June is “baby” time in Pennsylvania’s woods with fledgling birds, tiny rabbits, young groundhogs and cute fawns.
As I mentioned last week young animals found alone are not abandoned, they’re just waiting for mom. You shouldn’t “rescue” fawns and if you’re lucky enough to see an elk calf in Pennsylvania, don’t go near it!
Just like white-tailed deer, elk mothers tell their calves to “Stay!” while they go off to feed. White-tailed deer are afraid of humans and don’t raise a fuss about their fawns but elk cows are big and powerful. If you approach an elk calf, its mother may attack.
An elk cow doesn’t have antlers, but she’s not something you want to tangle with. She weighs about 500 pounds, stands 4.5 feet tall at the shoulder and is 6.5 feet long from nose to rump. When she charges, you’re the one who’ll need to be rescued!
Paul Staniszewski is quite familiar with the elk herd near Benezette, PA and explains: “Although the elk are used to seeing people, they are still very much wild and will become unpredictable and aggressive when it comes to protecting their young. If a protective female elk is endangering people in a public area, move away and call the PA Game Commission. They will temporarily close the area until the mother moves on with her calf.”
Just like humans, wildlife mothers do what they can to protect their young. Hawks and peregrines swoop at humans, mother skunks spray, black bears and elk charge. Yes, a sudden attack by a wild animal is frightening. It’s meant to be! You’re at the hands of an outraged mother and she wants you to leave.
When you’re outdoors be aware of your surroundings and watch for wildlife. Remember that mothers are protective. It’s all part of being a mom.
This story has a sad ending but the middle is so amazing that it’s worth the telling.
At 10:00am Michelle Kienholz texted me with an odd sighting at Pitt’s Graduate School of Public Health: “Peregrine on GSPH? One of the Cathedral of Learning peregrines is yelling and dive-bombing it.”
Michelle sent a cellphone photo of the attacked bird perched on the windowsill but neither of us could determine the species. Michelle didn’t have binoculars and her photo was tiny.
Forty-five minutes later she texted again after she saw it more clearly: “Red-tailed hawk — taking quite a beating from E2 still. Can’t tell if windows are affecting how wings held or if injured but I see red-tails on the building all the time. 45 minutes on the same cramped ledge with a crazed falcon seems odd. … Doesn’t look especially stressed though.”
Almost an hour later at 11:30am: “Red-tail moved to Sennott Building, so he can fly.”
But this was not the end of it.
At 1:30pm Michelle sent an email about another bird of prey perched at the entrance to the Engineering Building. Observers had seen him hit a window in the early morning. Melissa Penkrot at the School of Engineering was concerned because this juvenile male kestrel had been perched there since 7:00am.
In between meetings, Michelle ran down to check on the kestrel while Melissa called the Game Commission. The kestrel continued to stand in plain sight so Melissa put up a sign so folks would not try to touch it. Interestingly, she could see the Sennott Building from the kestrel’s location.
Michelle returned an hour later and saw the kestrel hop up on the rust-colored sculpture and make a slow wobbly flight across the street. Before she returned to work she told the security guard at the parking garage that the Game Commission was coming for the bird. He assured her he’d be there into the evening and would keep an eye on it. That was at 2:45pm.
Alas, when Michelle returned at 7:00pm the security guard told her the red-tail had barely waited for her to leave. While the kestrel’s back was turned the red-tail swooped in and killed him. Not a happy ending.
But there is a happy middle.
In the morning E2 spent at least 45 minutes attacking and finally moving that red-tailed hawk away from the area. E2 was as focused and relentless as he is when his own fledglings are threatened. Yet he has no babies this year. Why did he attack the red-tail?
I think E2 recognized the fledgling as a baby falcon — not a peregrine, but certainly a falcon — and his protective instincts kicked in. He doesn’t have his own “kids” this year but when he saw a dazed juvenile falcon he knew the red-tail was up to no good and did everything in his power to move the danger away. He did a good job. The red-tail was deterred.
