Bird News Lately

Migration, Musings & News
Celebrity in Central Park, Flaco the Eurasian eagle-owl, February 2023 (photo from Wikimedia Commons)

28 July 2023

A selection of photos and videos this month around the web:

In February a Eurasian eagle-owl named Flaco escaped from the Central Park Zoo and became a celebrity. He’s still hanging out in July.

In Florida, swallow-tailed kites are preparing to migrate.

In Europe, migration has already begun across the Strait of Gibraltar.

(embedded from Twitter)

Who’s Singing Now?

Phenology, Vocalizations
Song sparrow singing in August (photo from Wikimedia Commons)

27 July 2023

In late July, who’s singing now?

Almost no one.

Birds sing during the breeding season to claim territory and attract mates but most songbirds wrap up the breeding season by mid-July. When breeding’s over they stop singing.

You’ll hear a handful of exceptions, though, among songbirds who nest many times each year. Song sparrows and northern cardinals raise multiple broods and have active nests in late July. Both are still singing though not as vigorously.

You won’t hear songs from birds who have finished breeding but you will hear their contact calls. Common grackles raise only one brood per year and by July they are already in flocks, sweeping through the woods and foraging on the ground.

Common grackle in flight (photo from Wikimedia Commons)

You might not see them on the shady forest floor but you’ll hear them making “chucking” sounds like this. (Note: There are additional birds making noise in the background of this recording.)

Birdsong will drop off completely next month. Take note of the few singers now.

(photo from Wikimedia Commons; click on the link to see the original)

The Heat Loop

Climate Change, Weather & Sky
Hot weather sunset (photo from Wikimedia Commons)

26 July 2023

The weather is hot and getting hotter. Excessive heat plagued the West, Texas and Florida and now, in the next 6-10 days, the heat will move southeast with soaring temperatures at 100°F+.

U.S. 6-10 day temperature outlook, 31 July – 4 August as of 7/25/2023 (map from NWS)

It’s not just the air that’s hot, the ocean is too. This timelapse video from Colin McCarthy @US_stormwatch shows ocean temperature anomalies from 22 February to 21 July. The hottest colors — the highest above normal — are off the Pacific coast of South America and in the North Atlantic near Newfoundland.

Warming water off the coast of South America is the developing El Niño, part of the cyclical El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) that affects weather and climate around the world.

The real surprise is off the coast of Newfoundland where Colin McCarthy says “The North Atlantic is in uncharted territory. The entire ocean basin is a record-smashing 1.5°C (2.7°F) above normal.”

Both are easier to see in this static map from NOAA.

NOAA sea surface temperature anomaly (partial map) as of 24 July 2023, 0600 EDT

Hot water makes the air hot as Newfoundlanders can tell you. Summers are usually so cool there that only 1 in 5 households in St John’s, NL have air conditioning, at least as of 2019. That is probably changing this summer as temperatures soar into the 90s.

Hot water makes hotter air makes hotter water in an endless feedback loop.

With El Niño on top of climate change I don’t think it will end well.

p.s. Today’s news Florida ocean records ‘unprecedented’ temperatures similar to a hot tub!

(photo and map credits are in the caption; click the links to see the originals. The Heat Loop diagram is by Kate St. John)

Who’s Smarter? Raven or Crow?

Bird Behavior, Crows & Ravens
  • Common raven (photo from Wikimedia)

25 July 2023

Scientists say that the smartest animals have large brains and have become so intelligent because their lifestyles force them to solve complex ecological (ex: food, habitat) and social problems (ex: long-term social bonds that may include absences).

Ravens and crows both have large brains relative to their body size and both are good at problem solving. The Raven Diaries (@theravendiaries) takes a look at which species acts smarter and why.

video embedded from @theravendiaries on YouTube

So which one is smarter? It’s a hard call between crows and ravens.

Crows understand the concept of zero and know that 0 precedes 1, a feat that beats small humans.

Ravens were tested against chimps and came up equally intelligent: Young Ravens Rival Adult Chimps in a Big Test of General Intelligence. They were also equal if not better at “theory of mind,” the ability to imagine what others are thinking: Ravens have paranoid, abstract thoughts about other minds.

For example, this video shows two ravens guessing what the other is thinking and act accordingly.

video embedded from ____ on YouTube

Kaeli Swift of Corvid Research is often asked if ravens are smarter than [you-name-it] animal. Here’s the long answer.

Are ravens smarter than a___?

