Invasive Lesser Celandine

March 29, 2023Phenology, Plants & FungiKate St. John

Lesser celandine at Duck Hollow, 23 April 2019 (photo by Kate St. John)

29 March 2023

This is the time of year when invasive plants sprout and bloom before the natives, particularly lesser celandine (Ficaria verna), a member of the Buttercup family with succulent leaves and bright yellow 8-12 petal flowers.

According to invasive.org, lesser celandine prefers sandy soil in low open woods, floodplains, meadows and waste places. It spreads easily through tubers and tiny bulblets so a scouring flood or digging in its vicinity, including digging animals, spreads it to new sites. It also thrives because it’s poisonous and deer don’t eat it.

I usually find lesser celandine blanketing floodplains including those at the Monongahela River at Duck Hollow — where it’s already in bloom — and Chartiers Creek at Boyce Mayview and Wingfield Pines.

Lesser celandine at Boyce Mayview, 15 April 2015 (photo by Kate St. John)

Blanketing is what makes it invasive. Native spring ephemeral flowers need unobstructed sunlight to complete their life cycle but lesser celandine leafs out early, blankets the ground and shades the natives before they can make a start.

When I was learning to identify plants I used to confuse it with the native plant marsh marigold (Caltha palustris).

Lesser celandine (left), Marsh marigold (right, photo from Wikimedia Commons)

Penn State Extension explains the difference between them here but the biggest hint is this: If the plant is carpeting the ground and blooming in March or early April, especially on a floodplain, you can bet it’s lesser celandine.

p.s. Learn more about invasive plants in Pennsylvania at DCNR’s Invasive Plant Fact Sheets at https://www.dcnr.pa.gov/Conservation/WildPlants/InvasivePlants/InvasivePlantFactSheets/Pages/default.aspx

(photos by Kate St. John and from Wikimedia Commons)

Courtship Resumes at Pitt Peregrine Nest

March 28, 2023Nesting & Courtship, PeregrinesKate St. John

Morela and Ecco bow on the green perch, 27 March 2023, 4:28pm (photo from the National Aviary snapshot cam at Univ of Pittsburgh)

28 March 2023

After Morela returned from battling a challenger for four days, we wondered why she wasn’t spending much time at the nest. Before the challenge she stayed at the nest all day and looked as if she was about to lay an egg, but since her return on Saturday 25 March she hasn’t spent much time at the nest.

The reason is probably that Morela’s hormones tamped down so she wouldn’t need to lay an egg during the battle. She has to get back in the mood. Ecco is working on it.

Yesterday, 27 March, Morela and Ecco held three bowing sessions, each one longer than the last. At the second session Ecco warmed up for 20 minutes and made elaborate bows and pauses. All of his moves are part of his courtship “dance.”

Watch two of their bowing sessions in the video below. Alas, the microphone misbehaved so there is no sound.

Stay tuned to the National Aviary Falconcam at the Cathedral of Learning and watch them court.

Morela and Ecco bow at the nest, 27 March 2023, 4:28pm (photo from the National Aviary snapshot cam at Univ of Pittsburgh)

Let’s see what happens next.

(photos and video from the National Aviary falconcam at Univ of Pittsburgh)

Spray Your Clothes, Field Check For Ticks

March 27, 2023InsectsKate St. John

It’s Spray Your Clothes Day (photo by Kate St. John)

27 March 2023

The worst part of Lyme disease season has just begun so let’s learn how to avoid it.

From spring through early summer the tiny nymphs of black-legged ticks (Ixodes scapularis) quest for blood meals from animals and humans. Only the size of poppy seeds, the nymphs are really hard to see. If an infected tick bites you, it will give you Lyme disease bacteria.

Nymphs are only the size of a poppy seed! (image from Wikimedia Commons)

To prevent the debilitating disease, don’t let ticks get on your skin.

Choose outdoor clothing that prevents ticks from reaching your skin:
- Light colored clothes: So you can see ticks easily.
- Long pants.
- Long sleeved shirt with collar + tuck in your shirt: Collar traps ticks before they walk up your neck.
- Socks: When you bushwhack or garden, tuck pant bottoms into socks.
Once a year (i.e. now!) Spray your outdoor clothing with Permethrin. I know from personal experience and the experts agree that Permethrin works much better than DEET. Spray protection lasts 4-6 washings. Pre-treated clothes can last 70 washings. READ AND FOLLOW LABEL DIRECTIONS.
Avoid brushing against vegetation. Avoid bushwhacking. Bush honeysuckle and Japanese barberry are tick magnets.
If vegetation brushes you, field check your clothing for ticks when you reach a clearing. The sooner you get ticks off your clothes the better.
Do a daily tick check. Yes, daily! You might have missed a tick yesterday that’s still on your skin. Check the spots shown in the diagram below.

