Yesterday at Hays Woods Bird Banding

Books & Events, Migration
Hermit thrush banded at Bird Lab, Hays Woods, 3 Oct 2023 (photo by Jared Miller)

4 October 2023

Joe, Sam and Jared joined me yesterday morning on an adventure to see Bird Lab at Hays Woods. The weather was perfect as we walked more than half a mile to the banding station. There we found Nick Liadis and his assistants about to do the second net-check of the day.

The mist nets that capture songbirds are set up in “alleys” of vegetation where birds might fly across. If a bird doesn’t see the net and tries to fly through, it falls into the pocket of extra netting material where it waits to be retrieved. Banders check the nets every half hour.

Bird banding mist net at Hays Woods, 7 Sep 2022 (photo by Kate St. John)

Captured birds are brought back to the banding table in cloth bags to keep them calm. Our group watched as Nick prepared to band three birds from the recent net check.

Bird Lab at Hays Woods: 3 workers (orange vests) and three observers, 3 Oct 2023 (photo by Kate St. John)

Each bag contains a surprise. The first was a recaptured Cape May warbler (Setophaga tigrina), originally banded on 20 Sep when it weighed 10.9g. Yesterday it weighed 13.8g for a gain equivalent to the weight of a ruby-throated hummingbird. Such a small bird in Nick’s hand, below.

Nick Liadis holds a Cape May warbler recaptured at Hays Woods on 3 Oct, first banded on 20 Sept 2023 (photo by Kate St. John)

It was the second Cape May warbler recapture this fall. The first one increased its weight by 50% in two weeks. About the first one, Nick wrote:

A cool recapture from my Hays Woods banding station! This Cape May Warbler was banded on 9/13 and we captured her again two weeks later. She originally weighed 11.6g and today weighs 15.4g. Interesting to see how long some of these birds hang around. I’d imagine she’ll be on her way very soon.

— Nick Liadis message, 27 Sep 2023

Next on the agenda was a hatch year (meaning “hatched this year”) male black-throated blue warbler (Setophaga caerulescens). His color was blue, but not vibrantly so, and his throat had tiny white flecks on it. I had seen a dull bird like this in Frick Park last week and didn’t realize that meant he was young.

BirdLab at Hays Woods: Hatch Year male black-throated blue warbler in partial adult plumage, 3 Oct 2023 (photo by Jared Miller)

At each successive net check new species showed up.

The hatch year hermit thrush (Catharus guttatus) shown at top was a sign that the mix of migrant species is changing. The insect eaters are nearly gone while the fruit and nuts migrants have arrived (*see note).

The hatch year female house finch, below, was probably born at Hays Woods. Many house finches in the eastern U.S. are permanent residents. Perhaps she will be, too.

BirdLab at Hays Woods: Hatch Year female house finch, 3 Oct 2023 (photo by Kate St. John)

An ovenbird (Seiurus aurocapilla) is always nice to see up close and I had no trouble identifying it because it showed its striped crown. I saw one in the hand at Bird Lab last year.

BirdLab at Hays Woods: Ovenbird, 3 Oct 2023 (photo by Kate St. John)

By 10:00am we’d been there an hour, it was getting hot (the high yesterday was 85°F!) and the birds were less active. Three of us hiked to the overlook and returned for one more net-check. This time only one bird was captured, a hatch year house wren (Troglodytes aedon) that Nick had banded on 9 August. This bird has spent the last two months foraging at Hays Woods and soon it will migrate to Central or South America.

BirdLab at Hays Woods: House wren, 3 Oct 2023 (photo by Jared Miller)

We left Bird Lab and headed back to the parking lot where the fleet of enormous dump trucks, seen at 8:30am, were still shuttling dirt to/from Duquesne Light’s dirt road. Duquesne Light is building an access path to the cliff edge where two transmission towers need to be replaced and moved away from the landslide zone.

Thanks to Jared Miller for sharing his photos, shown above.

