All posts by Kate St. John

In Case You Missed It: The Whale

Mammals, Water and Shore
Humpback whale, lunge feeding (photo from Wikimedia Commons)

26 July 2024

On Tuesday off the coast of Rye, New Hampshire, small fish called menhaden or pogies (Brevoortia tyrannus) were running in big schools. Pogies are a favorite food of all the larger fish and those fish, plus a humpback whale (Megaptera novaeanglia), were out there to eat them. This attracted lots of human fisherman, too.

Suddenly the whale leapt out of the water to catch a mouthful of pogies and accidentally capsized a boat. No one was hurt and, amazingly, it was all captured on video.

video embedded from CBS Boston on YouTube

USA Today explains why the whale jumped out of the water.

In the Tuesday morning incident in the ocean off Rye, the whale appeared to be lunging in a classic humpback fishing tactic, said Linnea Mayfield, a natural manager at Boston City Cruises, affiliated with the New England Aquarium, after viewing the video.

The whales blow large frothy bubbles in the water to help corral fish, then they lunge up through the bubbles to scoop up the fish, Mayfield said. The incident was almost certainly accidental, she said. Humpbacks have a blind spot, and it’s “very possible the vessel was in the animal’s blind spot as it came up to lunge and feed.”

— USA Today: A whale flipped a fishing boat with people on board. Experts think they know why.

Whale experts at NOAA and elsewhere think this was probably the young whale that’s been hanging out from nearby Maine to New Hampshire since early July and they’re working to identify it using photographs.

As the video explains this was a very unusual incident. The whale was probably as surprised as everyone else. I’m sure he learned a valuable lesson from the adventure.

Can Pigeons Play Wordle?

Bird Behavior, Doves & Chickens
Pigeon with glasses (image by Dmitry Abramov from Pixabay)

25 July 2024

The question sounds foolish but … Can pigeons play Wordle?

Seven years ago a pigeon behavioral study found that the birds can recognize 4-letter English words and tell the difference between real words and mere jumbles of letters. This was the first time anyone knew that a non-primate species had this ability.

Their 4-letter prowess is described in the vintage article below. Do you think they can they deal with 5 letters? Can they play Wordle?

Pigeons Can Read 4-Letter Words

An Eruption of Box Elder Bugs?

Insects
Adult boxelder bug, Pittsburgh, 2017 (photo from Wikimedia Commons)

24 July 2024

July is certainly Bug Season!

Yesterday Mike Fialkovich sent news that it’s a big year for boxelder bugs (Boisea trivittata) where he works in New Stanton, PA.

Huge numbers of box elder bug nymphs, New Stanton, 23 July 2024 (photo by Mike Fialkovich)

There was a big gathering of Boxelder Bugs at my workplace today. Most were nymphs but a few adults were present. I noticed the adults were numerous recently on the side of the building but today the numbers of nymphs were impressive.

— email from Mike Fialkovich, 23 July 2024

I was a little surprised to see the swarms on non-native winged burning bush (Euonymus alatus).

Boxelder bug nymphs on winged burning bush, New Stanton, 23 July 2024 (photo by Mike Fialkovich)

As their name suggests, the boxelder bugs’ host plant is the box elder tree (Acer negundo), which is both native and abundant.

Large box elder tree along the trail at Duck Hollow, Pittsburgh, July 2021 (photo by Kate St. John)
Box elder leaves, Sept 2020 (photo by Kate St. John)

Soon these nymphs will become adults that look like this … and the bug pictured at top.

Adult boxelder bug, Brooklyn, 2024 (photo from Wikimedia Commons)

Have you seen a swarm of boxelder bugs lately? If so, leave a comment and tell me where.

Avian Flu is Taking a Toll on Virginia Coastal Peregrines

Peregrines
Peregrine nesting platform at Virginia’s Eastern Shore, 2013 (photo from Center for Conservation Biology media photo gallery)

23 July 2024

The Center for Conservation Biology (CCB) has been monitoring Virginia’s peregrine population every year since the late 1970s. Because they track individual adults, they know who breeds where and when they go missing. This year the news was disturbing. Peregrine adult turnover statewide more than doubled in one year to a new rate of 40%. Forty percent of the adults disappeared (died) and were replaced by a new bird.

