Fancy Faces

Water and Shore
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.

(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

Migration, Schenley Park
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.

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

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

Nesting & Courtship, Peregrines
  • 6:30 Morela feeds 4th chick

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?

Nesting & Courtship, Peregrines
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.

  • 4th tiny chick is on the left

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

Nesting & Courtship, Peregrines
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

Migration, Songbirds
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

Phenology, Plants & Fungi
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.

Wild blue phlox, Enlow Fork, 27 April 2022 (photo by Kate St. John)
Squirrel corn, Enlow Fork, 27 April 2023 (photo by Kate St. John)
Dwarf larkspur, Enlow Fork, 27 April 2022 (photo by Kate St. John)
Corn salad, Enlow Fork, 27 April 2022 (photo by Kate St. John)
Blue-eyed Mary, Enlow Fork, 27 April 2022 (photo by Kate St. John)

(photos by Kate St. John)

Still Awaiting Hatch: Eggs 4 and 5

Nesting & Courtship, Peregrines
Pre-dawn feeding at Pitt peregrine nest, 29 April 2022, 6:18am (photo from the National Aviary snapshot camera)

29 April 2022

This morning Ecco brought food before dawn to the Cathedral of Learning peregrine nest. While Morela fed the chicks I watched closely, counting heads and looking for eggs. The chicks obscured the remaining eggs but with the family at three chicks I assume eggs #4 and #5 are still waiting to hatch.

Egg #4 is on its way. Yesterday morning I saw a pip, below, during the 10am feeding.

Pip visible in egg #4, 28 April 2022, 10:21am (photo from the National Aviary snapshot camera)

Will egg #4 hatch today? Will egg #5 hatch next week?

Watch the National Aviary falconcam at Univ of Pittsburgh to find out.

UPDATE 7 May 2022: The fourth egg hatched 3 days late and the chick did not survive. The fifth egg never hatched.

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

Separating the Wheat From the Chaff

Bird Behavior, Songbirds
Chipping sparrow with seed in beak (photo from Wikimedia Commons)

28 April 2022

Seed-eating birds use only their beaks to extract their food from shells and husks. Have you noticed how they do it?

At the feeder you may see them pick up a whole nut, crack the shell with their strong beaks and let the shell fall, then work on the seed inside their mouths with tongue and beak. They do the same with grassy seeds though we rarely see it.

Evening grosbeak and American goldfinch at the feeder, Nov 2012 (photo by Marcy Cunkelman)

This slow motion video of a field sparrow (Spizella pusilla) shows how he separates the “wheat” from the chaff. It’s a lot of mouth work for tiny seeds.

(photos from Wikimedia Commons and Marcy Cunkelman)

First Day at the Pitt Peregrine Nest, 2022

Nesting & Courtship, Peregrines
By 7pm on Hatch Day: Morela + 3 chicks + 4th egg hatching, 26 April 2022 (photo from the National Aviary snapshot camera)

27 April 2022, 6am

Yesterday was an exciting day at the Cathedral of Learning peregrine nest. Three eggs hatched between midnight and 2:30pm and the fourth egg had a visible crack by 7:00pm (photo above). This morning I expect to see four chicks and only one egg remaining to hatch.

UPDATE 28 April, 5:30am: The visible crack must be an illusion. It was not evident in subsequent photos and the 4th egg was still in-egg on Wednesday evening. Oy! Will it hatch on Thurs 28 April? Watch the falconcam and see.

Glimpses of the tiny nestlings have been brief because Morela often stands in front of the streaming camera while she feeds them. The best views are from the snapshot camera but those are only still shots so I collected images from yesterday’s 4pm feeding and made them into a video. You’ll notice that Morela eats a little bit before she starts to feed the young.

Scattered eggshells? Are you wondering about the scattered eggshells on the gravel?

When a peregrine egg is hatching the mother bird does not help the chick open the egg but when it has emerged on its own the mother carefully lifts the discarded shell and sets it away from the scrape (the shallow bowl where the chicks and eggs reside). The photo above shows many discarded shell fragments.

  • The shells are made of calcium carbonate deposited by the mother’s body.
  • The color of peregrine eggs is embedded in the calcium. The color does not wash away but it is only on the surface. As you can see, the shells are white inside.
  • Eggshells move around the gravel as the adult birds sweep in and out of the nest.
  • The mother bird eventually eats the discarded shells to restore her calcium levels. Morela is eating a shell in the snapshot below.
Morela eats an eggshell, 26 April 2022, 8:18am (photo from the National Aviary snapshot camera)

What about the 4th and 5th eggs? I feel lucky to have predicted Hatch Day (26 April) for eggs #1-3. My original guess was 28 April for the 4th egg and 3 May for the 5th. But I could be very wrong.

Watch the Pitt peregrine family on the National Aviary falconcam at Univ of Pittsburgh to see what happens next.

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