How to do a tick check (image from PA Dept of Health & CDC.gov)

If you find a tick remove it correctly (here’s how) and save it for testing. Send it here and they’ll tell you if it carries Lyme disease.

Black-legged ticks are active year round when the temperature is above freezing. If you wear protective clothing — yes, even in hot summer — you’ll save yourself a world of trouble. See more tips here.

p.s. There are lots of ways to outsmart ticks. Did you know zip pants trap ticks under the zip placket?

p.s. Be careful with Permethrin. READ AND FOLLOW LABEL DIRECTIONS. To avoid fumes and protect kids and pets, spray your clothes outdoors on a windless day and wear rubber gloves. Keep Permethrin away from the cat (see label).

p.p.s. As Mary Jo Berman points out in the comments, I should have added this last tip on how to kill ticks on your clothing. After you come indoors, put your outdoor clothes in the dryer on high for 10 minutes BEFORE you wash them. Really. It kills ticks.

After hiking/gardening, dry your outdoor clothes for 10 mins in a hot dryer (photo by Kate St. John)

(photos by Kate St. John. tick chart from the Center for Disease Control via Wikimedia Commons. Click on the chart to see the original)

Today at Duck Hollow

March 26, 2023Books & EventsKate St. John

26 March 2023

This morning it was brilliantly sunny and becoming warmer as 15 of us walked at Duck Hollow.

Because of recent rain, especially in West Virginia, the river was running high though not quite as high as I found it during yesterday’s gloomy, rainy, windy weather (below).

The Monongahela River was running high on 25 March 2023. The tangle is al that’s left of the mudflats (photo by Kate St. John)

High water cut down on the number of waterfowl so we were happy to find a common merganser and pied-billed grebe. Best Mammal was a muskrat swimming up Nine Mile Run.

Today’s checklist is here: https://ebird.org/checklist/S131891621 and below.

Duck Hollow, Allegheny, Pennsylvania, US
Mar 26, 2023 8:30 AM – 10:00 AM
Protocol: Traveling, 1.4 mile(s)
Checklist Comments: Also 1 muskrat, 1 rabbit, 1 squirrel
23 species

Canada Goose (Branta canadensis) 2
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) 6
Common Merganser (Mergus merganser) 1 Female
Pied-billed Grebe (Podilymbus podiceps) 1
Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura) 2
Ring-billed Gull (Larus delawarensis) 2
Herring Gull (Larus argentatus) 1
Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) 1
Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura) 5
Cooper’s Hawk (Accipiter cooperii) 1
Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis) 4 One pair courting. One pair with occupied nest under the bridge.
Red-bellied Woodpecker (Melanerpes carolinus) 1
Downy Woodpecker (Dryobates pubescens) 2
Blue Jay (Cyanocitta cristata) 4
Carolina Chickadee (Poecile carolinensis) 3
Carolina Wren (Thryothorus ludovicianus) 4
Northern Mockingbird (Mimus polyglottos) 1
American Robin (Turdus migratorius) 30
House Finch (Haemorhous mexicanus) 8
White-throated Sparrow (Zonotrichia albicollis) 6
Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia) 6
Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus) 2
Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis) 10

My next outing will be in Schenley Park on Sunday 30 April at 8:30am. Stay tuned.

(photos by Kate St. John)

Morela Returns!

March 26, 2023Nesting & Courtship, PeregrinesKate St. John

26 March 2023

Four days ago I wondered if a female peregrine was challenging Morela at the Pitt peregrine nest because I hadn’t seen her on camera since Tuesday afternoon, 21 March. Yesterday morning Ecco was still present and calling to a female off camera. Was she Morela? Or had the challenger won?

The answer came yesterday around 6:15pm. After Ecco spent five minutes calling and bowing to an unseen female she appeared on camera. Morela is back!

This video shows only a small portion of time it took Ecco to entice her to the nest.

video clips of Ecco and Morela at the nest, 25 March 2023, 6:11pm

After he left she was so confident that the challenger was gone that she snoozed at the nest for an hour.

Stay tuned to the National Aviary Falconcam at the Cathedral of Learning to see what happens next.

(photos and video from the National Aviary falconcam at Univ of Pittsburgh)

The Drama Continues Off Camera

March 25, 2023Nesting & Courtship, PeregrinesKate St. John

Ecco watches something in the sky (photo from the National Aviary falconcam at Univ of Pittsburgh)

25 March 2023

UPDATE as of Saturday 25 March 2023, 7:15 PM: MORELA IS AT THE NEST!