Bonus Bird: After the banding, a rare bird at Duck Hollow:

At 10:30am I received an alert that a migrating American avocet (Recurvirostra americana) was hanging out at Duck Hollow. Avocets in Allegheny County are One Day Wonders. I had never seen one here because I waited a day to go see them. So I made the short trip from Hays Woods to Duck Hollow and digiscoped this lousy picture. The light was too bright to see its faint orange color but you get the idea.

American avocet at Duck Hollow, 3 Oct 2023 (photo by Kate St. John)

p.s. (*) Two of the phases of fall migration: ** Insect eaters such as warblers, flycatchers, swifts and swallows migrate through in September because the bug population is going to die when cold weather hits. ** Fruit and nut eaters, including thrushes and sparrows, pass through in October.

(photos by Jared Miller and Kate St. John)

Coffee Grounds Replace Plastic in 3D Printing

Musings & News
Making coffee: a pour-over (photo from Wikimedia Commons)

3 October 2023

… and there’s a Pittsburgh connection.

When you make coffee, what do you do with the spent grounds? Some people compost them at home or use them as fertilizer. You can even turn them into an insect repellent or natural cleaning scrub. But most of us just throw them away.

Use coffee grounds (photo by Kate St. John)

When Michael Rivera was in grad school at Carnegie Mellon he spent a lot of time at Arriviste Coffee Roasters in Shadyside. At the time, Arriviste paid a service to collect their coffee grounds but the service stopped during the pandemic and the spent grounds piled up.

Arriviste Coffee Roasters (banner from Facebook page)

Rivera was working on 3D printing technology and saw how to solve two problems at the same time: (1) Reuse coffee grounds instead of throwing them away and (2) Reduce plastic use in 3D printing.

The vast majority of 3D printing machines use thermoplastic to make new objects by melting it and reforming it with the print head.

Four 3D printers making medical face visors (photo from Wikimedia Commons)

It can take a lot of plastic to make an object, particularly a large one.

3D printer creating a statue at 3D Printer Shootout Testing – Day 3 (photo from Wikimedia Commons)

Rivera is now a postdoctoral researcher at University of Colorado Boulder where he further fleshed out his idea of using spent coffee grounds instead of plastic.

Rivera and colleagues mix dried spent coffee grounds with two common food additives — cellulose gum and xanthan gum — and then mix in water.

“You’re pretty much shooting for the consistency of peanut butter,” Rivera said.

You can’t load that ooze directly into a 3D printer. First, Rivera does a little jury-rigging, modifying a printer with plastic tubes and a syringe filled with coffee paste. When dried, the coffee grounds material is about as tough as unreinforced concrete.

— Science Daily: 3D printing with coffee: Turning used grounds into caffeinated creations

Here’s a coffee-based 3D print, photo embedded from the Ars Technica article.

Coffee-based 3D print (photo by Michael Rivera embedded from ars technica article)

The resulting objects are completely recyclable.

“You can make a lot of things with coffee grounds,” River said. “And when you don’t want it anymore, you can throw it back into a coffee grinder and use the grounds to print again.”

— Science Daily: 3D printing with coffee: Turning used grounds into caffeinated creations

Here’s how Rivera and his team make 3D objects with coffee grounds.

video embedded from Univ of Colorado Boulder on YouTube

Read more about the project in Ars Technica: Don’t throw out those used coffee grounds—use them for 3D printing instead and the published study in July 2023 in the Association for Computing Machinery.

p.s. Does the reuse of coffee grounds sound familiar? I blogged about it a few weeks ago but forgot to mention it until Jennie Barker made the comments below.

(photos from Wikimedia Commons, Kate St. John, Arriviste Coffee Roasters Facebook banner, and embedded photo from Ars Technica; click on the captions to see the originals)

Invasive Look-Alike of Devil’s Walking Stick

Plants & Fungi
Tennessee warbler on Aralia sp., 6 Sept 2023 (photo by Dave Brooke)

2 October 2023

In September birders lurk near devil’s walking stick in Frick Park because the plants attract birds on migration. Crawling with tiny insects and full of fruit, devil’s walking stick is often swarmed with visiting warblers, cedar waxwings and robins. But is it really devil’s walking stick (Aralia spinosa)? Or is it the invasive look-alike Japanese angelica (Aralia elata)? Or even worse, is it a hybrid?

