Fox kits in Schenley Park, 25 April 2020 (photo by Frank Izaguirre)
28 April 2023
Three years ago this week, five little foxes came out every day to play inside the fence surrounding their den under the Neill Log House in Schenley Park. At the end of April 2020 their antics were a bright spot in sixth week of the COVID shutdown and attracted a crowd.
Five little foxes attract a crowd in Schenley Park, 27 April 2020 (photo by Kate St. John)
After the fox family dispersed, Public Works cleaned up the log house basement and blocked access to the den. In the spring of 2021 the family denned in a rock outcrop below the Falloon Trail but that must have been too close to people and dogs. They haven’t been back since then.
When I saw this Twitter video by @urbanponds_101 I remembered the Schenley Park foxes.
On Throw Back Thursday an old topic but a good one …
Humans have a trait called handedness in which we show a preference for using one hand over the other. Interestingly, dominance in the left hemisphere of our brains results in right-handedness and vice versa. About 90% of us are right-handed.
Pigeons show it with their feet. If we could watch closely enough we’d notice that a pigeon leads with one foot when it lands, choosing to land first on its dominant foot. Find out more in this 2016 article:
Eighty days ago at Ecuador’s Bellavista Cloud Forest Reserve our tour group heard this species singing from a thicket and added him — or perhaps a pair of them — to our Life Lists.
The plain-tailed wren (Pheugopedius euophrys) is hard to see but its incredibly loud voice is easy to hear, made doubly loud when a pair sings a complicated duet. The duet below was recorded near Tandayapa, Ecuador, perhaps at Bellavista, while other birds were singing in the background. The plain-tailed wrens drown them out.
“Think of these birds like jazz singers,” said lead author Melissa Coleman. “Duetting wrens have a rough song structure planned before they sing, but as the song evolves, they must rapidly coordinate by receiving constant input from their counterpart.
“What we expected to find was a highly active set of specialized neurons that coordinate this turn-taking, but instead what we found is that hearing each other actually causes inhibition of those neurons—that’s the key regulating the incredible timing between the two.”
Oak tree in bloom with dangling pollen flowers (photo by Kate St. John)
25 April 2023
If your pollen allergies have gotten worse there’s a good reason for it. A study of North American pollen trends in the last 30 years, led by William R. L. Anderegg, found that pollen season is starting earlier, lasting longer and has higher pollen counts than in the 1990s because of climate change.
Yale Climate Connections reports “In Anderegg’s research on pollen in North America, he saw pollen seasons starting about 20 days earlier than they did in the 1990s” and pollen concentrations increased by 21%. The higher temperatures and carbon dioxide in today’s atmosphere make plants more productive and allergies worse.
Right now in Pittsburgh we are at the height of pollen season. Recurring hot weather, 15+ degrees above normal, caused the oaks to bloom early and pollen so intense that my car turned yellow while parked at Anderson Playground for just an hour last Friday.
Allergy sufferers get a double whammy here because the pollen is added to Pittsburgh’s poor air quality making it particularly dangerous for children and people with asthma and respiratory illness.
Yesterday morning I was sure Morela was going to lay an egg but when Ecco brought her breakfast she left the nest for two hours. At 9:40am she tried laying again for 90 minutes but no egg. All afternoon it was Ecco on the green perch, not Morela, as you can see in the timelapse video below, 7am-7pm.
She returned to the nest at 8:22pm but did not lay last night.
This morning at 5:00am Ecco was back at his vigil on the green perch (photo at top). As of this moment (7:45am) he’s been back and forth to the perch but Morela still hasn’t come.
Ecco waits at the green perch, 24 April 2023, 7:17am
I don’t know what’s going on but it’s now so late in April that I think a challenger is unlikely.
Around 6:15am today I was sure Morela is about to lay an egg so I waited to make an announcement … but she left the nest. Still no egg. Stay tuned at the National Aviary Falconcam at the Cathedral of Learning just in case.
Meanwhile most of the region’s peregrine pairs are on eggs. This update will be brief.