The only good news is that the high rate is skewed by the incredibly high turnover of 63.2% on the Eastern Shore while the rest of the state was 12.5%. The bad news is that the Eastern Shore has the highest concentration of breeding peregrines in Virginia.

The map below, from Virginia peregrine falcon monitoring and management program: Year 2017 report on ResearchGate, shows peregrine territories in 2017. There are more territories nowadays but the relative concentration remains.

Distribution of Peregrine Falcon occupied territories and single individuals for the 2017 breeding season in Virginia. (map by Bryan Watts in Virginia peregrine falcon monitoring and management program: Year 2017 report via ResearchGate)

Recoveries of dead and dying peregrines indicate the culprit is avian flu, a problem experienced in other states as well.

Why is avian flu taking a toll on the coast but not inland? Read why in this blog at the Center for Conservation Biology.

Adult turnover spikes in Virginia peregrines raising alarms about the potential impact of avian flu

p.s. I have not heard of this problem occurring in Pennsylvania, perhaps because our turnover rate mirrors Virginia’s inland statistics.

In 2023, out of 35 breeding pairs in Virginia statewide, 26 were on the coastal plain.

Frick Park Outing, Sun. July 28, 8:30a

Books & Events
Metallic green bug on spotted knapweed, July 2013 (photo by Kate St. John)

22 July 2022

Insects are singing while songbirds are quiet as they wrap up the breeding season.

Join me for a bird & nature walk in Frick Park on Sunday, July 28, 2023, 8:30a – 10:30a.

Meet me at the Nine Mile Run Trail Parking lot. We’ll check out the birds, flowers and bugs in the Nine Mile Run trailhead area before heading over to the boardwalk.

NOTE: If you park in one of the small dirt lots near a Frick Park entry gate, cross the road and walk under the arching Parkway Bridge to join us.

Park anywhere along Commercial Street but meet at the Nine Mile Run Parking area (screenshot map from Google)
From Commercial Street at Frick Park follow the path to the meeting place

We’re sure to hear goldfinches — will they have fledglings? — and see plenty of insects. This walk will go past the place where we saw ebony jewelwings in early July. Will they be there?

Dress for the weather and wear comfortable walking shoes. Bring water, a sun hat and binoculars (if you have them).

Before you come, visit my Events page in case of changes or cancellations. The outing will be canceled if there’s lightning or heavy rain.

Hope to see you there!

(photos by Kate St. John)

Second Step in Seagrass Restoration: Add Guano

Water and Shore
Sea birds perch on stakes intentionally placed to attract them to this area (photo from Wikimedia Commons)

21 July 2024

How do you restore a damaged seagrass bed? Get birds to come to the party! Biologists in Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary place T-shaped PVC stakes in seagrass beds that have been scarred by boat propellers. These stakes serve as perches to attract terns, gulls, and other birds, which produce guano droppings that are rich in nutrients — which in turn help speed regrowth of seagrass in the barren area!

— description of the photo on Wikimedia

In Florida’s shallow waters, the seagrass meadows that host abundant wildlife are damaged when boat propellers pass through them. Propellers leave a permanent scar that cannot regrow on its own. (See scars in two embedded photos below).

Seagrass bed scarred by boat propeller in Florida; snorkeler nearby (photo embedded from Florida DEP)
Seagrass bed scarred by boat propeller in Florida (photo embedded from Florida DEP)

When the seagrass declines, so do fish and wildlife. This problem is so important to Florida that the state imposes fines on boaters who damage it and has tasked the Office of Resilience and Coastal Protections (RCP) to restore the seagrass beds.

RCP takes a two-pronged approach to restoration. The first step is to raise awareness among boaters and post signs so that they stay away from the seagrass beds.

