Pretty Invasive

May 9, 2022Plants & FungiKate St. John

Viburnum plicatum beginning to bloom, Frick Park, 3 May 2022 (photo by Kate St. John)

9 May 2022

In early April in Frick Park I noticed many woody saplings leafing out ahead of all the other plants. They were everywhere sporting dark green pleated leaves while the rest of the woods were brown. They looked invasive. I took a picture.

One of many V. plicatum volunteers leafing out, Frick Park, 13 April 2022 (photo by Kate St. John)

In early May the older ones started to bloom. Viburnum. But which one?

Viburnums are hard to identify so I asked my friends from the Botanical Society of Western PA, Mark Bowers and Loree Speedy, who identified it as Japanese snowball (Vibrunum plicatum) and remembered it from a survey in Frick Park a few years ago.

When Frick Park was established in 1919 its grand entry was landscaped with beautiful plants from around the world, available from catalogs such as this one from 1910 showing Viburnum plicatum var Tomentosum.

V. Plicatum var. tomentosum in Mount Hope Nurseries catalog, 1910 (photo from Wikimedia Commons)

The plant looks good in the catalog and even better in person. For over 100 years it’s been thriving and spreading in the park.

Viburnum plicatum var plicatum (photo from Wikimedia Commons)

It is now listed as invasive in Pennsylvania, certainly in Allegheny and Westmoreland Counties.

Japanese snowball (Viburnum plicatum) invasive map from invasiveplantatlas.org

Pretty, but invasive.

Read more about invasive vs. native viburnums in this article from Maryland Invasive Species Council: Choose Your Viburnums With Care.

(photos by Kate St. John and from Wikimedia Commons; click on the captions to see the originals)

Seen Last Week

May 8, 2022Phenology, Plants & FungiKate St. John

An abundance of the plant formerly known as squaw root, Schenley Park, 5 May 2022 (photo by Kate St. John)

8 May 2022

The first week of May was full of new flowers, leaves, birds and insects. Here are just a few of many sightings.

The ground in Schenley Park is dotted with abundant clusters of cream colored leafless flowers poking up like corn cobs beneath the oaks. Conopholis americana is a parasite on oak roots so we never see the plant itself, only the flowers. Fortunately it doesn’t harm the trees.

Formerly known as squaw root, Conopholis americana has many alternate common names. The accepted name now is “American cancer-root” but that sounds scary and can be misleading. I prefer “bear corn” because it looks like a corn cob and bears do eat it.

While the bear cone bloomed below them, the oaks flowered and leafed out above. This drew in migrating birds to eat the insects that hatch among the leaves.

Red oak flowers and new leaves, Schenley Park, 5 May 2022 (photo by Kate St. John)

May’s tiny green caterpillars are too small for me to photograph but here’s what they look like in June, munching on an oak leaf. This is warbler food!

Caterpillar on oak leaf, June 2020 (photo by Kate St. John)

At mid level in Schenley Park the pawpaws (Asimina triloba) opened their bell-like flowers.

Pawpaw in bloom, Schenley Park, 5 May 2022 (photo by Kate St. John)

And Jack-in-the-pulpit (Arisaema triphyllum) bloomed in Frick Park.

Jack-in-the-pulpit, Frick Park, 2 May 2022 (photo by Kate St. John)

Some new leaves are not benign. Poison ivy is leafing out. Beware! Learn how to ID it at Poison-ivy.org.

Poison ivy leafing out, Frick Park, 2 May 2022 (photo by Kate St. John)

(photos by Kate St. John)

Weak Fourth Chick is Gone

May 7, 2022Nesting & Courtship, PeregrinesKate St. John

Wet Morela feeds 3 chicks, 6 May 2022, 4:24pm (photo from the National Aviary falconcam at Univ of Pittsburgh)

7 May 2022

Pittsburgh is in the throes of heavy rain(*) and it is still raining this morning. Since food was hard to find in yesterday’s steady downpour, the Pitt peregrine chicks did not eat often and there were fewer opportunities to count heads and look for the weak fourth chick. However, every time the family moved it was clear the fourth chick was gone.

The last time he participated in a feeding was the day before, on 5 May. He was fed standing up at 8:21am but collapsed minutes later. Morela fed him on his back.

Morela feeds weak 4th chick on his back, 5 May 2022, 8:33am (photo from the National Aviary falconcam at Univ of Pittsburgh)

The fourth chick was absent from subsequent feedings until his lifeless body was seen on the gravel behind his siblings at 3:04pm (below).

4th chick expired at back of huddle, 5 May 2022, 3:04pm (photo from the National Aviary falconcam at Univ of Pittsburgh)

By yesterday morning he was gone. Perhaps one of the adults removed his body overnight. He does not appear on camera on 6 May 2002. See the time lapse video below.