Cathedral of Learning, Univ of Pittsburgh:
Ecco has been doing everything he can to prompt Morela to lay eggs, including bringing her tasty morsels for every meal. On 13 April he stored a woodcock on Dr. Alan Juffs’ air conditioning unit and returned to pick it up.
Ecco returns to pick up the American woodcock he cached outside Dr. Alan Juffs’ window (photos by Dr. Alan Juffs)
The pair bows frequently. In this photo he seems to be saying, “Please, Morela.”
This 24-hour timelapse video from 21-22 April shows how often they bow and that Morela is spending the night at the scrape. We are all … all … waiting.
Dark plumage peregrine brings food for to the nest at Third Avenue, 14 April 2023 (photo by Jeff Cieslak)
On 14 April Jeff Cieslak photographed a nest exchange Downtown on Third Avenue. Yes, one is still the brown bird I saw earlier in April. Jeff photographed the other one, too, and found out it’s banded. No reading on the bands yet.
Banded peregrine flies from the Third Avenue nest, 14 April 2023 (photo by Jeff Cieslak)
Eckert Street near McKees Rocks Bridge, Ohio River:
Nest exchange at Eckert Street, 13 April 2023 (photos by Jeff Cieslak)
At Eckert Street Jeff photographed a nest exchange on 13 April and the male attacking a red-tailed hawk on 10 April keeping the area safe. Yup. On eggs.
Eckert male peregrine attacks a red-tailed hawk, 10 April 2023 (photo by Jeff Cieslak)
West End Bridge, Ohio River:
Peregrine at the West End Bridge, 7 April 2023 (photo by Jeff Cieslak)
New peregrine site! Jeff staked out the West End Bridge until he confirmed a pair is lurking there.
Peregrine flies by the bridge abutment, 7 April 2023 (photo by Jeff Cieslak)
One of the birds is banded! Again no read on the bands yet.
Banded peregrine at the West End Bridge, 7 April 2023 (photo by Jeff Cieslak)
Jeff made a map of where to watch.
West End Bridge peregrine viewing (Google map marked up by Jeff Cieslak)
Westinghouse Bridge, Turtle Creek:
Peregrine at Westinghouse Bridge, 16 April 2023 (photo by John English)
John English photographed a peregrine snoozing on 16 April. We think this pair is still on eggs.
Clairton Coke Works, Monongahela River:
NO PEREGRINES HERE. Last week Dana Nesiti found out that despite many checks on the quench tower no peregrines are nesting at USS Clairton Coke Works.
For all the news and sightings, check out this summary.
Virginia bluebells at Harrison Hills Park, 15 April 2023 (photo by Kate St. John)
22 April 2023
This week in Pittsburgh began 15 degrees above normal, dipped to freezing (10 degrees below normal), then soared back into the 80s. The flowers and leaves coped.
On Saturday 15 April I visited Harrison Hills Park and found busy insects pollinating Virginia bluebells, golden ragwort, spring beauties and garlic mustard.
Golden ragwort at Harrison Hills Park, 15 April 2023 (photo by Kate St. John)Ant in a Spring beauty flower at Harrison Hills Park, 15 April 2023 (photo by Kate St. John)
Garlic mustard is in bloom everywhere right now but I rarely take a picture of it.
Garlic mustard blooming at Harrison Hills Park, 15 April 2023 (photo by Kate St. John)
On Monday 17 April at Schenley Park, jetbead, greater celandine, and common blue violets were in bloom.
Jetbead, Schenley Park, 17 April 2023 (photo by Kate St. John)Greater celandine blooming at Schenley Park, 17 April 2023 (photo by Kate St. John)Common blue violet, Schenley Park, 17 April 2023 (photo by Kate St. John)
The poison ivy leaves were small on Monday but are much larger now.
Poison ivy leafing out, Schenley Park, 17 April 2023 (photo by Kate St. John)
By yesterday, 21 April, the redbud was seriously leafing out in Schenley.
Redbud leafing out, Schenley Park, 21 April 2023 (photo by Kate St. John)
These two photos show Schenley’s leafout progress: The first below is a yellow buckeye near Anderson Playground on 17 April. The second is the same yellow buckeye 4 days later! It’s hard to see Panther Hollow Lake through the trees.