The second step is to restore the propeller scars so the grass can regrow within the cuts. At St. Martins Marsh Aquatic Preserve:

RCP has partnered with the UF/IFAS Nature Coast Biological Station to stabilize and restore prop scars with sediment tubes. Sediment tubes accomplish this by returning the scarred areas to ambient elevations, preventing additional erosion and scouring by water currents, and protecting rhizomes from excessive sunlight exposure. The technique involves installing biodegradable fabric tubes filled with sediment into scarred areas that biodegrade in about 12 months.

Seagrass beds can be fertilized passively to encourage regrowth through the placement of bird roosting stakes and has been shown to be quite successful, as can be seen in Big Lagoon in Pensacola in Fort Pickens Aquatic Preserve.

— RCP: Florida seagrass Restoration Efforts

Add soil, then add guano.

Read more about propeller scarring in the Tampa Bay Times at: In Tampa Bay, boat propellers have killed seagrass. A new mapping project may help.

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In 2009, the Florida Legislature created a rule to further protect seagrass by imposing fines to boaters who damage seagrass with their boat propellers (Section 253.04(3)(a), Florida Statutes). …

RCP [The Office of Resilience and Coastal Protection] has employed a variety of seagrass restoration methods throughout the state. These projects have been conducted in Charlotte Harbor, Indian River Lagoon, Biscayne Bay, the Big Bend, the Florida Keys, St. Joseph Bay, St. Andrews Bay and Pensacola Bay. Results have been mixed, and RCP is continuing to monitor these projects and work with other researchers to find more effective ways to revegetate the bottom.

Seen Yesterday

Deer, Phenology, Schenley Park, Spotted Lanternflies
New York ironweed, Schenley Park, 19 July 2024 (photo by Kate St. John)

20 July 2024

Yesterday was my first opportunity to visit Schenley Park in more than a week.

  • Deep purple flowers on New York ironweed (Veronia noveboracensis)
  • Feverfew (Tanacetum parthenium) in bloom, a non-native plant from Eurasia.
  • Eastern bottlebrush grass (Elymus hystrix) with tiny spider threads.
  • Pavement glowing in the sun? No, pond scum on Panther Hollow Lake.
  • Dead adult spotted lanternfly nose-down with legs flexed open. Shadyside, 18 July.
  • Oh deer … Details near their photos.
Feverfew, Schenley Park, 19 July 2024 (photo by Kate St. John)
Eastern bottlebrush grass with tiny spider webs, Schenley Park, 19 July 2024 (photo by Kate St. John)
The surface of Panther Hollow Lake, Schenley Park 19 July 2024 (photo by Kate St. John)

I took a brief walk in my neighborhood on Thursday 18 July and found a dead adult spotted lanternfly, my first this year but I was out of town. It is nose-down to the pavement because its legs are flexed open.

Dead adult spotted lanternfly, Shadyside in Pittsburgh, 18 July 2024 (photo by Kate St. John)

Oh deer. Yesterday I saw four deer in Schenley Park; three in this family. The two spotted fawns appear to be a month younger than this year’s cohort that were born in May. If so, it was because their mother bred later than the rest of the herd, perhaps because she was a fawn herself last year.

One-year-old mother (probably) with two spotted fawns, Schenley Park, 19 July 2024 (photo by Kate St. John)

In the photo above, notice how little food there is on the ground. Without much to eat, deer in Schenley Park browse on foods they don’t like, such as the Japanese knotweed below.

Japanese knotweed browsed by deer, Schenley Park, 28 June 2024 (photo by Kate St. John)

Neighborhood gardens have a lot more food, so guess where the deer go. Last month I saw two in a garden with plants up to their shoulders. Not for long, though. As I watched one of them opened its mouth to take a large bite.