Meanwhile the remaining chicks are thriving and, at 11 days old, have grown their second down and started their wing and tail feathers. Tomorrow their ears will be distinct.

Watch them grow at the National Aviary falconcam at Univ of Pittsburgh.

(*) By Saturday morning 7 May 2022, Pittsburgh had reached record rainfall for the month-to-date of 2.87 inches.

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

Fancy Faces

May 6, 2022Water and ShoreKate St. John

Male anhinga in breeding plumage (photo from Wikimedia Commons)

5 May 2022

Some birds change their feathers for the breeding season. Others change the color of their skin.

In the non-breeding season, June to December, the bare skin on anhingas’ (Anhinga anhinga) faces is an unremarkable yellowish-brown that blends with their plumage and beaks.

Female anhinga in non-breeding plumage (photo from Wikimedia Commons)

But beginning in January their bodies transition to breeding plumage and their faces turn bright turquoise. Even the normally dull, brown-necked females have resplendent blue-green around their eyes.

Watch their fancy faces in this video from South Carolina.

Nesting Anhingas in South Carolina pic.twitter.com/t1knFNzy7x
— Brad Balliett (@BalliettBrad) April 16, 2022

(photos from Wikimedia Commons; click on the captions to see the originals)

p.s. If you thought you saw this post on Wednesday morning and then it disappeared, you’re right. It was supposed to appear today.

Rare Golden-winged Warbler Visits Schenley Park

May 5, 2022Migration, Schenley ParkKate St. John

Golden-winged warbler in Schenley Park, 4 May 2022 (photo by Charity Kheshgi)

5 May 2022

After yesterday morning’s downpour the sky never cleared and the air was so heavy that I didn’t expect to see good birds in Schenley Park, but when I arrived the soundscape was filled with the songs of rose-breasted grosbeaks, wood thrushes, Baltimore orioles, and many northern parulas. When I found the loudest parula I discovered he had a rare friend — a golden-winged warbler (Vermivora chrysoptera). The two of them were feeding on insects hidden in new elm leaves.

My post on the rare bird alert drew in other birders and photographers, including Charity Kheshgi whose photos are shown here. Rare birds usually visit for only 24 hours so everyone had to act fast.

Why is this bird rare?

The Golden-winged Warbler is a sharply declining songbird that lives in shrubby, young forest habitats in the Great Lakes and Appalachian Mountains regions. They have one of the smallest populations of any songbird not on the Endangered Species List and are listed as Near Threatened by the IUCN. An estimated 400,000 breeding adults remain—a drop of 66% since the 1960s. In the Appalachian Mountains the situation is even worse: the regional population has fallen by 98%. We’ve learned that the main reasons for the decline include habitat loss on the breeding and wintering grounds (Central and northern South America) and hybridization with the closely related Blue-winged Warbler.
— Cornell Lab of Ornithology: Golden-winged warbler Conservation Strategy

Because of their precipitous decline, golden-winged warblers have been well studied for at least a decade. Seven years ago, scientists tracking this tiny bird in Tennessee discovered that it sensed the approach of violent storms and fled the tornadoes one day ahead. Read the amazing story of how golden-winged warblers flew 400 miles to the Gulf of Mexico to avoid the storms … and then came back.

Warblers Fled Tornadoes One Day Ahead!

(photos by Charity Kheshgi)

Fourth Chick Very Weak

May 4, 2022Nesting & Courtship, PeregrinesKate St. John

4 May 2022

Yesterday the tiny fourth chick appeared to be very weak and unlikely to survive. Morela and Ecco are aware of it and are doing the best they can.

As you can see in the slides above, labeled with feeding times on 3 May, Morela attempts to feed the chick even when it is on its back. Ecco looks for the chick every time he visits the nest.

Perhaps the two of them were communicating about this at 10:15am when Morela wailed at Ecco. In the video below, Ecco comes to the nest and looks for the fourth chick, then Morela arrives and wails.

This is the first time this pair has had a weak chick.

p.s. Thank you to Mary Ann Pike for alerting me to the 10:15 wailing session.

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

Now Four. Soon Five?

May 3, 2022Nesting & Courtship, PeregrinesKate St. John

4th egg hatches at Pitt peregrine nest, 2 May 2022, 1:20pm (photo from the National Aviary snapshot camera at Univ of Pittsburgh)

3 May 2022

Yesterday I was quite surprised when the fourth of five peregrine eggs hatched at the Cathedral of Learning nest. The chick emerged, pink and wet, while Morela was feeding his three older siblings at 1:20pm. (see update at end)

Morela laid five eggs in March but the fourth egg appeared three days after incubation began so I expected it to hatch three days after the other chicks that hatched on 26 April. In other words, on 29 April. Instead it was three days after that.

