Sunset at Schenley Park golf course, 25 Jan 2022 (photo by Kate St. John)
29 January 2022
When the clouds broke up Tuesday afternoon I walked to Schenley Park for a beautiful sunset with a plan to look at the tops of the things.
If I’m lucky, in winter I find as many as three merlins perched at the tops of bare trees half an hour before sunset.
The merlins don’t watch the sky. Instead they focus on potential prey, the small birds that roost in the conifers and bushes between Holes 1, 17 and 18.
On Tuesday I found two merlins: one on a dead snag, the other in the top branches of the tallest tree across the fairway, but he was too hidden for a cellphone photo. (Click on the photo to see a circle around the first merlin.)
Merlin at Schenley Park golf course, 25 Jan 2022 (photo by Kate St. John)
While looking at the tops of things, I found a pair of red-tailed hawks on a parking lot light last Saturday, silhouetted against the sky. This was not a very tall pole but the red-tails felt comfortable that no one was paying attention while one of them ate a squirrel.
Red-tailed hawks at CMU Morewood Gardens parking lot, 22 Jan 2022 (photo by Kate St. John)
You might find something fun if you Keep Looking Up.
Ginkgo turning yellow at Schenley Park, 13 Nov 2021 (photo by Kate St. John)
20 November 2021
This week we had a last blast of fall color, a partial lunar eclipse and a surprising confirmation of pigeon fertility. Here are a few scenes from 12-19 November.
Beech leaves turn brown though the veins are still yellow, Schenley Park, 15 November 2021 (photo by Kate St. John)
On Wednesday 17 November four of us drove north hoping for water birds but were disappointed by the lack of bird activity, particularly after the clouds moved in. Colorful leaves were scarce in Crawford County, especially at Conneaut Outlet swamp where high water killed the trees. This scene says “November in western Pennsylvania.”
Conneaut Outlet, Crawford County, 17 Nov 2021 (photo by Kate St. John)
On 18 November I saw a pigeon feeding two babies at its nest on Filmore Street near the Cathedral of Learning. Yes, nesting in November! Feral rock pigeons (Columba livia) breed year round if there’s enough food — and there is at this pile of birdseed on the corner.
Birdseed for pigeons at S. Dithridge & Filmore, 18 Nov 2021 (photo by Kate St. John)
As expected the partial lunar eclipse was obscured by clouds in Pittsburgh at 4am on 19 November. Only a tiny bright uneclipsed sliver is visible. The clouds are lit from below by the city lights.
Partial lunar eclipse obscured by clouds. Only the bright sliver shows in Pittsburgh, 19 Nov 2021 (photo by Kate St. John)
More leaves fell this week but most of the trees are not yet bare. Here’s a week’s worth of change at Schenley Park, 12 and 19 November.
Maples are bare, oaks are red, Schenley Park, 12 Nov 2021 (photo by Kate St. John)Not yet. Most of the trees are Not bare. Schenley Park, 19 Nov 2021 (photo by Kate St. John)
The leaves are hanging on about two weeks longer than they used to. When will most of the trees be bare in Pittsburgh? Soon.
Amaranth in an unusual spot at Phipps Conservatory, 30 Oct 2021 (photo by Kate St. John)
Colorful leaves at Schenley Park, 30 Oct 2021 (photo by Kate St. John)
On 4 November the leaves glowed yellow as the sun gained altitude at Frick. When the sun melted the frost, leaves quickly loosened and dropped from the trees.
Sun through golden trees on a frosty morning at Frick Park, 4 Nov 2021 (photo by Kate St. John)
On Saturday morning at Yellow Creek State Park the frost was beautiful, ephemeral and cold. Hoarfrost decorated the weeds in the parking lot.
Hoarfrost on a grassy weed, Yellow Creek State Park, 6 Nov 2021, 9:39am (photo by Kate St. John) Hoarfrost at Yellow Creek State Park, 6 Nov 2021, 9:39am (photo by Kate St. John)
Frost remained in a tree’s shadow but not for long.
Frost in the shadow, Yellow Creek State Park, 6 Nov 2021, 9:49am (photo by Kate St. John)
Last week I re-learned how to dress for winter. This week will be warm with highs in the 60s, lows in the 40s, temperature inversions and bad air in Pittsburgh.
Roger Day captured these views of the Mon Valley yesterday morning, 7 November, from Frick Park’s Riverview overlook. The Allegheny County Health Department has issued an air pollution warning and the state DEP has issued a Code Orange warning. Read more here.
