7 March 2026
Sunrise in Pittsburgh this morning was at 6:44am. Tomorrow it will be an hour later because we’ll turn the clocks Forward to Daylight Saving Time overnight. Sigh.
On the weather front, half the week was too wet to enjoy so I only went out when the sun was shining. Warmer at the end of the week than the beginning. On 1 March walked at Herrs Island.
Way across the (finally thawed!) Allegheny River I saw a grebe-shaped water bird with a white face and chest and a black head. Even though these digiscoped photos are lousy, they confirm a horned grebe (Podiceps auritus) in non-breeding plumage.
Never abundant in Pittsburgh, most horned grebes breed in western Canada but a few stay in our area all winter if there’s open water. Here’s what they look like in a good photo by Steve Gosser.
Yesterday in Schenley Park we discovered that the Panther Hollow Bridge rehab project is temporarily in a VERY LOUD phase. Here are just 10 seconds of it.
My guess at what’s happening: Inside the draped portion of the bridge I *think* they’re blasting off the peeling paint and rust. On the bridge deck there are two loud sucking machines that maintain negative air pressure.
Because of the noise there were almost no birds at this end of the park. We found them at the Bartlett end along with other signs of spring.
The buds look fat on this yellow buckeye (Aesculus flava).
Cornelian cherry (Cornus mas) buds are already opening.
The weather is warm today (77°F) but will return to near freezing on Wednesday night. Spring is moving forward in fits and starts.