Category Archives: Schenley Park

Bag o’ Birds

Nesting & Courtship, Schenley Park, Songbirds

Baltimore oriole nest (photo by Chuck Tague)If you’ve never seen one I’m sure you’re wondering… what the heck is this?

It’s a Baltimore oriole’s nest, a bag of birds.

If you look closely at the top of the nest you can see the tail and wing of the adult male.  His head and feet are inside the bag but his tail doesn’t fit.

Despite the leaf cover, these bags are noticable in western Pennsylvania right now because the baby birds are making a lot of noise inside.

Baltimore orioles are nothing if not noisy.  Only eight weeks ago the males came back to Pennsylvania, singing and chattering and claiming territory.  Soon the ladies arrived and the males displayed their beautiful orange feathers and made a lot of noise to attract their attention.  The females are impressed by this – and they’re noisy in return.  After they’ve chosen a mate, Baltimore oriole pairs stay in constant audio contact.

Shortly after pairing up, the female Baltimore oriole builds her nest at the tip of a drooping tree branch.  It takes 5-8 days of weaving plant fibers, string, grape bark, grasses and pieces of old oriole nests to make this bag.  She doesn’t engage in skillful weaving but her random method works nonetheless.

When she’s completed a hanging structure she lines it with feathers, soft grasses, wool, willow and dandelion fluff.  Her mate sings while she builds and she replies.  She then lays 4-6 eggs and incubates them alone for 12-14 days.  Her mate’s contribution is to sing nearby.  Lots of noise.

When the eggs hatch both parents feed the babies.  After about a week the nestlings take over in the noise department and become very vocal inside the bag.  I found three oriole nests at Schenley Park last week just by following the babies’ sound.  It’s usually a disadvantage for baby birds to give away their location but Baltimore orioles have always been noisy and it doesn’t seem to have to damaged their chance at survival.

As the nestlings get noisier their father sings less.  In 12-14 days they fledge and both parents feed them for about a week.  Then mom begins to molt and travels more widely.  Dad coaches the fledglings for a couple of weeks, then the youngsters disperse.  He stays on territory until he’s finished molting and leaves our area in late summer.

It all happens very fast.  From late April to mid-July there’s a lot of activity and then it’s over.

Now’s the time to look for a noisy bag o’ birds.

(photo by Chuck Tague)

Butterflies or What to look for in mid-to-Late June

Insects, Phenology, Schenley Park

Eastern Tiger Swallowtails, puddling (photo by Dianne Machesney)

“The world is so full of a number of things,
I’m sure we should all be as happy as kings.” – A Child’s Garden of Verses, Robert Louis Stevenson

That happy thought perfectly describes the month of June in western Pennsylvania when “children go to bed by day.”   Our days are long and warm, filled with flowers, birds, babies and butterflies.

Here’s a quick list of what to look for through the rest of June.  For even more, see Chuck Tague’s phenology.

  • The summer solstice – and our the longest day of the year – will occur at 1:45am on June 21.  Will you be awake for it?  Not me.
  • Babies are everywhere.  Fledgling birds, including juvenile peregrines, chase their parents for a handout. Young squirrels pursue momma hoping she wasn’t serious about weaning.
  • With June flowers come even more butterflies and moths.  I’m “Butterfly Challenged” but here’s one I can identify that I know you’ll see this month:  the Eastern Tiger Swallowtail.   Chuck has an excellent list of June butterflies in his phenology.
  • Enjoy birdsong in these last weeks of June.  In July the birds will begin to fall silent, species by species, as the purpose of their songs – territory and mate attraction – ends for the year.  The birds who raise more than one brood (robins and cardinals) will continue to sing, but others like the ovenbird will stop.
  • Watch for fledglings.  Listen for the begging calls of baby birds.  Sometimes you can locate a nest this way.
  • Watch out for mosquitoes and ticks.  Look for the fun bugs.  The dragonflies are here, even at Schenley Plaza.  Soon we’ll see fireflies.
  • Enjoy June wildflowers.  Visit a state park, forest or woodland bike trail near you.

Enjoy it now.  No need to wear a coat!

(photo by Dianne Machesney)

They’re Still Babies

Peregrines, Schenley Park

Peregrine fledglings at Univ of Pittsburgh, 8 June 2009 (photo by Kimberly Thomas)

Today at lunchtime I walked around the Cathedral of Learning looking for peregrine fledglings on my way to the Schenley Park tent.

As I came to the Bigelow side of the building I found two perched on the 25th floor roof-edge so I called Kimberly Thomas who works on 27 and left a message.  “Look outside your window.”  Kimberly had her camera ready and sent me the pictures tonight.

Based on size, these two fledglings appear to be brother and sister though we couldn’t tell that from the ground.  Down at Schenley Plaza we watched them and waited for something interesting to happen.  Soon they made us laugh.

The fledglings puttered, looked for their parents, and stared at everything that moved.  Suddenly a pigeon flew by and landed on the same roof edge about 30 feet away.

