24 June 2025
Before my outing on Sunday 22 June I saw orange cones waiting to line the road near the Schenley Park Visitor Center. “No Parking June 24 – June 25” and “No Parking June 26.” No reason given.
Yesterday I found out why. There’s going to be a movie shoot in Schenley and Frick Parks that will close a lot of trails today through Thursday, 24-26 June.
Except for the golf course and Oval, most of Schenley will be closed.
Part of Frick will be closed, too, primarily the Nine Mile Run area. Does the 25-26 June closure of “Lower Frick Park parking lot” mean the Hutchinson entrance? I can’t tell.
The good news is that a lot of us are not planning to go there because of hot weather. Will the weather affect the movie shoot? Who knows.
News from the Sunday 22 June outing: There were just two of us on Sunday but Julie and I saw some interesting stuff including this close look at duckweed from the surface of Panther Hollow Lake.
We also had good looks at fledgling blue jays and learned that their head plumage is gray while their parent’s is blue. Here’s what we saw.
Schenley Park–Lower Hollow Run Trail, Allegheny, Pennsylvania, US
Jun 22, 2025 8:25 AM – 9:50 AM, 24 species
Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura) 1
Red-bellied Woodpecker (Melanerpes carolinus) 2
Pileated Woodpecker (Dryocopus pileatus) 1
Northern Flicker (Colaptes auratus) 5
Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus) 1 Seen in profile perched on CL 32WNW spout
Eastern Wood-Pewee (Contopus virens) 1
Blue Jay (Cyanocitta cristata) 9 2 fledglings flying well but still begging
Tufted Titmouse (Baeolophus bicolor) 1
Northern Rough-winged Swallow (Stelgidopteryx serripennis) 2
White-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta carolinensis) 1
Northern House Wren (Troglodytes aedon) 2
Carolina Wren (Thryothorus ludovicianus) 2
Gray Catbird (Dumetella carolinensis) 4
Wood Thrush (Hylocichla mustelina) 2 Heard
American Robin (Turdus migratorius) 17
House Sparrow (Passer domesticus) 4
House Finch (Haemorhous mexicanus) 1
American Goldfinch (Spinus tristis) 1
Chipping Sparrow (Spizella passerina) 2 Agitated by the presence of a female cowbird
Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia) 7
Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus) 6
Brown-headed Cowbird (Molothrus ater) 1 Female
Common Grackle (Quiscalus quiscula) 6
Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis) 6 Caught a huge caterpillar on n mulberry tree and carried it off to kill it
View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S253113418