After this year’s juvenile Pitt peregrines learned to fly they stayed away from the nestbox as if to say “That’s the babies’ crib and we aren’t babies anymore.” Meanwhile they perfected their flight skills and relentlessly pursued their parents for food. The nestbox became a peaceful zone where Ecco and Carla could renew their pair bond and avoid their demanding “kids.”
All of that changed yesterday when their daughters invaded the nestbox. Blue barged in while her parents were bowing at 1:30pm and scattered them like ninepins. In a few minutes Yellow joined her.
The juvies stayed for 45 minutes while their parents avoided them. Ecco and Carla did not return until almost 3:00pm. I’m surprised they came back on the same day.
Panther Hollow Lake in Schenley Park after a hot spell, 5 July 2023
19 June 2025
Despite the summer heat scum on Schenley Park’s Panther Hollow Lake, I’ve known for a long time there are fish in there.
The pond-sized “lake” with concrete edges attracts fish-eating birds on migration including belted kingfishers, great blue herons and the famous American bittern of April 2023. The birds don’t stay long because the habitat is not suitable for their nests.
American bittern at Schenley Park Panther Hollow Lake, 28 April 2023 (photo by Charity Kheshgi)
Birds aren’t the only ones who know about the fish. On a walk in late May I found a family with three little kids enjoying the morning at Panther Hollow Lake. Dad, with gear and fishing license, was teaching the kids to fish. When he caught a little fish he called to one of the kids to come reel it in. Each child had a turn. Catch and release.
What are birds and people catching? Small fish of three species, as found during the 2024 Phipps BioBlitz. All of them are native to North America.
All the fish I’ve seen are small, though a large catfish (I think) broke the surface one day. In 2017 they found goldfish and catfish too. Read more about it here: My Heavens! We Have Fish.
CORRECTION on 19 June at 11:13am: If you saw this blog in the few hours after it was published, you saw a photo near the end of Dr. Brady Porter, the Phipps BioBlitz fish expert, holding a large-mouth bass. No, that fish did NOT come out of Panther Hollow Lake. A big thank you to Stephen Tirone for identifying the fish and pointing out my error!
We tend to take gray catbirds for granted but here are some cool facts you might not know. For instance:
Gray catbirds (Dumetella carolinensis) are monotypic, the only species in their genus. The catbird’s genus name Dumetella means “small thorny thicket” a reference to his habit of singing from inside thorny thickets instead of from a prominent perch.
Males and females look alike except for these subtle differences.
Sexes show similar appearances in all plumages, although females average duller than males and average less-extensive rufous on longest undertail coverts.
Catbirds use their sense of smell to find their way on migration(!) as described in this vintage article: Sniffing Their Way North.
They are present all year in some parts of the U.S. (purple areas below) but most of us see them only in the breeding season. In Pittsburgh they typically arrive in late April and leave in mid October.
Catbirds are rarely parasitized by brown-headed cowbirds because they recognize cowbird eggs in their nests and kick them out. Note the color! described in this vintage article Cat Versus Cow.
Catbird (blue) and cowbird (speckled) eggs (photo by Chuck Tague)
Male catbirds are jazzmen! Their song is an improvisation rather than a direct imitation. Read more at: Virtuoso
In addition to birds and flowers, this walk it will introduce a new way of looking at the mix of species found in the park, especially at Schenley’s Panther Hollow Lake. The insights come from a new-to-me field guide: Wild Urban Plants of the Northeast, by Peter Del Tredici, second edition and include the radical idea that the plants we see in the urban landscape are a new and beneficial ecosystem. For example, they are performing an immense amount of “free work” including converting CO2 to oxygen, creating topsoil, holding topsoil against flooding and providing food for insects, birds and animals.
Dress for the weather and wear comfortable walking shoes. It will be HOT so don’t forget a sun hat + water. Bring binoculars and field guides if you have them.
