves, the dying ashes stand out.  You can see them in local woodlands and along the road.  One such place is a stand of young, dying ash trees on the east side of I-79 just south of the Wexford exit.

Watch for leafless trees with opposite branches and stout twigs.  It’s the last gasp of our dying ash trees.  By next year they’ll be dead.

 

(photo by Kate St. John)

Also Comes in Green

Insects, Schenley Park


Though our gardens have been awash in brown marmorated stink bugs I found some green ones last week in Schenley Park.

Are these the same species as the annoying, invasive stink bugs from Asia?  No.

Green stink bugs are native to North America.  Just like the brown marmorated stink bug they eat a wide variety of plants so they’re considered an agricultural pest.

In Schenley Park I first noticed them when I saw a green stink bug (at right) perched on yellow jewelweed.  This is the adult.

Out of curiosity I checked the rest of the jewelweed for more insects and found a Japanese beetle and the small, round, ornately marked bug at left.   The left-hand bug is not to scale. It’s actually half the size of the bug on the right.

At first I was sure that the small, ornate bug was a unique and wonderful species … until I looked it up.  The left-hand bug is a green stink bug nymph (young).

Since there’s more than one species of green stink bug in North America, I might not have identified the bugs I saw in Schenley Park correctly, but these photos look like what I saw. They are Acrosternum hilare photographed by Susan Ellis at bugwood.org.

(photos of green stink bugs, nymph and adult by Susan Ellis at bugwood.org)

Not To Worry

Musings & News, Schenley Park

Last week the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reported that Phipps Conservatory is working through the approval process to install a modern 40-foot vertical-axis wind turbine at their upcoming Center for Sustainable Landscapes.

Since then Tony Bledsoe and I have received inquiries from folks who are worried that this windmill will hurt local birds, especially the peregrines, so I thought I’d discuss it today.  Please keep in mind that these are truly comments, not a news story.  I don’t know anything more than the media reported last week but I do know something about Schenley Park, birds, windmills, and our peregrines.

I’ll address the issues point by point:

  • Approval process:  Phipps is going through an approval process not because the windmill is dangerous but because Phipps Conservatory and Schenley Park are historic landmarks.  The wind turbine needs zoning approval because it’s 40 feet tall (four stories) in a historic setting.
  • It “looks more like a revolving door than a windmill”:   Though I don’t know what model is planned for Phipps, chances are it will look similar to the one pictured here in Rogiet, Wales.  It’s a spinning cylinder less than 10 feet wide.  Click here to see what this model looks like when the wind blows.
  • Will this windmill be a danger to birds?  Not likely.  The danger to birds depends on the location where the windmills are installed, the models used, and the number of windmills at the wind farm.  Altamont Pass Wind Farm, home of the famous killing-windmills, is one of the earliest, largest U.S. wind farms.  It houses nearly 5,000 small windmills on fretwork towers in ground-squirrel (prey) habitat in a migration corridor.  (See what it looks like here.)  The location attracts raptors who perch on the struts to hunt ground squirrels and die when they fly off the towers to capture prey.  Altamont has taught the wind energy industry what not to do.  To drive home that message Audubon won a lawsuit against Altamont’s owners, forcing them to replace the deadliest windmills.  Just to emphasize:  There’s a world of difference between a single 10-ft-wide revolving-door wind turbine in a city setting and 5,000 spinning-blade windmills in California’s migratory raptor habitat.
  • Will it hurt our peregrines?  Nope.  I’m not worried by it at all.  Peregrines are masters at avoiding moving things including waving flags and Life Flight helicopters (which you hear frequently on the Cathedral falconcam).  It’s what they don’t see that kills them.  Windows, not windmills, are the biggest killer of birds.  Birds see the sky’s reflections on windows, not the windows as walls, so they try to fly through them.  Up to 2.7 million birds per day are killed by windows in the U.S.   In 2008 one of Pitt’s young peregrines died by smashing into a window.   If you want to save birds, make windows safe.  Click here to read more from New York City Audubon.

Meanwhile, if you want to see a vertical-axis wind turbine I hear there’s one at the Eat’N’Park at Waterworks Mall near Fox Chapel.  Sounds like a good idea for a field trip:  sightseeing, shopping and eating.

(photo of a vertical axis wind turbine at Rogiet primary school in Wales by Andy Dingley.  Click on the photo to see the original on Wikimedia Commons.)

Panther Hollow Watershed Meeting/Hike, June 30

Books & Events, Schenley Park

Do you think the pond at Schenley Park is disgusting?  You’re not the only one.

The Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy is developing a restoration plan for the Panther Hollow watershed which will ultimately — and permanently — improve the pond.   They’re holding three community meetings to discuss the plans.  The first meeting was May 23rd.  The next one is a hike in the hollow this Thursday June 30 from 6:00-8:00pm.  Meet at the Schenley Park Visitors Center.

Click here for more information.

Performing a Public Service

Birds of Prey, Schenley Park


As disappointed as I am that the CMU red-tailed hawks have been raiding bird nests in Schenley Park, there’s another item on their menu that makes me happy to see them patrolling Oakland.

In early May, Lisa Zirngibl saw a red-tailed hawk eating breakfast on a ledge at Cyert Hall.   (This is the female of the pair; I can tell by her pale head.)

One glance at the tail of her prey tells me this bird is performing a public service.

Can you guess what she’s eating?

I hope she catches a lot of these!

(photo by Lisa Zirngibl)