(credits are in the captions)

Frick Park Outing, Sun. July 30, 8:30a

Books & Events
Queen Anne’s lace and fleabane, Frick Park, 20 July 2021 (photo by Kate St. John)

24 July 2023

Summer flowers are blooming, insects are humming, and songbirds are wrapping up the breeding season.

Join me for a bird & nature walk in Frick Park on Sunday, July 30, 2023, 8:30a – 10:30a.

Meet at the Nine Mile Run Trail Parking lot to walk Frick Park’s boardwalk and Nine Mile Run loop.  

Park anywhere along Commercial Street but meet at the Nine Mile Run Parking area (screenshot map from Google)

The meeting place is on the Swissvale side of the Parkway bridge so if you park on Commercial Street at the Boardwalk or Firelane Trail, cross Commercial Street and take the path under the Parkway bridge to reach us. You’ll see the Nine Mile Run Trail parking lot as soon as you’re under the bridge.

From Commercial Street at Frick Park follow the path to the meeting place

Near the meeting place we’re sure to see Queen Anne’s lace, fleabane, and goldfinches. If we’re lucky we’ll see orchard orioles, part of the family that nested near the creek.

Dress for the weather and wear comfortable walking shoes. Bring binoculars and field guides if you have them.

Before you come, visit my Events page in case of changes or cancellations. The outing will be canceled if there’s lightning or heavy rain.

Hope to see you there!

(photos by Kate St. John)

Birds React to Anti-Bird Spikes: Hah!

Bird Behavior
Anti-bird spikes on signs and ledges in Germany (photo from Wikimedia Commons)

23 July 2023

In case you missed it …

Pigeons nesting among bird spikes, Church of Saint Ginés of Arrecife, Canary Islands (photo from Wikimedia Commons)

When Auke-Florian Hiemstra published Bird Nests Made From Anti-Bird Spikes on 11 July 2023, the news spread like wildfire. The Guardian and the BBC immediately announced his report that Eurasian magpies and carrion crows incorporated spikes in their nests in the Netherlands and Scotland. The birds’ ironic re-use of our threatening material captured the Internet’s imagination.

Are the birds thumbing their noses (beaks) at us when they use anti-bird spikes? For the most part, no.

In the city it’s pretty common to see plastic in nests. For example this pigeon (nesting on top of anti-bird spikes!) included a length of red plastic wire in its nest. Notice the pigeon’s head behind the bend in the wire.

Pigeon nesting among bird spikes at Passage Vendôme, Paris, 2013 (photo from Wikimedia Commons)

Hiemstra (@AukeFlorian) explains that Eurasian magpies (Pica pica) look for spiky things, like thorn branches, to protect the top of their dome-shaped nests. But thorn trees are hard to find in the city so …

video embedded from NowThisEarth

His tweet thread below includes photos and videos of other birds’ plastic use. If you aren’t on Twitter, click here to see his entire thread.

So nesting birds aren’t thumbing their noses at us but parrots probably are. In Australia, where cockatoos live in the wild, they show their attitude toward our anti-bird attempts. Take that you nasty spikes! Hah!

embedded YouTube video from ViralHog

Magpies and crows use our plastics in creative ways. Parrots mess with our minds. 😉

(photos from Wikimedia Commons, tweet and videos embedded. Click on the captions to see the originals)

Flowers, Trees and Signs This Week

Insects, Phenology, Plants & Fungi, Spotted Lanternflies
Water beads on wax begonia, 17 July 2023 (photo by Kate St. John)

22 July 2023

Other than a few thunderstorms it’s been a quiet week in Pittsburgh.

At the Cathedral of Learning the garden beds are beautiful with begonias while the peregrines, Carla and Ecco, hang out and finish molting. The pair is no longer courting but sometimes bow together — less than once a day in late July.

Carla (on left) bows with Ecco at the Cathedral of Learning, 20 July 2023 (photo from the National Aviary snapshot camera at Univ of Pittsburgh)

On Thursday I was lucky to find the right mix of sun and shade to show off eastern enchanter’s nightshade’s (Circaea canadensis) bur-like fruits. They are notoriously difficult to photograph.

Enchanter’s nightshade near Herrs Island, Pittsburgh, 20 July 2023 (photo by Kate St. John)

On 13 July a brief storm blew through Pittsburgh and broke this more than 100 year old London plane tree near Carnegie Library.

London plane tree at Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh broken by strong wind on 13 July 2023 (photo by Kate St. John)

Meanwhile spotted lanternfly (SLF) red nymphs are everywhere, soon to become winged adults. I found thousands of them along the Allegheny River Trail near Herrs Island plus three adults, the first I’ve seen this year. This winged adult probably just emerged from the crumpled exoskeleton above it. Eewwww!