I didn’t know about this possibility until Dave Brooke posted photos of two warblers on devil’s walking stick. The first was a Tennessee warbler, at top, followed by a Cape May warbler, below, that landed on the same perch in the same pose just 25 seconds later.

Cape May warbler on Aralia sp., 6 Sept 2023 (photo by Dave Brooke)

Anne Swaim responded to Dave’s post saying “Probably Aralia elata, the Japanese Angelica. Great bird attractant (but really invasive.) Same genus as the native Devil’s walking stick.”

Native to eastern Russia, China, Korea and Japan, Japanese angelica (Aralia elata) was brought to the U.S. as an ornamental plant. It’s well known in eastern Pennsylvania and New York state because those areas are outside Aralia spinosa‘s native range. Pittsburgh is on the border though, so I always assumed I was looking at the native plant.

Aralia spinosa‘s native range (map from Wikimedia Commons)

It’s so hard to tell them apart that New York Botanical Garden posted this guide to invasive look-alikes. Here’s a screenshot from the Aralia sp pages:

screenshot from Mistaken Identity? Invasive Plants and Their Native Look-Alikes, A Guide for the Mid-Atlantic (posted by NY Botanical Garden)

Their Quick ID is helpful for non-botanists like me.

Quick ID of Aralia elata (invasive alien):

  1. Leaf veins: Main lateral veins running all the way to the tips of teeth at the leaf margin.
  2. Inflorescence: Inflorescence shorter, typically 30–60 cm long, and WITHOUT a distinct central axis (often wider than long, with base usually surrounded by and even overtopped by foliage).

Quick ID of Aralia spinosa (native):

  1. Leaf veins: Main lateral veins branching and diminishing in size before reaching the leaf margin (smaller branching veins may run to the tips of teeth)
  2. Inflorescence: Inflorescence longer, often 1–1.2 m long, WITH a distinct central axis (typically longer than wide, base usually elevated above foliage).
— Mistaken Identity? Invasive Plants and Their Native Look-Alikes, A Guide for the Mid-Atlantic (posted by NY Botanical Garden)

I tried to identify the plants at Frick by looking at the leaves but it’s very hard to do. The easiest way is by looking at the inflorescence — the tower of flowers.

Japanese angelica’s (Aralia elata) inflorescence basically lies flat. It does not have a central stem and the leaves may cover some of the flowers. Here’s Japanese angelica at Frick.

Inflorescence below the leaves = Japanese elata in Frick Park (photo by Kate St. John)

Devil’s walking stick’s (Aralia spinosa) inflorescence stands tall above the leaves on a central stalk.

Inflorescence above the leaves on a central stalk = Devil’s walking stick (photo by Tom Potterfield via Flickr Creative Commons license)

Now I’ve started looking at all the Aralias and asking: Which one are you?

You might know of a stand of a devil’s walking stick you’d like to examine too. To figure out its identity download the Mistaken Identity guide at nybg.org ==> https://www.nybg.org/files/scientists/rnaczi/Mistaken_Identity_Final.pdf

Also see Tom Potterfield’s Flickr album with photos of both species.

Meanwhile, for the sake of the warblers I am deciding not to get excited that these plants are alien. The birds love them so much and I love the birds so …

p.s. Read more about Japanese angelica’s invasive qualities at the Brandywine Conservancy: Invasive Species Spotlight: Japanese Angelica Tree (Aralia elata). Here’s where it occurs in the U.S. Yes, in Allegheny County. Wonder who planted it.

Japanese angelica in the U.S. (map from Invasive Plant Atlas, EDD)

(photos by Dave Brooke, nybg.org, Kate St. John and Tom Potterfield. Click the links in the captions to see the originals)

Cheep and Chip, Tock or Knock

Mammals, Vocalizations
Chipmunk with full cheeks,  Cap Tourmente NWA, Canada (photo from Wikimedia Commons)

1 October 2023

Fall migration has been intense over Pittsburgh lately and promises to be excellent tonight and tomorrow as well. Yesterday morning I went birding at Frick Park, expecting to find loads of warblers. No such luck. The birds flew over without stopping. However, for chipmunks it was a fantastic day.