News as of Saturday 25 March 2023, 8:00am:

On Wednesday morning, 22 March, I began to wonder if a female peregrine was challenging Morela at the Pitt peregrine nest. Morela hasn’t been seen on the falconcam since Tues 21 March at 3:32pm and two days have passed since I last saw her perched on campus (Wed 22 March at 4:14pm). Meanwhile Ecco waits and watches at the Cathedral of Learning.

Though none of us have seen any female peregrine for two days Ecco sometimes sees one in the sky — or maybe more than one. Yesterday afternoon he called to her from the nest. Whoever she was, she didn’t come in. Only Ecco knows whether she was Morela or the challenger.

Eventually a female will join Ecco at the nest so watch carefully at that point. Is she Morela? Or someone new?

Will there be eggs and chicks this year? No one can tell. Like Ecco, all we can do is watch and wait.

The drama continues off camera for now.

Stay tuned at the National Aviary Falconcam at the Cathedral of Learning.

(photos and video from the National Aviary falconcam at Univ of Pittsburgh)

Hatch Watch Begins at Hays Eagle Nest

March 24, 2023Birds of Prey, Nesting & CourtshipKate St. John

Bald eagle on the Hays nest, 23 March 2023 (screenshot from Pittsburgh Hays Bald Eagle Camera at ASWP.org)

24 March 2023

UPDATE on 26 March 2023: First egg hatched around noon on 26 March.

It’s been more than a month since the first egg was laid at the Hays bald eagle nest and today, 35 days later, we’re watching for a hatch.

Bald eagle eggs hatch in 34-41 days but thanks to eaglestreamer.org‘s record keeping we know that the Hays eagles hatch at the early end of that spectrum. This year’s predictions are:

Estimated hatch dates (based on 35 days incubation):

Egg 1 – 3/24/23; Egg 2 – 3/27/23.
— eaglestreamer.org

Watch the Hays Bald Eagle Nest Camera. When the eagle rolls her eggs, look for a pip!

Turning the eggs at the Hays bald eagle nest, 23 March 2023, 10:02am (screenshot from Pittsburgh Hays Bald Eagle Camera at ASWP.org)

You can also:

Join the conversation on YouTube or Facebook.
Stop by the Hays Bald Eagle Viewing Area on the Three Rivers Heritage Trail. Click here for directions.
Check the Hatch and Fledge countdown clocks at eaglestreamer.org.

(photos are screenshots from the Pittsburgh Hays Bald Eagle Camera at ASWP.org)

To Lek or Not to Lek: Grackles Lead Different Lives

March 23, 2023Bird Behavior, Nesting & Courtship, SongbirdsKate St. John

Male common grackle, puff and “skrinnk” (photo by Norm Townsend via Flickr Creative Commons license)

23 March 2023

Lek: an assembly area where animals (such as the prairie chicken) carry on display and courtship behavior. Also an aggregation of animals assembled on a lek for courtship.
— Merriam-Webster Dictionary

Male prairie chickens hold a lek to attract females and according to this diagram so do “grackles.” It was exciting to think that the puff and “skrinnk” of male common grackles in Pittsburgh was a lek. But it’s not! The three species of grackles in North America lead very different lives.

Common grackles (Quiscalus quiscula), are usually monogamous and may nest alone or colonially with up to 200 pairs in a single colony.

Common grackles, Bill Up Display (photo by Tony Morris via Flickr Creative Commons license)

Bill Up is a male-to-male threat display. The puff and skrinnk is Song during courtship.

Boat-tailed grackles (Quiscalus major), found in Florida and along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts, nest in harems. The males gather in leks to attract the females.

Boat-tailed grackles perform during the breeding season (photo by shell game via Flickr Creative Commons license)

Male boat-tailed grackles on the lek (photo by Judy Gallagher on Flickr via Creative Commons license)

Female boat-tailed grackles are dull brown and laid back compared their male counterparts.

Female boat-tailed grackle (photo by Melissa McMaster via Flickr Creative Commons licnse)

Great-tailed grackles (Quiscalus mexicanus), found west of the Mississippi and in Central America, gather in noisy winter flocks.

Great-tailed grackle flock (photo by Phillip Cowan via Flickr Creative Commons license)

In the breeding season they don’t use leks and they aren’t monogamous.