Edgar Thompson Works in Braddock pouring smoke, seen through smog at Frick Park, morning of 7 Nov 2021 (photo by Roger Day) Inversion: Edgar Thompson Works in the distance, Frick Park, morning of 7 Nov 2021 (photo by Roger Day) Inversion: Kennywood seen through smog from Frick Park, morning of 7 Nov 2021 (photo by Roger Day)
Turtleheads at Westinghouse Memorial, Schenley Park, 4 Oct 2021 (photo by Kate St. John)
9 October 2021
White turtleheads (Chelone glabra) are widely distributed in eastern North America while pink ones (Chelone lyoni) have a narrow range in the Blue Ridge Mountains. These showy flowers were planted at the Westinghouse Memorial in Schenley Park.
Arrow-leaved tearthumb (Persicaria sagittata) has very tiny white flowers enclosed in a pink bud. I used to think the flowers were pink until I examined this one.
Arrow-head leaved tearthumb, Moraine State Park, 6 Oct 2021 (photo by Kate St. John)
Purple passionflower (Passiflora incarnata) is so fancy that it must be tropical, right? Actually, it’s native to the southern U.S. This vine was blooming on 3 October on Phipps Conservatory’s garden fence. Wow!
Passion flower blooming along the fence at Phipps Conservatory, Schenley Park, 3 Oct 2021 (photo by Kate St. John)
Did you know these asters close at night? I didn’t until I saw them opening in after dawn on Friday.
Asters opening when morning light reaches them, Schenley Park, 8 October 2021 (photo by Kate St. John)
And here’s a curiosity that looks like a pinecone, but it’s not. Willow pinecone galls are made by the willow to protect itself from an insect. Inside each gall is the larva of a midge whose mother laid eggs at the tip of the branch. The larva will overwinter here and emerge as an adult in the spring … unless a bird hammers the gall and eats the insect.
Willow pinecone galls, Moraine State Park, 6 Oct 2021 (photo by Kate St. John)
By October the seed pods of American bladdernut (Staphylea trifolia) are papery brown three-sided puffs.
American bladdernut seed pods, Schenley Park, 1 Oct 2021 (photo by Kate St. John) (background was blurred by portrait mode on my cellphone)
If you peel one apart it becomes three heart-shaped pieces. Each piece may hold one popcorn-like seed. Some pieces may be blank.
Outside of a single bladdernut paper shell (photo by Kate St. John)
Six months ago the bladders began as small dangling flowers less than 1/4 inch long. Notice the three-part leaves that give this native shrub or small tree its trifolia species name.
Flowers much magnified with trifolia leaves, Schenley Park, 17 April 2021 (photo by Kate St. John)
By late July the bladders were green and very puffy. Each section had its own distinct point.
Bladdernut seed pods, 28 July 2020 (photo by Kate St. John)
And then the bladders dried out.
Dried bladdernut, Schenley Park, 3 Oct 2021 (photo by Kate St. John)
American bladdernuts put so much effort into seed pods that it’s surprising to find they can spread by suckers, especially in their favorite habitats of floodplain woods or stream banks in eastern North America.
Participants in this morning’s outing in Schenley Park, 26 Sep 2021 (photo by Kate St. John)
26 Sep 2021
This morning was sunny and chilly with heavy dew when fifteen of us gathered for a walk in Schenley Park. All of us are in this photo though I am just a long shadow of my usual self.
Last night’s weather sucked most of the migrating birds out of Schenley Park and did not add any new ones. I expected to see 20 species; we saw only 10. I expected 100 individual birds; we saw 63. Of those 55% were blue jays.
Plants, however, filled the gap especially this broken osage orange (Maclura pomifera) or “monkey ball.”
Monkey ball a.k.a. osage orange, Schenley Park 26 Sep 2021 (photo by Kate St. John)
Its insides are damp with latex, its seeds enveloped in plant flesh. Few animals eat this fruit so why does the tree produce so much? It’s making fruit for giants. Learn more and see a video at Food For The Extinct.
Inside a monkey ball a.k.a. osage orange (photo by Kate St. John)
Schenley Park path in the dew, 30 Sept 2018 (photo by Kate St. John)
20 September 2021
Though it hasn’t felt like it lately, fall will arrive on the equinox this Wednesday at 3:21pm ET. With it will come cooler temperatures, morning dew and migrating thrushes. It’s a good time to be outdoors.
Join me for a bird & nature walk in Schenley Park on Sunday, 26 September 2021, 8:30a – 10:30a(*). We’ll meet at Bartlett Shelter on Bartlett Street. Note that Forbes and Fifth Avenues will be closed for the Pittsburgh Great Race so plan your route accordingly. See road closures times below.
Porcelain berry fruits, some eaten (photo by Kate St. John)
We’re sure to see blue jays, chipmunks, autumn flowers and fruits. I hope for at least one Swainson’s thrush, rose-breasted grosbeak or ruby-crowned kinglet, passing through the park on their way south.