Despite the current warm weather, chipmunks (Tamias striatus) are frantically gathering food to store in their underground burrows where they’ll spend the winter. Since they can’t use their paws to carry food, they fill their enormous cheek pouches.

What could possibly make their cheeks so fat? How about acorns?

Chipmunk stuffing an acorn in his cheek (photo from Wikimedia Commons)

With so many chipmunks scurrying in autumn, you rarely see two together. Chipmunks are antisocial but they like to make calls to warn each other of predators. Among their most common calls are two kinds of warnings.

Cheep or Chip: “Danger from the ground!” This call sounds almost like a bird and warns of nearby terrestrial predators such as a cat, fox, coyote or raccoon.

video embedded from @MarkCz on YouTube

Tock or Knock: “Danger from the air! I see a hawk!” This is a useful call for birders that tells us to search for a hawk nearby. However, chipmunks know that hawks fly rapidly through the forest so all of them take up the call, far and wide, even though the hawk is not near them. Tock! Tock! Tock! Where is that hawk? Erf!

video embedded from Mybackyardbirding on YouTube

Read more about the chipmunk’s calls at North American Nature: What Sounds Does a Chipmunk Make?

(credits are in the captions)

Dress For Hunting Season

Deer
I’m dressed for hunting season, winter 2021-2022 (photo by Linda Roth)

30 September 2023

Stylish blaze orange over purple, accented by a dayglo yellow hat!

Birders and hikers are out in the woods at all times of year. You don’t have to look as eccentric as I do but it’s important to dress for success during deer and wild turkey seasons in Pennsylvania.

Allegheny County has so many deer that bow hunting (Deer Archery Season) has been allowed in municipalities and County Parks for many years. This fall is the first time it will occur in the Frick and Riverview Parks. Some city dwellers are nervous, especially those who don’t spend time in the woods or in North or South Parks where hunting is allowed.

Bow season — officially called DEER, ARCHERY (Antlered and Antlerless) Season — runs Statewide in Pennsylvania Mondays to Saturdays, Sept 30 – Nov 17 (Nov 24 in Allegheny County) and Dec 26 – Jan 15 (Jan 27 in Allegheny County).

Here is my message to park users. I am not worried because …

For many years I’ve hiked in the woods alone even during hunting season including at Moraine State Park. I wear orange so I can be seen. You should too (blaze orange shown above). I understand being worried because this is a new experience for most park users. Thirty years ago I was worried because it was new to me. Experience put my fears to rest. I have *never* encountered a problem in 30 years of hiking during hunting season nor have any of my birding friends who are out in the woods as well. It is rare to see a hunter except in the parking lot. They are never hunting in the parking lot.

So dress for hunting season. And don’t expect to see a hunter. The hunters are in tree stands deep in the woods where the deer are, not where people are. (Don’t miss my update below.)

I encourage you to read all about bow hunting in Frick and Riverview at WESA-FM: Bowhunting season in two city parks will begin September 30 and at the City of Pittsburgh’s Deer FAQ webpages: Pittsburgh Deer Management Pilot Program

If you want to know about the City of Pittsburgh’s deer overpopulation read my Deer Category here. (Some of the articles are on more general topics with photos of deer in Frick and Schenley.)

UPDATE, noon on 30 Sept: I went birding in Frick Park this morning for 2.5 hours and saw zero hunters and among all the other visitors only one person wore blaze orange. When the day warmed up I took off my coat and gave up on my orange running vest. This is what I wore. (OK, so I broke my own rule but really, there were lots and lots of people and no hunters in sight.)

For all my preaching, this is what I ended up wearing at Frick Park on 30 Sept 2023 (photo by Kate St. John)

Note: PA Game seasons have many special dates, times and arms. Click here to download a pocket guide that lists all the nuances for 2023-2024.

p.s. I have corrected the text to reflect this change: Hunters wear orange during firearms season but bow hunters wear camouflage because they wait in tree stands for the deer to walk beneath them.