“Food!” thought the female fledgling.  Since she hasn’t flown much she didn’t even consider using her wings to get to the pigeon. Instead she walked the wall until she was 10 feet from it.  The pigeon stretched its neck very tall.  (What’s that about?)  The peregrine paused and bobbed her head.  She seemed to be thinking, “How am I going to get that pigeon?  I don’t think I can walk fast enough to catch it.”

It was a stand-off for about two minutes and then the pigeon turned his back, walked away and laid down on the wall.

The peregrine laid down too.

“If only Mom were here she’d catch that pigeon and we could eat.”

Still babies!

For two more photos of the fledglings exploring the roof, click here and here.

(all photos by Kimberly Thomas)

Meet Me At The Tent

Books & Events, Peregrines, Schenley Park

Schenley Plaza tent (photo by Kate St. John)Meet me at the Schenley Plaza tent for the Pitt Peregrine Fledge Watch June 2 to 6, weather permitting.  Peregrines usually don’t fledge when the weather is bad so I won’t be there if it’s raining.

I have to be at work Tuesday to Friday, June 2-5, so I’ll be at the tent at these times:

  • Before work:  approximately 7:30-ish to 8:20am
  • Lunch (a late lunch hour, and I have to walk to/from WQED):  1:40pm to 2:20pm
  • After work:  5:20pm until I run out of steam which can be as late as 7:00pm.

June 6th is a Saturday so I’ll be there most of the morning 7:45am to 10:00am – and later than that if I’m having fun.  As is usual with peregrine watching there are hours of boredom punctuated by moments of great excitement.  We’ll be there for the excitement and the comraderie.  So stop by.

Schenley Plaza is on Forbes Avenue between Hillman Library and Carnegie Library and across the street from the Cathedral of Learning.  When you’re driving down Forbes Avenue you’ve just passed Schenley Plaza when you see Dippy the Dinosaur.

If you want to let me know you’re coming, please post a comment.  Comments are moderated (by me) so I will see it before the rest of the world.

And don’t forget to bring binoculars if you have them!

(photo of Schenley Plaza tent by Kate St. John)

Save The Date: Pitt Peregrine Fledge Watch, June 2-6

Peregrines, Schenley Park

Juvenile Peregrine Falcon about to fly (photo by Kim Steininger)Some time between June 2nd and 6th the peregrine falcon nestlings at the University of Pittsburgh will take their first flight.  If I’m lucky, I’ll be there to see it.  Perhaps you will be too.

Fledging is one of the most dangerous times for a young peregrine.  He has never flown before and must learn on the first try how to steer and land.  His nest is several hundred feet up so he has a lot of air space, but he has to stay high because he doesn’t yet have the wing strength to rise from the ground.  If he lands on the ground that first day, he just stands there.  If he’s in the street he could be killed by a car.

In the early days of the Peregrine Recovery Program (1990’s) volunteers organized Fledge Watches at urban nest sites to monitor the fledglings and return them to the heights if they landed on the ground.  Since that time adult peregrines have adapted to urban sites and seem to be teaching their offspring to stay high.

There are fewer fledging accidents at the established sites and peregrines aren’t so rare any more, so the remaining Fledge Watches have morphed into social occasions and an opportunity to see peregrines do exciting things … which is why I plan to be at Schenley Plaza before and after work on June 2-5 and on the morning of Sat June 6th – weather permitting.

You’re welcome to join me.  I’ll post more details as the time approaches.  Save the Date.

(photo of a fledgling peregrine falcon by Kim Steininger)

I un-retract that Blackpoll

Migration, Schenley Park, Songbirds

Blackpoll Warbler (photo by Chuck Tague)Those of you who read PABIRDS may remember how I reported hearing a blackpoll warbler in Schenley Park on April 30 and how I retracted my claim the next day.  I decided to retract because I hadn’t actually seen the bird, I thought it was too early in the spring for a blackpoll to be in Pittsburgh, and the tree I heard it in was full of yellow-rumped warblers who can vary their songs a great deal.

But now I’m back from four days at Magee Marsh, Ohio where the warblers come so close you could touch them.  I saw and heard hundreds of warblers including quite a few blackpolls and yellow-rumps.  I heard both warblers over and over again and now I have no doubt I heard a blackpoll on April 30.

As warbler song goes, the blackpoll’s is quite distinctive and I’ve never seen (emphasis on “seen”) another warbler sing it.  The song is very high pitched, all on one note and very rhythmic:  zeet zeet zeet zeet zeet zeet.  It sounds like a squeaky bicycle brake on a fast-moving bike, a similarity I noticed when I first heard these warblers at Presque Isle State Park.  I was standing in the middle of the bike lane at the time and thought I was hearing a bike braking to avoid hitting me.  I jumped out of the way – and no bike was there.  I looked up and saw the blackpoll singing.

Blackpolls winter in South America and breed in the coniferous forests of Canada and Alaska.  They’re called blackpolls because their “poll” (the crown of their heads) is all black.  They have black and white striped wings, white faces and bellies and bright orange-yellow legs. Compared to hyperactive warblers like the American redstart they’re usually easy to observe – once you find them – because they don’t jump around a lot.

