Flaco Died of a Window Strike

Bird Behavior, Birds of Prey
Flaco the Eurasian eagle-owl in Central Park shortly after he escaped his damaged cage, 18 Feb 2023 (photo from Wikimedia Commons)

1 March 2024

One week ago today, on 23 Feb 2024, the most famous owl in New York City hit a window on West 89th Street and died.

Flaco the Eurasian eagle-owl (Bubo bubo) escaped his enclosure at the Central Park Zoo more than a year ago after a vandal damaged it on 2 Feb 2023. The zoo tried to recapture him and worried that he would starve or be hit by a car. Instead Flaco thrived on his own and became a symbol of freedom to many New Yorkers.

A crowd watches Flaco on 18 Feb 2023 (photo from Wikimedia Commons)

He endeared himself to apartment dwellers by sometimes visiting their highrise windows or perching on their fire escapes.

Flaco peeping in a window in NYC, Dec 2023 (photo from Wikimedia Commons)

Sadly a window was Flaco’s undoing. Flaco’s biggest fan, David Lei (@davidlei), reported:

Memorials sprung up instantly.

Memorial to Flaco, the Eurasian eagle-owl, New York City, 25 Feb 2024 (photo from Wikimedia Commons)

Flaco’s death was covered in the New York Times: Flaco, Escaped Central Park Zoo Owl and Defier of Doubts, Is Dead and commented on by the zoo where he lived most of his life.

His story should not be over, though. Flaco was not the only bird to die of a window strike in North America. He was merely the most famous. Nearly one billion birds per year hit windows in the U.S.

If your home has ever experienced a window strike please implement one of these techniques to prevent further collisions and deaths.

Find out more at this vintage blog, written after one of our young peregrines died of a window strike.

Windows Kill

I hope Flaco’s death inspires everyone to do more to prevent bird deaths at windows.

(credits are in the captions)

I Am Not An Antelope

Mammals, Southern Africa
Pronghorn male in Oregon (photo from Wikimedia Commons)

29 February 2024

Though we call this animal a pronghorn antelope (Antilocapra americana), it is not an antelope at all.

While I was on Road Scholar’s Southern Africa Birding Safari last month I saw seven species of antelopes (not my photos; these are from Wikimedia Commons).

Because the pronghorn’s appearance is similar, I can see why he’s called an antelope, but his nearest relatives are other African animals, the giraffe and okapi.

Giraffe in South Africa (photo from Wikimedia Commons)
An okapi (photo from Wikimedia Commons)
An okapi (photo from Wikimedia Commons)

Pronghorns probably resemble antelopes because they run like them, a trait they acquired to escape cheetahs(!). Cheetahs used to be in North America but disappeared a long time ago.

video embedded from American Prairie on YouTube

The pronghorn never stopped running.

Hot Weather Affects Maple Sugar Season

Climate Change, Phenology
Maple sugar bucket hanging on a tree (photo from Wikimedia Commons)
Bucket collecting maple sap to make maple syrup (photo from Wikimedia Commons)

28 February 2024

The month of March is traditionally the best month for tapping maples to collect sap for maple syrup. The sap runs best with daytime temperatures above freezing and nights below freezing. When the days are too hot the sap becomes bitter. When the nights don’t freeze the sap stops running and the season is over.

This winter we’ve had yo-yo weather in the Northeast and Great Lakes states. You can see it in the forecast highs this week from Tuesday 27 Feb through Sat 2 March. The cold front coming through today will result in two nights below freezing. Then temperatures will rise again into the 60s. You can see the new blob of hot weather approaching from the Great Plains on Saturday 2 March.

Maple sugar farmers have had to adjust by starting the season whenever the sap runs — in Pennsylvania that might mean January — and pausing the season when the temperature goes up too high in hopes it will drop again.

This news article from Minnesota shows what their maple farmers are dealing with.

video embedded from KSPT5 Eyewitness News

It’s Time to Look for Fairy Shrimp

Fish, Frogs, Phenology
Vernal pool in late winter (photo from Wikimedia Commons)

27 February 2024

Yes, it’s still February but this winter has been so warm that it’s already time to look for shrimp in the woods.