Vulnerable American kestrels often fall prey to red-tailed hawks. The kestrel’s own parents could not have protected him, but a peregrine did.
Yellow-billed and black-billed cuckoos do. They’re fond of caterpillars, katydids, grasshoppers, and crickets and are happy to rid your trees of tent caterpillars and gypsy moths.
Bobby Greene captured this yellow-billed cuckoo in the act.
Sadly, our use of pesticides has contributed to rapid declines in both species during the last century. Yellow-billed cuckoos used to be found across the continent. They are nearly extirpated from the West.
Yesterday morning I helped count birds at the Emerald View BioBlitz with David and Colleen Yeany and Eva Simms. Eva showed us the new trails in Olympia and Mt. Washington Parks. What a lot of work to build them — but well worth it! Check out the trail map.
Above Route 51 in Mt. Washington Park we found unusual flowers three feet tall with daisy-like heads, thin leaves, and long puckered buds. I used my photos to identify them when I got home.
Yellow Goat’s Beard (Tragopogon dubius) is an introduced annual (or biennial) from Eurasia so I’m not surprised we found it growing in a sunny area reseeded by PennDOT several years ago. It’s distinguished by the green bracts that show around the edge of the flower. Fortunately we were there in the morning. This flower closes in late afternoon.
None of the flowers had gone to seed so we didn’t see the reason this plant is called Goat’s Beard — its huge fluffy seed head.
Goat’s beard seed head (photo from Wikimedia Commons)
This is not the only “Goat’s Beard” and for a moment I was excited by the thought of another one, Aruncus dioicus, which hosts the rare Dusky Azure butterfly (Celastrina nigra). Though similarly named they are unrelated and don’t even resemble each other. Aruncus dioicus is a native in the Rose family and grows in shady and moist deciduous woods.
One of many goats’ beards, this one is yellow.
(photo of seed head from Wikimedia Commons; click on the image to see the original. All other photos by Kate St. John)
Back in the late 1990’s I bought a Newcomb’s Guide and learned how to key out wildflowers in Esther Allen’s class at the Rachel Carson Institute. Pretty soon I thought I could key out almost anything.
Hah! I found this flower blooming at Raccoon Creek State Park Wildflower Reserve in early June of 1997. I couldn’t figure it out. Is it keyed as an irregular flower with opposite, divided leaves? Or a 5-petaled flower? No matter where I looked it wasn’t there.
Eventually at a Wisshickon Nature Club meeting I asked Esther about this mystery. She immediately knew what I was describing. “That isn’t in the book,” she said. “It’s Few-flowered Valerian, Valeriana pauciflora.”
I learned its common name from Esther’s translation of its scientific name — pauciflora means “few-flowered” — but on most plant databases it’s called Large-flowered Valerian.
Whatever the “flowered,” I drew it on page 286 of Newcomb’s in the section for 5-petaled flowers with opposite, divided leaves.
Look for it at Raccoon Wildflower Reserve in early June.
Dorothy at Pitt, no egg (photo from National Aviary falconcam)
Peregrine activity at Pittsburgh’s two fledged nest sites has moved out of easy view but three locations still await the excitement of first flight. Here’s the latest peregrine news in a long blog post. Don’t miss the end as the best is always last.
Cathedral of Learning:
PGC’s Tom Keller collects unincubated egg at Pitt (photo from the National Aviary snapshot cam)
Yesterday Tom Keller of the PA Game Commission removed Dorothy and E2’s unincubated egg. This was not to change Dorothy’s mind about standing at the nest but to test the egg. Dorothy and E2 always visit the nest at this time of year and Dorothy loves to sunbathe there.
Some of you were worried that the peregrines were sad about the egg. I don’t think so. Not sad, just bored.
Meanwhile the infrared lamp that provides night vision has burned out so the nighttime video looks like “snow.” We will replace the lamp before the next nesting season.