Spotted lanternfly adult near red nymphs on the Three Rivers Rowing Association building across from Herrs Island, 20 July 2023 (photo by Kate St. John)

A few people along the trail were stamping on the nymphs and might have been recording their victories in the Squishr app (described here by WHYY). However, as Howard Tobias remarked a few weeks ago, “Tramping on spotted lanternflies is like trying to empty the ocean with a spoon.”

Are you upset by the bugs? Go hit the Panic Button at Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh in the Main branch Music Department, 2nd floor. This Panic Button, built into a bookcase, used to be part of the old security system but was disconnected decades ago. Press it to your heart’s content. Very satisfying.

The Panic Button at Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh (photo by Kate St. John)

And don’t forget to …

Confirm your paperwork? Or throw it in the bin? at Carnegie Museum, Pittsburgh, 19 July 2023 (photo by Kate St. John)

(photos by Kate St. John)

Animals on Candid Camera

Bird Behavior, Mammals
Young bobcats explore near a camera trap at Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge, NM (photo from Wikimedia Commons)

21 July 2023

Happy Friday! It’s time for wildlife’s own Candid Camera show.

Above, two young bobcats explore near a motion detection “camera trap” at Bosque del Apache. Below, a backyard cam caught the moment when a fox found a skunk in the dark.

Trail cam snaps an encounter between a red fox and a skunk (photo from Wikimedia Commons)

At Melissa Crytzer Fry‘s video camera trap in the Sonoran Desert, a mother Gambel’s quail chased away danger. Turn up the sound and find out what upset her.

A bobcat took a dust bath in front of the same camera.

In the woods, two trail cams were bruised by black bears and lived to tell the tale. First, Mama and cubs:

Then, a young bear scratched his back … on the camera housing.

Smile, you’re on Candid Camera. 🙂

(tweets are embedded, photos are from Wikimedia Commons)

Summer Slugfest Revisited

Insects
Gray garden slug, a European import that’s common in Pittsburgh (photo from Wikimedia Commons)

20 July 2023

Back when I had a front yard, my hostas were periodically plagued by garden slugs. I also had a stash of aging beer bottles in my basement. (I drink about 12 beers a year so buying a case was a big mistake.)

In the summer of 2016 it all came together when I served old beer to my garden slugs. Read about it in this vintage blog.

2016 Summer Slugfest

(photo from Wikimedia Commons; click on the link to see the original)

In the Presence of Wolves Coyotes Make a Bad Bet on Humans

Mammals
Coyote in western Washington state (photo from Wikimedia Commons)

19 July 2023

Some fears, based on a species ancient experience, are bred-in-the-bone and guide behavior for millennia. For example, some people automatically fear snakes even though they never encounter them. This makes sense as an ancient fear spawned from early humans’ experience in Africa.

In the same way coyotes fear wolves. Coyotes are relatively small and hunt alone while wolves are twice the size and hunt in packs. A lone coyote can be eaten by wolves unless it manages to run away.

Size comparison of wolves and coyotes in North America (image from US Fish & Wildlife)

When wolves move in, coyotes leave the area and move closer to humans. Theoretically, the enemy of my enemy is my friend so humans would provide a shield against wolves.

Bobcats exhibit the same behavior in the presence of cougars, whom they fear.

Bobcat near Tucson, Arizona (photo by Donna Memon)
Cougar (Puma concolor) at Glacier National Park (photo from Wikimedia Commons)

Unfortunately, getting close to us is a bad bet for coyotes and bobcats with scant experience of humans. A recent study by Laura Prugh in northern Washington state, found that for 35 satellite tracked coyotes and 37 bobcats, the majority of those that died were shot.

Prugh’s work showed that in the case of coyotes and bobcats, gambling on safety with humans was a losing bet. Of the 24 coyotes that died, 14 were at the hands of people (13 shot and one roadkill). None were killed by wolves. Of the 18 dead bobcats, people killed 11. All told, a coyote was 3 times more likely to die at the hands of a human than in the jaws of a carnivore, the researchers found. For a bobcat, the odds were even higher at 3.8 times.

— Anthropocene Magazine: Coyotes gamble on human company to avoid wolves. It’s a bad bet.

Learn more in Anthropocene Magazine –> When coyotes gamble on human company to avoid wolves it’s a bad bet.

p.s. Yes, there are coyotes in the City of Pittsburgh. Those who live in cities are much better at coping with us. See Anthropocene Magazine: Coyotes live in almost all US cities.

(photos credits are in the captions, click the links to see the originals)