Before you come, visit the Events page in case of changes or cancellations.
It’s that time of year again when the house warms up and more insects appear indoors. In the past week I’ve seen one drain fly on the shower wall every other day. I’ve swatted each one but by yesterday I’d swatted a total of four. That’s it. I am done with observing Nature in the bathroom. Here’s what these flies are and the advice I’ve found on how to get rid of them.
The bathroom moth fly (Clogmia albipunctata) is a true fly with a worldwide distribution, thanks to humans. It spends most of its life perched on walls and is often found in the bathroom because it breeds in the drain. About 1/8 inch long, it has brownish and blackish hairs on its wings and body which give it a moth-like appearance when seen up close. It is a weak flier and very easy to swat.
“Female moth flies lay eggs in moist to nearly saturated organic matter. In an urban environment, moth fly development often occurs in the slimy organic matter coating sink or shower drains, giving these flies an alternate common name “drain flies” used by many pest management professionals. However, moth flies may also be found developing in wet animal manure, sewage or even compost.”
“Once the eggs have been laid, they hatch in about 48 hours and continue to develop in the wet organic matter as larvae. Moth fly larvae in the final (third) larval stage are approximately 1/4 inch in length, have a distinct head, and a siphon on one end, which allows them to breathe in the wet environment. Immature flies pupate at their developmental site before emerging as adult flies. The life cycle of moth flies can be completed in as little as 8 days but can take as long as 24 days depending on temperature.”
Bathroom moth flies are useful in water purification at sewage treatment plants. They are also a good food source for insects, fish, birds, reptiles and amphibians in every stage of their development.
But they are not useful in the bathroom so how to get rid of them?
Clean the drain.
Most poured-in remedies do not kill these hardy critters because they are able to hide. You have to remove their breeding site by getting rid of the organic matter in the drain.
Wood-warblers, belonging to the large family Parulidae, are beautiful, dainty birds unique to the Americas. The family has 115 species spread between North, Central, and South America and the Caribbean—56 species can be found in the United States and Canada.
Of those 56 species only two nest in cavities: the prothonotary warbler in eastern North America and Lucy’s warbler in the West.
The prothonotary warbler (Protonotaria citrea) is arguably the most gorgeous of all the wood-warblers with a glowing yellow head and chest and gray wings and tail. As a woodland swamp specialist, he prefers to breed where old trees stand in water and woody shrubs overhang it. A great example of his habitat can be found at Conneaut Marsh–McMichael/Brown Hill Rd in Crawford County, PA.
The prothonotary male arrives in the spring ahead of the females and chooses several potential nest sites. He sings from the opening to claim his territory and attract a mate.
p.s. According to Wikipedia, the Francis Beidler Forest in South Carolina has the densest known population of prothonotary warblers and is currently home to more than 2,000 pairs. A good place to look if you’re nearby.
Foxglove beardtongue at Aspinwall Riverfront Park, 12 June 2025 (photo by Kate St. John)
14 June 2025
It was a good week for flowers and insects though some of the species are unwelcome.
In Schenley Park, three plants that do well in poor or disturbed soil were in full bloom.
The single flowers of mouse-ear hawkweed (Pilosella officinarum) brightened the top of the tufa bridge at Bartlett.
Mouse-eared hawkweed, Schenley Park, 13 June 2025 (photo by Kate St. John)
In April a DPW backhoe scraped the north side of Panther Hollow Lake in Schenley Park and produced lots of disturbed soil. Soon the area was covered in plants that love this habitat including:
Black medick or hop clover (Medicago lupulina) was brought to North America as forage for livestock and escaped into the urban wild.
Black medick a.k.a. hop clover, Schenley Park, 13 June 2025 (photo by Kate St. John)
English plantain, also known as ribwort plantain (Plantago lanceolata), was brought from Europe to North America for its medicinal use.
