It’s Groundhog Day, the mid-point of winter and a very special time in western Pennsylvania when a rodent named Punxsutawney Phil comes out at dawn and tells us what to expect outdoors for the next six weeks.  He saw his shadow today so – as the legend goes – there will be six more weeks of winter.  We believe it.

Chuck Tague’s prediction is much more detailed and was ready online before Phil woke up:  a western Pennsylvania phenology for early February.

Here’s a hint of what Chuck says to look for outdoors in the coming weeks.  Click here for his full report.

• We’ll have snow and ice, quick thaws and flooding.
• The bird population is at its annual low, but don’t despair…
• When the Great Lakes freeze we’ll see more gulls and waterfowl on Pittsburgh’s rivers.
• Peregrines start courting this month!  (my own addition to the list.)
• Bald eagles and great-horned owls are on eggs now.  Watch an eagle on her nest at the Friends of Blackwater NWR Eagle cam.
• Watch for animal tracks in the snow.  You’ll be able to see where they go.
• And if you’re lucky, by a creek in the woods you’ll see pepper on the snow.  They’re springtails, nicknamed “snow fleas.”  They’re not related to fleas; they’re just that small.

(photo of Punxsutawney Phil from his very own website.  Click on Phil’s picture to read all about the Groundhog Day celebrations in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania – 80 miles northeast of Pittsburgh.)

We’re immersed in winter but nature is still busy outdoors.

Chuck Tague published his “What To Look For” phenology for mid-to-late January, so get ready to brave the cold.  Here’s a hint of what to expect in southwestern Pennsylvania.  Click here for Chuck’s complete list.

• Great horned owls are nesting now. Listen for owls hooting to establish territory and make contact.
• Red-tailed hawks are courting too. Watch for pairs soaring together and calling.
• Songbirds begin to sing again: northern cardinals, song sparrows, carolina wrens and tufted titmice.
• Winter finches are still here.  I’m hoping for an evening grosbeak.
• As the northern lakes freeze over, watch for unusual gulls on Pittsburgh’s rivers.
• Foxes and raccoons are breeding.
• The days are getting longer.  Since December 21st, we’ve gained 18 minutes of daylight in the afternoon – but we’ve lost some in the morning.  By the end of January daytime will be 10 hours long!
• Don’t forget to look for tracks in the snow.

As Chuck says, “During winter expect the unexpected.”  I agree!  There’s more to see than you’d think.

(close-up of a Great Horned Owl by Chuck Tague)

8 December 2008

Now it’s really winter and the birds who lingered up north are coming here to escape the cold, dark and lack of food.  Chuck Tague has published his latest phenology to let you know who these newcomers will be through early January.

Here’s a summary of his list and a few suggestions of my own.  Click here for Chuck’s complete list.

• Get close to the moon on December 12th, the closest and largest full moon of 2008.  Chuck gives suggestions on where to observe it.
• As the lakes freeze up north check the rivers for newly arrived ducks, geese and gulls.  Check the creeks for great-blue herons and belted kingfishers.
• Snow cover forces tundra birds our way.  Search manured fields for horned larks, snow buntings and lapland longspurs.  Watch for rough-legged hawks hunting over the snow.
• White-crowned sparrows are becoming more common here in winter.  I hope I see one of them (pictured above) on the Christmas Bird Count.
• The 109th annual Christmas Bird Count (CBC) will be held across North America from Sunday December 14 through Sunday January 5th.  Go to page 7 here to see the list of CBCs with contact information should you wish to participate.  I’ll be counting on two of them:  Buffalo Creek on December 14 and the Pittsburgh count on December 27.
• Winter begins on December 21, the winter solstice.  The days will start getting longer after the solstice but you probably won’t notice for a few weeks.
• After winter’s silence, song sparrows will sing on the first sunny day in January.

What species will be the first bird you see in 2009?   It’s something to look forward to!

(photo by Chuck Tague)

17 November 2008

Nature is slowing down as winter settles in.

In every other season, nature changes so rapidly that two weeks of “what to look for” is a very long list.  But now a month of sightings will do.  Here’s a peek at what we can expect in the weeks ahead.

• We’ve entered the time of frost, snow, ice and rime.  I remember rime last year (2007) at the Allegheny Front Hawk Watch.
• Waterfowl are still on the move.  As lakes freeze up north more birds come our way:  tundra swans, loons, scaup, ring-necks, buffleheads, mergansers, goldeneye and ruddy ducks.
• Gulls will come to the rivers.
• Northern shrikes will show up at rural thickets.
• When there’s snow on the ground, check manured fields for horned larks, lapland longspurs and snow buntings (pictured here).  They all look dull in winter to match the dull scenery.
• Be prepared for irruptive migrants.  In November 2000 a snowy owl showed up at Duquesne University, a life bird for me!
• Today in Pittsburgh, there will be 9 hours and 45 minutes of daylight.  A month from now – nearly the solstice – we’ll have only 9 hours and 16 minutes.  The half hour we lose will be subtracted from the morning.

(photo of a Snow Bunting by Chuck Tague)

November 2008

Another installment  of November phenology for southwestern Pennsylvania.   Here are some of Chuck Tague’s suggestions on what to look for in the next few weeks, plus a few of my own.

• We have lots of cloud cover in November.  The sun shines only 37% of the time.
• With the trees bare – around Nov 11 in the city – you’ll be able to see bird and squirrel nests.
• Migration continues overhead.  Watch for tundra swans.  They won’t stop on Pittsburgh’s rivers unless the weather is terrible but you can find them resting at Yellow Creek State Park.
• Ducks, geese, and loons will pass overhead and pause on our rivers and lakes, especially at Moraine and Yellow Creek State Parks.
• Expect:  Canada geese, common loons, mergansers, ring-necked, ruddy and wood ducks.  There will be so many kinds of ducks there’s no room to list them all.
• Watch for the unexpected:  A brant (the small geese pictured here) sometimes stops briefly at Yellow Creek.  You might find a red-throated loon or a few snow geese.
• Fox sparrows should be here soon.
• Chipmunks and squirrels are caching food.   Will you notice when the chipmunks have gone underground for the winter?  It’s difficult to notice an absence, isn’t it?

(photo of Brant by Chuck Tague)