Last year Adam Haritan at Learn Your Land taught us about fairy shrimp in vernal pools. If you missed his 7-minute video, view it right now to find out what these tiny creatures look like and where to find them.

video embedded from Adam Haritan’s Learn Your Land

Amazingly there are 313 species of fairy shrimp (Ansotraca) around the world. Some live in brine water, some live in freshwater. The Eubranchipus genus which Adam mentioned contains 16 species including this female in Poland. You can see the eggs inside her at the root of her tail.

Fairy shrimp, female, Eubranchipus genus in Poland (photo from Wikimedia Commons)

Are you ready to go look for fairy shrimp? Find an isolated ephemeral pool in the woods and look for tiny movement in the water. Here’s a photo to set your size expectations. There’s one at the tip of the fingernail.

Fairy shrimp in Oregon (photo from Wikimedia Commons)

Look for vernal pools in the days ahead. In addition to fairy shrimp you’ll find wood frogs and spring peepers. Don’t delay. The end of March may be too late.

(credits and links are in the captions)

Right Now You Can Kayak in Death Valley

Climate Change, Musings & News, Water and Shore
Kayaking on Lake Manly in Death Valley (photo from Wikimedia Commons)

26 February 2024

In case you missed it …

During the Ice Age, the Pleistocene 2.58 million to 11,700 years ago, there was a lake 600 feet deep in Death Valley where Badwater Basin stands today. Named Lake Manly(*) by geologists, it disappeared 10,000 years ago.

Badwater Basin is 282 feet below sea level so any water that reaches it can only evaporate yet the evaporation rate is so high that the basin is a salt pan. Occasionally — decades apart — there’s enough rain to make a shallow lake.

Badwater Basin in normal times, Dec 2018 (photo from Wikimedia Commons)

In the past six months California has had two unusual rain events. On 20 August 2023 Hurricane Hilary dumped 2.2 inches and caused Lake Manly to re-form in place. (The deluge also closed the Death Valley National Park for two months.) Amazingly the lake persisted through the winter.

Lake Manly, Death Valley, December 2023 (photo from Wikimedia Commons)

And then the Atmospheric River event of 4-7 February dumped 1.5 more inches of rain. Lake Manly grew to a depth of 1 to 2 feet so in mid-February the National Park Service opened it to kayaking.

video embedded from Associated Press on YouTube

The last time the lake formed, in 2005, it lasted only about a week. This time NPS estimates it’ll be gone — or at least too shallow for kayaks — by April.

So if you want to kayak in Death Valley, get out there now before Badwater Basin returns to normal.

Lake Manly typically looks like this in Badwater Basin, (photo from 2010 at Wikimedia Commons)

Read more here at ABC News: An ancient lake has reemerged at Death Valley National Park.

p.s. From Wikipedia: “The lake was named in honor of William Lewis Manly, who rescued immigrants from Death Valley in 1849.”

Look for Peregrines in the Next 6 Weeks

Nesting & Courtship, Peregrines
Peregrine pair at Tarentum Bridge, 19 Feb 2024 (photo by Dave Brooke)

25 February 2024

From now until the middle of April peregrine falcons in southwestern Pennsylvania are courting and claiming territory, perching prominently, and performing conspicuous aerial displays. As soon as they start incubating eggs they’ll become very secretive so if you want to see a peregrine or record breeding activity for the new Breeding Bird Atlas 2024-2029, this is a great time to do it.

Look for peregrines in the next 6 weeks.

The red and blue pin drops, 1 Dec 2023 — 24 Feb 2024, on the eBird map below confirm that the best places to look are near tall buildings or bridges. There are also a few surprising locations such as Mammoth Lake Park in Westmoreland County.

Peregrine sightings in Southwestern PA, 1 Dec 2023 to 25 Feb 2024 (screenshot from eBird Explore)

11 peregrine territories have pairs present since January. Here’s the simpler map.

Peregrine falcon pairs in southwestern PA as of 25 Feb 2024 (map by Kate St. John)

Of those 11 sites, five raised young last year and two more have a long history of nesting (7 boldface names below). The new and promising sites are boldface in the Notes column.