The blackpoll is notable for its astonishing fall migration route.  Every fall they mass on the coast of North America and wait for a very strong north wind.  When it comes, they launch themselves over the Atlantic and fly non-stop to South America.  The journey takes 88 hours, first sending them far offshore to the east, then southwest on the trade winds which push them back toward land.  Many of them return by the overland route, taking their time to move north as spring comes to our continent.  Their slow progress gives them the appearance of being “late” migrants, but it’s just that they linger.

So I reinstate my blackpoll to good standing.  So what if he was early.  He was there.

(photo by Chuck Tague)

Oak Flowers

Schenley Park, Songbirds, Trees
Female and male rose-breasted grosbeaks in springtime oak (photo by Steve Gosser, 2011)

28 April 2009

On Friday evening my husband said, “My eyes are itching.  Something new must have bloomed.”

I was stumped.  I don’t know what he’s allergic to and I had no idea what was blooming.  I don’t have pollen allergies any more (they mysteriously disappeared when I was in my 30s) so I can’t even cue on my own reactions to figure out the cause.

However, a bird gave me the hint two days ago when I saw my “first of year” rose-breasted grosbeaks in Schenley Park.  They were munching oak flowers.

Rose-breasted grosbeaks are quite fond of oaks and don’t return until the oak flowers bloom.

In fact, many birds time their journey north to coincide with the blooming of their favorite trees.  I learned this from Chuck Tague years ago and was reminded of it by his blog on Leaf Out.

So now I have an answer.  My husband is probably allergic to oak pollen.

(photo by Chuck Tague)

Caught in the Act

Bird Behavior, Schenley Park

Yellow-throated warbler (photo by Steve Gosser)
Yellow-throated warbler (photo by Steve Gosser)

I’m borrowing a title from Chuck Tague and a photo from Steve Gosser to tell you some of the interesting things I’ve seen birds do in the past week.

  • Isn’t this a beautiful bird?  Of all the early arriving migrants, yellow-throated warblers are my favorite.  I saw them at Raccoon Creek Wildflower Reserve last weekend, arguing about territory, singing and chasing.  They’re usually at the tops of sycamores so I’m quite pleased Steve Gosser captured this image.  It’s the best look I’ve had at a yellow-throated warbler for quite some time.
  • About a week ago I was driving north on Interstate 79 when I noticed two pairs of rock pigeons perched on the abutments of a bridge PennDot had just taken down.  Nothing was left of the bridge except its supports.  I imagine the pigeons had come home and were standing on the abutments wondering where the heck their nest site went.  They heard lots of banging and … poof! … it was gone.
  • The red-tailed hawks who nested on Central Catholic’s roof last spring have chosen a new nest site, this time on a building at Carnegie Mellon.  That probably explains why I saw the male do such a splendid aerial display at nearby Flagstaff Hill.
  • Yesterday morning I walked to work through Schenley Park wearing my bright purple rain jacket.  The color attracted a ruby-crowned kinglet who flitted quite close, then flew into the shrubbery.  To his surprise another male kinglet was already there and raised his ruby crown like a mohawk.  I was astonished by how red and tall the ruby crown became.  The angry bird looked like a completely different species.
  • Last Sunday at Enlow Fork I saw a pair of blue-gray gnatcatchers collecting nesting material.  The male looked especially snappy in his blue-gray plumage.  His black eyebrows made him look fierce and a little cross-eyed.  While observing the happy pair I noticed a female brown-headed cowbird was watching too, perhaps waiting to find the nest so she could lay an egg in it.  If she did so it would wreck the gnatcatchers’ nesting season.  Suddenly the male gnatcatcher noticed the cowbird and while still carrying nesting material he began to dive-bomb her.  Over and over again he tried to knock the cowbird off her perch, but she wouldn’t budge.  Finally in a parting shot he pooped on her.  Hah!

Every day there’s something new to see.  Spend some time outdoors.  It’s Earth Day!

(photo by Steve Gosser)

Winter White

Schenley Park, Weather & Sky

Schenley Park in snow (photo by Kate St. John)Just now we’re having two days of winter.

On Thursday it drizzled, rained and poured heavy snow-filled drops.  Miserable weather but excellent for ducks as Dan Yagusic discovered when he found, among other things, two long-tailed ducks on the Allegheny River.

It was a lot of rain – so much that it flooded the Monongahela parking wharf – but the rain changed to snow overnight and coated everything white.

I was stir crazy from staying indoors so I walked to work on Friday and took this picture in Schenley Park.  Not an inspiring photo, but you get the idea.   As if we needed to be convinced it’s winter again, it was 17 degrees last night.

Today it’s clear, sunny and bright.  The snow may stay through this afternoon but it’ll certainly melt tomorrow when the temperature climbs into the 50s again.

I shouldn’t complain.  I’ll be doing the Buffalo Creek Christmas Bird Count tomorrow and will appreciate the warmth.  But I really do prefer winter white.