With its siblings nearly a week old the new chick looked tiny and vulnerable but it is not. We had already forgotten that newly hatched chicks must dry off and wait a bit before their first feeding.

Chick #4 is getting his fair share so far. Check out these slides from the 8:45pm feeding. (Yes, Morela feeds them after sunset.) The fourth chick moves around to the front of the pack and gets lots of food.

Morela she stuffs the older ones first, then focuses her attention on the smallest chick.

We now have four nestlings at the Pitt peregrine nest. Will we have five soon? According to my calculations the whitish egg#5 is due to hatch today. But we know how bad my calculations are.

Watch four chicks and the fifth egg at the National Aviary falconcam at Univ of Pittsburgh.

UPDATE, 7 May 2022: The fourth chick was very weak and did not survive. Click here for details.

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

Three Chicks Eat Often

May 2, 2022Nesting & Courtship, PeregrinesKate St. John

Morela about to feed a blue jay to her three chicks, 1 May 2022 (photo from the National Aviary snapshot camera)

2 May 2022

Yesterday the three chicks at the Pitt peregrine nest were five days old, growing fast, and eating often — as many as five times yesterday. At this age their weight has doubled since they hatched.

Morela and Ecco feed them frequently in the late afternoon. At the 3:35pm feeding a blue jay was on the menu (above) but it had to be plucked and the nest got messy. This feeding was hard to see on the streaming falconcam because Morela’s back was in the way.

Morela feeding her chicks, 1 May 2022 (photo from the National Aviary snapshot camera)

An hour later Morela stood to the side with an easy view as she fed the chicks in this 12 minute video. Listen for the chicks’ begging sounds and Morela’s “chupping” that encourages them to eat.

As soon as they eat they fall asleep. Morela tucks them in.

Tucking them in for a nap, 1 May 2022 (photo from the National Aviary snapshot camera)

Nite nite.

One chick peeks out, 1 May 2022 (photo from the National Aviary snapshot camera)

There are still two unhatched eggs at Morela and Ecco’s nest. The reddish one is past its due date and probably won’t hatch. The whitish egg is due to hatch tomorrow, 3 May … but maybe not.

UPDATE AT 1:30PM: (Proving me wrong again) egg#4 just hatched!

Fourth chick (pink and wet) emerges from its shell while Morela feeds its siblings, 2 May 2022, 13:20 (photo from the National Aviary snapshot camera)

Watch the chicks grow at the National Aviary falconcam at Univ of Pittsburgh.

Check out the week-by-week development of peregrine chicks at this FAQ.

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

Migration: The Color of Spring

May 1, 2022Migration, SongbirdsKate St. John

Scarlet tanager, May 2021 (photo by Christopher T)

1 May 2022

May at last! For the next three weeks gorgeous birds will arrive on the south wind, some to nest, others to pause on their northward journey. With colors more vibrant than April’s wildflowers they suddenly appear among new green leaves. Red, yellow, blue, black and white, Christopher T’s photos show them at their best.

Male scarlet tanagers (Piranga olivacea) are not scarlet when they spend the winter in South America — instead they are green — but by the time they’re back home in the eastern U.S. they are the brightest red.

Kentucky warblers (Geothlypis formosa) highlight brilliant yellow with a black cap and mask. We are lucky to have this uncommon bird nesting in Pennsylvania. I-80 approximates the northern edge of their range.

Kentucky warbler, May 2021 (photo by Christopher T)

Male indigo buntings (Passerina cyanea) are mottled brown when they spend the winter in Central and South America, but nothing says “blue!” like an indigo bunting in May sunshine.

Indigo bunting, July 2021 (photo by Christopher T)

Even black and white look beautiful when worn by a male black-and-white warbler (Mniotilta varia) …

Black and white warbler, April 2022 (photo by Christopher T)

… and more beautiful when punctuated by the male rose-breasted grosbeak’s (Pheucticus ludovicianus) exclamation point. Watch carefully when he flies to see the rosy surprise beneath his wings.

Rose-breasted grosbeak, May 2021 (photo by Christopher T)

Get outdoors this month to enjoy migration’s colors of spring.

(photos by Christopher T)

Now Blooming

April 30, 2022Phenology, Plants & FungiKate St. John

Redbud blooming in Frick Park, 28 April 2022 (photo by Kate St. John)

30 April 2022

Thursday morning’s freezing temperature did not affect the redbud trees in Frick Park. I hope it didn’t harm the wildflowers we saw on Wednesday at Enlow Fork in Greene County.

Check the captions for what’s blooming now.