Ribwort plantain a.k.a. English plantain, Schenley Park, 13 June 2025 (photo by Kate St. John)
On Thursday I visited Aspinwall Riverfront Park which now has two names — at least in my head. In 2021 it was renamed “Allegheny River Trail Park” but signs at the entrance did not change until fairly recently. The eBird hotspot is still called Aspinwall Riverfront Park.
The meadow by the river is filled with foxglove beardtongue, shown at top. St. Johnswort is attracting bees along the bike trail.
Bumblebee on St. Johnswort, Allegheny River Trail at Aspinwall, 12 June 2025 (photo by Kate St. John)
Speaking of insects, I saw little black and white ones running on a retaining wall behind the Carnegie Museum of Natural History on Tuesday. Uh oh!
Spotted lanternfly nymphs behind Carnegie Museum of Natural History, 10 June 2025 (photo by Kate St. John)
I should not have been surprised to see spotted lanternfly nymphs (Lycorma delicatula), but I was.
Spotted lanternfly nymph behind Carnegie Museum of Natural History, 10 June 2025 (photo by Kate St. John)
If you want to see a spotted lanternfly, visit one of these infested counties. Welcome to [most of] Pennsylvania.
The barred owl fledglings in Frick Park drew a crowd this week and prompted many questions including “How do you tell the difference between the youngsters and the adult?”
This photo from Wednesday includes the mother and four fledglings but the whole group looks pretty much the same because youngsters are losing their down.
Barred owl fledglings + mother, Frick Park, 11 June 2025 (photos by Charity Kheshgi)
In both immature and adult plumage barred owls have bibs. Below the bib is where they differ.
Immature barred owls have horizontal stripes, sometimes faint, below the bib.
How old are the Frick Park barred owl fledglings? UPDATED 14 June Michelle Kienholz has been tracking these owls for years and noted this spring that:
Barred owl fledglings leave the nest at about 4 to 5 weeks old but cannot fly. On 24-25 May the Frick Park youngsters were branching and walking but definitely not flying.
Barred owls begin short flights at 6-10 weeks old. What we saw on 11 June were actually short flights. This would put them at about 8 weeks old.
Longer flights occur at about 12 weeks old. We haven’t seen any long flights yet.
Michelle estimates that the Frick fledglings were 8 weeks old last week (11 June) so they probably hatched in mid April.
p.s. It’s easy to tell the difference when the young are still downy but the Frick Park owls are way beyond this stage.
Two of the 5 barred owl fledglings at Frick Park, 11 June 2025 (photo by Charity Kheshgi)
12 June 2025
When Charity Kheshgi and I visited Frick Park last weekend to see the barred owl fledglings we thought we saw three youngsters at the same time but we doubted ourselves. Barred owls (Strix varia) usually have only one or two youngsters per year. Yesterday we went back to see them again and saw FIVE youngsters, an unusually high number.
Charity arrived at the Hutchinson entrance ahead of me and saw five fledglings. By the time I arrived one had flown off but at the end of our stay the mother owl came in with prey and all five crowded round for a bite to eat. It was only a chipmunk, not a full meal for a family of five, so as soon as it was gone she left to find more.
Enjoy Charity’s photos and videos of the owl family. Eventually they attracted a crowd of humans.
Barred owl fledlging tries to cast a pellet, 11 June 2025 (photo by Charity Kheshgi)
"Who's that?"
Mother owl with 4 fledglings grabbing for prey
5th fledgling is just off camera. All 5 mob their mother!
One of the "kids" is about to grab and go
Five barred owl fledglings at Frick Park + mother, 11 June 2025 (photos by Charity Kheshgi)
Barred owl fledgling, Frick Park, 11 June 2025 (video by Charity Kheshgi)
Two barred owl fledglings look at the paparazzi, Frick Park, 11 June 2025 (video by Charity Kheshgi)
The family is hanging out near the Hutchinson entrance. Your best bet for finding them is to listen for upset songbirds.