(photos by Linda Roth and Kate St. John)

It’s Time to Hear the Elk

Mammals, Phenology
Elk bugling in Elk County, Pennsylvania (photo by Paul Staniszewski)
Elk bugling in Elk County, Pennsylvania (photo by Paul Staniszewski)

29 September 2023

If you’ve been waiting to hear the elk bugling in Pennsylvania, now’s the time to make the trip to Benezette, PA.

In September and October Pennsylvania’s elk (Cervus canadensis) are in the rut, their annual period of sexual activity. The bulls gather harems, pursue the females, antler-spar with other males, and “sing” a bugling love song.

Like white-tailed deer, male elk grow new antlers every year but these cervids are huge. Males are 25% larger than the females and can weigh up to 1,100 pounds with antlers that can span five feet.

Consequently it’s a bit surprising that the bugle is such a high-pitched call. Its bell-like echoing carries far in the woods and fields.

Visit the Elk Country Visitor’s Center in Benezette to see and hear the elk, perhaps even in the parking lot.

If you can’t be there in person, watch the Pennsylvania Game Commission’s live stream. 

p.s. Elk, also called wapiti, were reintroduced in Pennsylvania in 1913 after we extirpated them in the late 1800s. Did you know white-tailed deer were reintroduced to Pennsylvania, too? 

(photo by Paul Staniszewski)

Young Red-Tail Hunts at the Hospital

Bird Behavior, Birds of Prey

28 September 2023

On Saturday 17 September, my friends Mary and Bea were walking to the Bloomfield Saturday Market when they couldn’t help but notice a red-tailed hawk (Buteo jamaicensis) hunting on the lawn at Shadyside Hospital. Mary stopped to take his picture.

Perched on the blue sign, I can tell the bird is immature because his tail isn’t rusty red. In early June he was still in the nest. Soon he learned to fly, then to hunt. Now, months later, he can feed himself but he’s not an expert. It takes time and luck to get a meal.

In autumn young red-tails disperse on their first migration and every place they stop is completely new to them. Those that grew up in urban environments are unbothered by traffic and people so they may gravitate to open areas near buildings in search of prey.

This hawk was so focused on hunting that he ignored Mary while she took his picture. Read more about the hawk’s single mindedness in this article from 2009.

Single-mindedness

p.s. This red-tail may have been attracted to the noise of house sparrows tweeting inside that bright green hedge. There are always lots of them in there, but they shut up as soon as I look so I rarely see one. As far as I know, I’m the only one — other than a hawk — that peers inside that hedge. 😉

(photos by Mary Tuttle)

Be one of 5 Visitors to Hays Woods Bird Banding, Tues Oct 3

Books & Events
Nick Liadis of Bird Lab holds an ovenbird to be banded, 7 Sep 2022 (photo by Kate St. John)

27 September 2023

Only 5 people can come on this outing. You must sign up by leaving a comment on the blog form below. First come first served.

Come with me to Pittsburgh’s newest city park on Tuesday Oct 3, at 8:30 am (rain date Wed Oct 4) to see Bird Lab’s Nick Liadis band migratory birds at Hays Woods.

Meet me at the Hays Woods Agnew Rd Trailhead parking lot at 8:30am.  From there we will walk through the woods for 20 minutes to get to the banding site.   Expect to spend at least an hour on site, then a 20 minute walk to return.

Nick Liadis & Lisa Kaufman at Bird Lab banding, Hays Woods, 7 Sep 2022 (photo by Kate St. John)

Every day is different during migration. When I visited the banding operation on 7 September 2022 we saw warblers and a female cardinal. Best Bird was the ovenbird pictured at top.

I can’t predict what birds we’ll see but we will certainly see them up close. It’s sure to be good.

For a sneak preview see Linda Roth’s Facebook Live video of the banding on Tues 26 Sept: https://fb.watch/njIOW32rqr/

Some logistics:

Bird Lab is a non-profit supported by donations and grants. For group hikes like ours, a donation to birdlab.org of $15/person is required. (More than $15 is always welcome.) You can also donate online at https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-nick-to-conserve-birds-their-habitats

Learn more about Bird Lab at http://birdlab.org/

If you are one of the lucky 5 participants I will notify you via email. (Comments require that you enter an email address.)