Yellow buckeye in Full Leaf near Anderson Playground, Schenley Park, 17 April 2023 (photo by Kate St. John)Yellow buckeye 4 days later, Schenley Park, 21 April 2023 (photo by Kate St. John)
New birds! Yesterday I saw my first of year house wrens and chimney swifts (my Schenley eBird checklist here). Today I’ll dodge the raindrops to find the wood thrush reported by friends near Circuit Drive / Serpentine Road.
Because of this month’s super-hot weather most trees will be in Full Leaf and the early flowers will have gone to seed but there’s still more to see. The second wave of migrating birds will be coming through and the wood thrushes (Hylocichla mustelina) will have come home.
Wood thrush, Schenley Park, 24 April 2020 (photo by Donna Foyle)
We’ll peek through the leaves to look for birds. Will we see tuliptree flowers?
Tulip tree leaves and flower, 2 May 2017 (photo by Kate St. John)
Will the mayapples be blooming? Or forming fruit?
Mayapple flowering in Schenley Park, 10 May 2020 (photo by Kate St. John)
Meet me at the Visitors Center at 8:30am. Dress for the weather and wear comfortable walking shoes. Don’t forget your binoculars!
I’ll be there rain or shine, but not in downpours or thunder. Check the Events page before you come in case of a cancellation.
Hope to see you there.
p.s. If the birding is good I’ll give an option to continue until 11a.
(photo by Donna Foyle on taken at Schenley Park on 24 April 2020!)
Last week the temperature was so hot for so long in Pittsburgh — up to 16ºF above normal — that we put away our winter coats and wore summer clothes five days in a row. Norway maples burst into full leaf. Oak flowers bloomed. Insects flew around. The ticks came out. (Be careful!) And yet Spring’s migrating birds, the birds we expect under these conditions, did not show up. For instance, where are the catbirds?
As of this writing (6:00am on 20 April) eBird’s gray catbird sightings for April 2023 show that catbirds surround western PA but they aren’t here. Notice the catbird-free zone in western PA.
Zoom in on Allegheny County and you’ll find a single sighting on 8 April in North Park (not shown on map below) and one on 15 April at Riding Meadow Park. Otherwise there are no catbirds in Allegheny County but they’re in the counties around us: Westmoreland, Beaver and Butler. (That red pin drop in the east is in Westmoreland County.)
For some reason Allegheny County, PA is the last place birds want to visit. We have a few theories about it this year but this is an annual problem. Check out the theories and maps in this 2012 article.
Last November eBird enhanced their Status and Trends website with cool interactive maps of overall abundance, weekly abundance, population trends and range for nearly 700 species. The population trends are fascinating for two reasons: northward movement and curious exceptions.
Many eastern species are moving their breeding ranges northward. For some it’s starkly obvious that they’re declining in the Southeastern U.S. and increasing in the northern U.S. and southern Canada. Click HERE to see 12 good examples at Cottonwood Post.
Blue jay (Cyanocitta cristata) trends are doubly fascinating. Jays are definitely moving north but with a curious exception in south Florida (why increasing there?). Check out their trends map. Blue is good, red is bad.
Most of Pennsylvania has no change in blue jay abundance but did you see the tiny red dot near Pittsburgh? Where is that decline? Drill into the map on the eBird website using these step-by-step screenshots to guide you.
As I zoomed in it became apparent that nothing has changed (i.e. white dots) for blue jays in our region until I found that red dot in Cranberry Township. I hovered my cursor over it and found that blue jays declined there 7.5% from 2007 to 2021. I wonder why…
Meanwhile wood thrushes (Hylocichla mustelina) are the curious exception. Though declining overall their trends map doesn’t show the predictable north-south pattern.
Wood thrush singing (photo by Steve Gosser)
Wood thrushes are declining in the Northeast but increasing in the Southern Appalachians and Alabama. A line of “No Change” runs from approximately Kingston, Ontario to Charlottesville, Virginia. Again, I wonder why…