Peregrine Sites to Watch!

Looking for some excitement? Want to add Peregrine Falcon to the PA Breeding Bird Atlas? Check out these “hopefuls” for 2024.

Rt. 40 Bridge in West Brownsville, PA (Washington County). New nest (to us) last year, will they use it this year? Click here to read about this nest.

Female peregrine clutching prey and shouting, West Brownsville Lane Bane Bridge, 26 May 2023 (photo by Jeff Cieslak)

East Liberty Presbyterian Church in the City of Pittsburgh. Very hopeful signs at this site! Click here to read all about it.

Location of peregrine focus (potential nest site) at East Liberty Presbyterian Church, 12 Feb 2024 (photo by Adam Knoerzer)

West End Bridge over the Ohio River, Pittsburgh. This site often has pairs but no indication of nesting … yet. Click here to read all about it.

Sewickley Bridge over the Ohio River. This site also has pairs but no confirmation of nesting yet.

Peregrine at Sewickley Bridge 11 March 2023 (photo by Jeff Cieslak)

Monaca bridges over the Ohio River: RR Bridge or Rt51 Bridge. We know there are peregrines here but it’s hard to confirm breeding. Let this be a challenge to you!

Peregrine at Monaca RR Bridge, 9 Jan 2023 (photo by Jeff Cieslak)

Rt 422 Graff Bridge over the Allegheny River, Kittanning. We know there are peregrines here too, but with few observers we often don’t confirm breeding. Allegheny Valley People, let this be a challenge to you!

And … if you miss finding a peregrine in person you can usually count on a peregrine on camera at the Cathedral of Learning. Today they courted at dawn.

Carla and Ecco bow at dawn at the Cathedral of Learning, today — 25 Feb 2024, 6:52am (snapshot from the National Aviary falconcam at Univ of Pittsburgh)

Keep your eyes peeled. Yes, there are peregrines out there!

Please leave a comment if you’ve seen anything. I always want to know!

(photo credits are in the captions)

Hungry Bees at the Bird Feeder

Insects
Bee turns over a sunflower seed at the bird feeder, 23 Feb 2024 (photo by Marianne Atkinson)

24 February 2024

Yesterday afternoon was warm and sunny at Marianne Atkinson’s house when she noticed bees at her bird feeder and sent me this message:

I am concerned about several honey bees. It is 48° and sunny on Feb. 23, 2024 at 3:15 P.M. The bees are crawling on the sunflower chips that are in this little window feeder and on my steps and platform feeder.  The sunflower chips are dry. There is no water in them for the bees to drink or nectar.

Why are they doing this? Are they okay?

Bees at the bird feeder, 23 Feb 2024 (video by Marianne Atkinson)

Years ago I learned from beekeeper friends that early spring is a hungry time for honeybees. The warmth wakes them up in the hive, they go looking for food, but there are no flowers yet. Beekeepers provide extra food in the hive at this time of year but honeybees in the wild must go exploring.

Howard Russell at Michigan State University Extension provided this explanation:

Honey bees take advantage of any food source after a long, cold winter, including bird feeders. …

The bees collect the pollen-sized seed dust particles and yeast that are found in the cracked corn and other seeds we set out for our little feathered friends for which, I’m sure, the bees are extremely grateful. The bees will move on to their preferred food sources as spring flowers begin to appear. 

— Michigan State University Extension: Hungry honey bees visiting bird feeders

This winter continues to fluctuate from cold (today) to warm (in the 60s Monday through Wednesday). Keep your feeders filled for birds … and hungry honeybees.

(photo and video from Marianne Atkinson)

Gentle With Their Young

Birds of Prey, Nesting & Courtship
Male Eurasian sparrowhawk plucking prey (photo from Wikimedia Commons)

23 February 2024

Birds of prey are fierce while they gather food but gentle with their nestlings. Watch as this mother Eurasian sparrowhawk (Accipiter nisus) protects her babies from the rain.