Gulf Tower:
Two fledglings exercise their wings on the Gulf Tower pyramid roof, 31 May 2014 (photo by Anne Marie Bosnyak)
Last Saturday at Fledge Watch we saw two juveniles on the Gulf Tower roof while the remaining three nestlings waited to launch. By dawn on Wednesday only one female remained at the nest. She looked as if she was ready to fly but she was cautious — a good trait in the urban environment where buildings, glass, and chimneys pose unnatural threats to survival. She flew on Wednesday.
That same day at the U.S. Steel Tower, a friend of Steve Gosser’s sent him a mystery photograph, “What is this bird?” A juvenile peregrine outside the office window! The Gulf Tower “kids” are exploring Downtown.
Peregrine fledgling at U.S.Steel Tower, 4 June 2014 (photographer is anonymous)
Green Tree water tower:
(photo by Shannon Thompson)
No peregrines have been confirmed at the Green Tree water tower for many weeks though several of us have looked while driving by. This site has been disappointing for two years in a row. If you do see a peregrine at the water tower, let me know.
Tarentum Bridge:
Mother peregrine, Hope, at the Tarentum Bridge (photo by Steve Gosser)
Though there were two fledglings at the Tarentum Bridge on May 29, only one has been seen since then. Time will tell if the second one is merely hiding or gone missing. If you see one or both at Tarentum, let me know.
Westinghouse Bridge:
Tom Keller checked the Westinghouse nest on May 30 and found the female still on eggs. He’ll check again in mid-June.
McKees Rocks Bridge:
McKees Rocks Bridge (photo by Robert Strovers on Wikimedia Commons, Creative Commons license)
Old news, but good news… On May 23, the PA Game Commission and PennDOT used the bucket truck to search for the peregrines’ nest at the McKees Rocks Bridge. Despite their efforts they were unable to locate the nest because the peregrines defended an inaccessible area. They confirmed that the female is unbanded while the male is still Bravo (V over H (blk/green)) from Cleveland’s Terminal Tower in 1999, son of Zenith and Bullet. He was first recorded at McKees Rocks in 2008. This year he’s 15 years old. His unbanded mate indicates that female peregrines from remote sites (or perhaps from man-made inaccessible sites) are finding homes in Pittsburgh.
Neville Island I-79 Bridge:
Magnum near her nest at Neville I-79 Bridge, 25 May 2014 (photo by Anne Marie Bosnyak)
At the Neville Island I-79 Bridge one female chick is getting ready to fledge. She was 22 days old when banded on May 28 so she’ll probably fly June 14-19. The nest location makes for an easy Fledge Watch so stay tuned for dates, times and directions. The Watch will probably begin on Friday, June 13th — perhaps sooner! Pittsburgh Falconuts, look for news from Anne Marie Bosnyak.
Monaca East Rochester Bridge:
Female peregrine at Monaca-East-Rochester Bridge, 2012 (photo by Steve Leiendecker)
Four chicks — three females and one male — were banded at the Monaca-East Rochester Bridge on May 21 at 18 days old. They will probably fledge from June 11 to 16. Start watching on June 10 (or earlier!) and you’ll see lots of activity beneath the bridge. It’s easy to see the bridge from the community park on the Monaca downriver side. Keep an eye out for the mother peregrine! I hear she is very fierce.
(photo credits are in the captions except for: Westinghouse Bridge photo by Joseph Elliott, Library of Congress and Gulf Tower juvenile at the nest from the National Aviary falconcam at the Gulf Tower)
This month you might find a fawn resting alone in the woods. He wants you to know: “Don’t kidnap me! My mother is nearby. I’m not abandoned!”
This fawn is resting in a place that looks like a field of square, granite boulders. Sharon Leadbitter found him as she drove through Allegheny Cemetery in Pittsburgh’s Lawrenceville neighborhood in late May. He was hiding by a headstone near the road.