Dress for the weather and wear comfortable walking shoes. Bring binoculars and field guides if you have them. NOTE that storm damage from Hurricane Ida is still present in the park though not as prevalent at the Bartlett end. Be prepared for some rough spots. A walking stick may be useful.
Visit my Events page before you come in case of changes or cancellations.
(*) If the birding is suddenly good at 10:30am we’ll have the option to continue to 11a.
(photos by Kate St. John)
Information on Great Race road closures — Squirrel Hill to Downtown — from OTMA
Congestion and Closures
Barricades will be set up throughout the city to clear the race route which stretches from Frick Park in Squirrel Hill along Forbes Avenue to Morewoood Avenue at Carnegie Mellon University’s campus, then onto Fifth Avenue through Oakland, and onto the Boulevard of the Allies and into downtown before finishing at Point State Park.
Approximate closure times are as follows:
Zone A: Beechwood Blvd to intersection of Forbes & Morewood Closed from approximately 8:30 a.m. to 10:00 a.m.
Zone B: Forbes & Morewood to intersection of Fifth & Bigelow Blvd Closed from approximately 8:30 a.m. to 10:00 a.m.
Zone C: Fifth & Bigelow to Fifth & the ramp to the Blvd of the Allies Closed from approximately 6:30 a.m. to 10:45 a.m.
Zone D: Fifth & Blvd of the Allies to Commonwealth Place & Liberty Ave Closed from approximately 6:30 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.
In Oakland specifically, travelers and residents can expect to see barricades on Fifth Ave, Oakland Ave, Atwood St, and DeSoto St and crowds gathered near mile marker 3 and the 5K starting line. See map for detail.
In Squirrel Hill, travel will be restricted around the starting line on Beechwood Blvd with barricades prohibiting vehicle access at Beechwood & S Dallas, Beechwood & the Forbes connector, Beechwood & Darlington, and Beacon & Shaw.
Misty walk at Panther Hollow Lake, Schenley Park, 10 Sep 2021 (photo by Kate St. John)
11 September 2021
The weather has been pleasant with low humidity and highs in the 70s. Chilly fall mornings produce a mist on Panther Hollow Lake.
Asters are blooming right on time …
Asters (photo by Kate St. John)
… but this hawthorn tree is confused, opening two flowers and a leaf in September.
Hawthorn tree puts out two flowers and a leaf, Schenley Park, 10 September 2021 (photo by Kate St. John)
This eastern screech-owl confirms it’s fall when he peeks from his well known roost on 4 September. Though screech-owls breed in Schenley Park, they only use this roost during the non-breeding season.
Eastern screech-owl at the winter roost, Schenley Park, 4 Sep 2021 (photo by Kate St. John)
My least favorite hot weather will return tomorrow through Tuesday, forewarned by this morning’s red sunrise.
Red sky at morn, sailors forewarn.
Sunrise in Oakland, Pittsburgh, 11 Sep 2021 (photo by Kate St. John)
Schenley Park outing, 29 August 2021 (photos by Kate St. John)
29 August 2021
This morning’s outing in Schenley Park was very well attended — 28 people! — so I had to paste two photos together to get (almost) everyone in.
The weather was clammy-hot and the birds were not active but bugs were easy to find. Can you see the green stink bug (Chinavia hilaris) in this picture?
Green stink bug, Schenley Park, 29 Aug 2021 (photo by Kate St. John)
Yellow nutsedge, Schenley Park at Panther Hollow Lake, 29 Aug 2021 (photo by Kate St. John)
Our Best Bird was a lucky find. As we stood next to Panther Hollow Lake a peregrine falcon zoomed overhead, went into a stoop, and disappeared beyond Phipps Conservatory on his way to the Cathedral of Learning.
When I wrote on Tuesday about non-functional grass in Las Vegas, several of you remarked on the Valley’s many golf courses that use so much water. Should they be considered non-functional grass?
Since I’m a birder and not a golfer I would view golf courses as “non-functional” except that some are very good for birds. Courses managed for low chemical use, clean water, and interspersed wildlife habitat are great for birds, especially when their location is an oasis in the midst of other land uses. Courses can achieve these goals and be recognized for their efforts through the Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary Program for Golf Courses.
The Bob O’Connor Golf Course in Schenley Park, affectionately known as The Bob, is just such an oasis. Audubon certified since 2012, the course is savanna habitat interspersed with thickets and bordered by forest and residential neighborhoods.
Near Hole 14 at Schenley Park’s Bob O’Connor golf course (photo by Kate St. John)
I see birds at The Bob that are hard to find elsewhere including nesting orchard orioles, barn and tree swallows following the mowers, and merlins in winter.