Great-tailed grackle (photo by designwallah via Flickr Creative Commons license)

Birds of the World explains:

[Their] mating system can be described as non-faithful female frank polygyny, in which a territorial male has one or more social mates, each female has one social mate, and both sexes employ extra-pair copulation as a conditional mating tactic. Territorial males defend a small territory including from 1 to several trees, where one or more females nest. The male protects nestlings hatched on his territory, but not nestlings from other territories. He copulates with his social mates and may attempt to copulate with other females.
— Birds of the World: Great-tailed grackle account

Frankly, all the great-tailed grackles mess around. Even the females swagger.

Female great-tailed grackle (photo by Charlie Jackson via Flickr Creative Commons license)

Though they’re all called “grackles” they don’t act the same.

(photos are Flickr Creative Commons licensed and credited in the captions, click on the captions to see the originals)

Is There A Challenger At The Pitt Peregrine Nest?

March 22, 2023Nesting & Courtship, PeregrinesKate St. John

Morela at the Pitt peregrine nest, 21 March, 2:07pm (photo from the National Aviary snapshot camera at Univ of Pittsburgh)

22 March 2023

See Status Updates at the end.

As I mentioned yesterday morning Morela was looking as if she’d lay an egg any minute, but yesterday everything changed. After days of lounging at the nest and crouching over the scrape Morela was barely on camera at all. When she returned in the afternoon she looked vigilant. Meanwhile Ecco spent 2.5 hours waiting at the nest, sometimes watching the sky.

What’s up with Morela? Why isn’t she trying to lay an egg? I think she may have a challenger who’s keeping her busy.

From just after midnight on 21 March through 7:00am 22 March (today) this timelapse video shows how both peregrines are absent from the nest. I’ve provided a description of the action below the video, some illustrated with snapshots.

Activities on the video:

Morela is at the nest nearly continuously on Tuesday 21 March from midnight to 4:50am when she jumped to the roof, still present at the nest though not visible.
Morela looks relaxed for an hour at the nest 9:50-10:57am. Then she disappears.
Ecco takes her place for more than an hour 10:59am-12:02pm. Ecco has a bright orange beak and legs compared to Morela’s pale yellow.
Ecco stops in briefly and watches the sky.
Morela’s back at the nest 2:03pm-3:32pm, for about 90 minutes, but she looks sleek and vigilant, not egg-y at all.
Ecco returns for 90 minutes, 5:29p-6:56pm.
Neither bird is at the nest after that.

The photos are numbered to match what they illustrate.

#1. Morela is on the roof during the early morning hours of 21 March.

Morela on roof of nestbox before dawn on 21 March 2023, 6am (photo from the National Aviary snapshot camera at Univ of Pittsburgh)

#3. Ecco has bright orange beak and legs.

#3 and #5 Morela’s beak and legs are yellow, not orange. At 2:00pm she looks sleek and vigilant, not egg-y at all.

Morela looks vigilant, 21 March 2023, 14:44 (photo from the National Aviary falconcam at Univ of Pittsburgh)

#4 Ecco stops in briefly and watches the sky.

Ecco watches the sky. Who’s up there? (photo from the National Aviary falconcam at Univ of Pittsburgh)

Neither bird is at the nest today which indicates again that there’s probably a challenger.

Fingers crossed that the intruder is driven off soon. Go, Morela!

UPDATE on Morela and Ecco as of Friday 24 March 2023, 5:50 am:

Morela’s most recent appearance at the nest: Tues 21 March at 3:32pm.
Morela last seen: Vigilant on Heinz Chapel scaffolding Wed 22 March at 4:14pm.
Ecco last seen: Watchful at the nest, Thurs 23 March at 5:13pm.
The Challenger: Has not been seen yet (which is good news).

My conclusion from these sightings: The challenger is female. Morela is keeping her away the Cathedral of Learning but has not vanquished her yet. The challenger has not won either.

(photos from the National Aviary falconcam at Univ of Pittsburgh)

Waiting For An Egg

March 21, 2023Nesting & Courtship, PeregrinesKate St. John

Morela looks egg-y, 20 March 2023, 9:57am (photo from the National Aviary falconcam at Univ of Pittsburgh)

21 March 2023

For almost a week Morela has looked as if she’ll lay an egg any minute at the Cathedral of Learning peregrine nest. Yesterday morning we thought she was ready. She lumbered off the green perch and stood in the scrape. We watched and waited.

But minutes later Ecco showed up with a snack. Morela didn’t tell him “Go away I’m busy.” Instead she got up to grab it and eventually left to eat. As Ecco steps up to watch her leave, he realizes he has fluff stuck to his toes.