Sharon often looks for wildlife in the cemetery where she’s seen groundhogs, foxes, deer, and many kinds of birds. When she pulled to the side of the road on May 28 she was surprised to find a fawn curled up close by. Sharon wrote, “So tiny!! Can’t be more than 2-3 days old. The hooves are still shiny. I was within 3 feet of it.”
The fawn is doing what comes naturally, resting during the day while his mother feeds elsewhere. He’s still too young to keep up with her so she told him to “Stay!” and left him alone so her presence won’t attract a predator to his location.
Six days later Sharon found a second fawn under the cemetery trees and this same fawn near another headstone. He has stayed here for many days because his mother knows it’s such a safe location. He’s bigger … and so are his ears!
If you find a fawn resting alone, don’t touch! Leave him alone! His mother has not abandoned him. She knows where he is (she’s a Mom!) and will come back when the humans are gone. She’s relying on her baby to stay motionless during the day. The worst thing that could happen is if a human “rescues” him and takes him away from his mother and her milk. She will search for him when he’s gone.
The Animal Rescue League Wildlife Center in Verona, PA receives many calls about “abandoned” fawns at this time of year. Click here for their helpful fact sheet. The Wildlife Center of Virginia urges us: Don’t Be a Fawn Kidnapper!
Meanwhile, if you drive through Allegheny Cemetery move very slowly and be alert for wildlife. Perhaps you’ll see a fawn.
It was alive when it fell. It grew leaves this spring so the structural weakness wasn’t evident until the tree broke.
This is the only broken tree at this location in Schenley Park. Even if a strong wind snapped the trunk it wasn’t strong enough to damage other trees.
The trunk is not hollow inside the break though there are air gaps between the light outer wood and dark inner core.
There’s a white flaky fungus inside the trunk that coats the light wood layers.
Did the white stuff weaken the trunk? Is it responsible for the break?
The trunk isn’t hollow but there are white sheets in the layers of the wood.
Here’s a close look at the white flaky fungus. It reminds me of the white correction tape I use on paper.
What do you think? Is this the reason the tree fell over?
Leave a comment with your answer.
Thanks!
(photos by Kate St. John)
UPDATE with the answer! The white fungus is a species of Armillaria or honey fungus. (See Maureen Hobma’s comment below.) I wrote about Armillaria on 16 January 2014 because it’s the largest living organism. Up until now, I had only seen Armillaria‘s black rope-y strands and honey mushrooms. The white fungal sheets are newer growth, the mycelium. It can be bio-luminescent! I learn something new every day.
This pair of prothonotary warblers at a nest box may give you the impression you can attract them to your yard if you install the proper box.
Not!
Surprising for a warbler, prothonotaries choose old woodpecker holes or nest boxes for their nests but they are picky about habitat. They only nest in forested bottomland, flooded river valleys or swamps.
The male returns from Central America before his lady and places nesting material inside his selected site. Often it’s over water. When his lady arrives he hopes she’ll agree that he’s chosen the right place. If she likes it she adds twigs, leaves, moss and rootlets to finish the nest.
You can’t convince this bird to nest in your back yard … unless your yard is a wooded swamp.
p.s. Thanks to Shawn Collins for the photo that sparked this topic.
(prothonotary warblers at Conneaut Marsh, photo by Shawn Collins)
It’s fund raising season and WQED has some special pledge shows coming up.
This Thursday June 5 at 9:30pm we’ll rebroadcast Earthflight’s Season 1 Finale, a look behind the scenes at the making of the series that flew with the birds. How did the cameras follow them so closely? Watch and see.
I’ll be on TV during the pledge breaks, talking about birds and our special relationships with them.
Tune in early at 8:00pm to see Rick Sebak’s new special: A History of Pittsburgh in 17 Objects.
He’ll be a hard act to follow! 😉
(photo of Kate St. John by Tom Moeller, screenshot of Earthflight Season 1 Finale from PBS NATURE)
Tom Keller checked the Westinghouse nest on May 30 and found the female still on eggs. He’ll check again in mid-June.