If she looks familiar it’s because Eurasian sparrowhawks (Accipiter nisus) are the same genus and slightly larger than our sharp-shinned hawks (Accipiter striatus). But female sparrowhawks are brown compared to males, whereas adult male and female sharp-shinned hawks wear the same colorful plumage.

Here are photos of all three: female Eurasian sparrowhawk, adult (male / female) sharp-shinned hawk, and male sparrowhawk.

Eurasian sparrowhawk, female in UK (photo from Wikimedia Commons)
Adult sharp-shinned hawk (left) + adult male Eurasian sparrowhawk (Wikimedia photos are at the links)

Did you notice the difference in eye color? Sparrowhawks have yellow eyes. Sharpies have orange eyes.

See more nature videos at Robert E. Fuller’s channel on YouTube.

(credits are in the captions)

Seed Swap! March 2

Books & Events, Plants & Fungi
Common milkweed seeds tumbling out of the pod, Oct 2020 (photo by Kate St. John)

22 February 2024

March is right around the corner and gardening season is almost here. Are you itching to get started? Do you want to try new seeds in your garden? Do you have seeds to share with others? Then you won’t want to miss the 12th Annual Seed Swap at Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh on Saturday 2 March, 10am – 2pm.

What: 12th Annual Seed Swap: A Celebration of Seeds
Where: Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, Main, at 4400 Forbes Ave in Oakland.
When: Saturday, March 2 | 10:00 am – 2:00 pm
Event Partners: Phipps Conservatory, Grow Pittsburgh and Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh

Virgin’s bower a.k.a. Old man’s beard. Gone to seed (photo by Kate St. John)

Now in its 12th year, the Seed Swap is an annual collaboration between Phipps Conservatory, Grow Pittsburgh and Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh. Phipps Conservatory’s website describes the event:

Bring your untreated, non-GMO seeds to share or just pick up seeds donated by local gardeners, farmers and seed companies! Any guest bringing seeds will be eligible to enter a raffle of fun gifts from Phipps and Grow Pittsburgh.

Event Features:

  • Free seeds
    • A new batch of seeds will be released every hour, on the hour!
  • “Ask a master gardener” table
  • Workshops on seed starting, seed saving, and organic gardening 
  • Creative activities for children and teens
  • Historic items on display and conversation with Rare Books Specialist
  • Raffle eligibility for attendees who bring seeds to swap

Show up any time but keep in mind that new seeds will be released every hour on the hour!

The Seed Swap is free. Registration is encouraged but not required. Click here to Register.

photo embedded from Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh’s Seed Swap registration page

p.s. Here’s another helpful tip from Phipps’ website: “Interested in purchasing seed? We’ve compiled a list of seed vendors for your reference. Check out Phipps’ Smart Seed Shopping web resource for more information!“

(photos of seeds by Kate St. John, 2018 photo of Seed Swap by Nick Shapiro courtesy Grow Pittsburgh)

First Egg at the Hays Eagle Nest, 2024

Birds of Prey, Nesting & Courtship
Hays bald eagle pair + first egg in nest, 21 Feb 2024, 6:57am (screenshot from the Hays Bald Eagle Nest Camera)

21 February 2024

If you haven’t been watching the Hays Bald Eaglecam, now is a good time to start. Sharp observers saw the first egg of the 2024 nesting season last night, 20 February 2024, at 8:16pm.

The female incubated all night long, then just before dawn she turned the egg for all to see.

Hays bald eagle female turns her first egg of 2024, 21 Feb, 6:50am (screenshot from the Hays Bald Eagle Nest Camera)

As the sun rose she settled down and her mate called to her.

Female eagle on the nest at Hays, 21 Feb 2024, 6:54am (screenshot from the Hays Bald Eagle Nest Camera)

… So she left the nest to perch next to him (shown at top).

First egg at the Hays bald eagle nest as seen on 21 Feb 2024, 6:55am (screenshot from the Hays Bald Eagle Nest Camera)

Watch for one or two more eggs in the days ahead and stay tuned for the first pip on this egg about 35 days from now. Here are all the links you need.

(screenshot photos from the Hays Bald Eagle Nest Camera)