Hays Woods is the City of Pittsburgh’s wildest, least developed park. The trail to the site is flat but don’t expect amenities. The only porta-john is at the parking lot.

(photos by Kate St. John)

A Closer Look at Sleeping Bumblebees

Insects
Two bumblebees sleeping on goldenrod, Duck Hollow, 18 Sep 2023 (photo by Kate St. John)

26 September 2023

Last week at Duck Hollow I found two bumblebees asleep on goldenrod. The temperature was a little chilly but the morning was bright and sunny. Were the bees waiting to warm up in the sun?

Bumblebee sleeping on goldenrod, 18 Sep 2023 (photo by Kate St. John)

Eight weeks ago I highlighted the reason why male bees sleep on flowers in July and August. Males don’t live in a hive so they sleep outdoors. They are solitary, searching for a mate, and nearing the end of their lives.

Female bumblebees return to the hive at night if they can. In the hot months of July and August females are indoors at night. However bad weather or chilly temperatures may force them to sleep outdoors until they warm up the next morning.

So I wondered are these sleeping bumblebees male or female? I can tell with a closer look at the bees.

Female bumblebees bring food to the hive so they have pollen sacks on their hind legs. If you see a full pollen sack on a bee’s hind leg you can be sure it’s female, as shown on the right in the photo below.

Male and female bumblebees (photo by Kate St. John)

A bee without pollen, like the one on the left, is either a female who delivered her pollen and has just come back for more, or it’s a male without a pollen sack.

I can see two obvious differences between male and female in these photos.

MaleFemale
HindlegsHairySmooth convex-shaped structure for holding pollen. (This one contains pollen!)
Stinger at back end (pink arrow)No stingerHas a stinger

There are even more clues than this! Read all the details at Sciencing.com: How to tell if a Bumblebee is male or female.

And finally, were these two near the end of their lives?

Yes, both will die this autumn. Only fertilized queens make it through winter. Every hive starts with a lone queen in the spring.

(photos by Kate St. John)

Loves Disturbed Soil

Phenology, Plants & Fungi
Pilewort seeds blow away in the wind, 20 Sep 2023 (photo by Kate St. John)

25 September 2023

Have you seen white fluff blowing in the wind lately? The fluff is not from dandelions. At this time of year it’s from pilewort.

Pilewort (Erechtites hieraciifolius) is a native plant in the Aster family that looks very weedy, even ugly. At two to eight feet tall the flower heads on the tips of the branches look like seed pods because they barely open to expose pistils and stamens. To appreciate the flower you need a magnifying glass. Its beauty is microscopic.

It doesn’t take much wind to set it going. Do you see the flying fluff in this closeup? Look for the tiny yellow arrow in this photo and the one at top.

Pilewort near Phipps’ parking lot, 20 Sep 2023 (photo by Kate St. John)

Why is it called pilewort? The common name literally means “hemorrhoid plant.” Penn State Extension explains.

Native Americans used American burnweed [pilewort] to treat rashes caused by exposure to poison ivy and poison sumac. Medicinally, it has also been used as an emetic and to treat dysentery, eczema, diarrhea, and hemorrhoids. It has been used to create a blue dye for wool and cotton and, despite its intense flavor, can be eaten raw or cooked.

— Penn State Extension: American burnweed

Pileweed’s other common name is American burnweed because it grows easily after brush fires. It loves disturbed soil and is easy to find by the side of the road, in churned up gardens, and in urban areas. In this age of bulldozers, roto-tillers and garden digging, pilewort has many opportunities to germinate.

I found a lot of it at Duck Hollow.

Pilewort at Duck Hollow, 18 Sep 2023 (photo by Kate St. John)
Pilewort at Duck Hollow, 18 Sep 2023 (photo by Kate St. John)

Perhaps it’s a good thing that pilewort grows prolifically. A 2002 study in Japan found that Erechtites hieraciifolius is good at absorbing the greenhouse gas, nitrogen dioxide, turning it into an organic form.

It may not be beautiful but pilewort plants itself by the side of the road and then cleans the air.

(photos by Kate St. John)