Deer eating in a garden on Ellsworth Ave, Pittsburgh, 17 June 2024 (photo by Kate St. John)

Getting Ready to Fledge at Midway Atoll

Bird Behavior, Water and Shore
Two Laysan albatross chicks at Midway Atoll, mid-June 2008 (photo from Wikimedia Commons)

19 July 2024

Midway Atoll hosts the largest Laysan albatross (Phoebastria immutabilis) nesting colony in the world where more than 600,000 pairs raise young each year. The birds are absent in September but return to court in November, lay eggs in December, and hatch in February.

There are so many birds that it’s hard to count.

Laysan albatrosses incubating eggs at Midway Atoll in December 2016 (photo from Wikimedia Commons)

After the eggs hatch the chicks begin to wander in March while their parents hunt at sea. By May the chicks start to grow adult feathers but it will take two more months before they are ready to fledge in July. During this period they are everywhere …

In open spaces …

Laysan Albatross chicks at Northwest Central Eastern Island, Midway Atoll, late June 2017 (photo from Wikimedia Commons)

… near buildings …

Albatross chicks at sunrise near Charlie Barracks, Midway Atoll, late June 2017 (photo from Wikimedia Commons)

… under trees and on the roads.

Laysan Albatross chicks at Town Sand Island, Midway Atoll, mid June 2017 (photo from Wikimedia Commons)

On the Fourth of July a rain shower prompted the chicks to flap their wings, shown in two videos below. You can hear the raindrops on the audio tracks.

Thousands of young Laysan albatross simulate flying by flapping their wings during a rain shower at Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge, July 4, 2024. (video by USFWS volunteer Dan Rapp)

— video description at USFWS Pacific on Flickr
Young Laysan albatross, or m?l?, on Midway Atoll

Nearly ready for takeoff!

Young Laysan albatross, or m?l?, on Midway Atoll

As soon as they fly, Laysan albatross youngsters leave Midway for a life at sea. USFWS Pacific says they are “likely to move towards Japan or Alaska, but their known range extends to Mexico, too.”  They won’t return to Midway Atoll until they are three years old. They don’t breed until age seven or eight.

First Report: Adult Spotted Lanternfly

Insects, Spotted Lanternflies
John English saw this spotted lanternfly adult outside his window on 17 July 2024

18 July 2024

They’re back. Well, actually, they never left but they haven’t looked like this since last fall. Up until now spotted lanternflies (Lycorma delicatula) in western Pennsylvania have been present as egg masses or nymphs.

Yesterday a winged adult lanternfly landed on John English’s window feeder in Homestead. This is the first report I’ve received that adults have emerged.

Their population will follow a well known arc. A smattering in mid July, lots more in August, an invasion in September.

Have you seen an adult spotted lanternfly yet? Leave a comment and let me know when you saw the first one.

p.s. I just got back from a week in Virginia where I learned that spotted lanternflies are indeed in Virginia wine country. They are really bad for grapes. Yikes! Here’s the 2024 map from New York State Integrated Pest Management and Cornell University.

Spotted Lanternfly Distribution in Eastern U.S. as of Jan 2024 (map from New York State Integrated Pest Management and Cornell University)

Ebony Jewelwing

Insects
Male ebony jewelwing, Frick Park, 2 July 2024 (photo by Charity Kheshgi)

17 July 2024

Bug season brings pests but also beauty. One of my favorites is this delicate damselfly, the ebony jewelwing (Calopteryx maculata), named for the males’ black wings with metallic blue-green edges. Their bodies are shiny blue-green, too.

The females are less flashy, darkly colored with white spots at the tips of the wings. When a female flies in the forest gloom the white tips are all you see.

Female ebony jewelwing, Frick Park, 2 July 2024 (photo by Charity Kheshgi)

Ebony jewelwings prefer wooded habitats near creeks and streams where they flit from leaf to leaf. In early July in Frick Park we saw males and females courting and jostling for territory. When they mate they form a heart shape with their bodies.

Ebony jewelwings mating (photo from Wikimedia Commons)

Damselflies, like dragonflies, are carnivorous. The adults take insects from the air; nymphs take them in the water.

Watch the jewelwings fly and mate and two females lay eggs in the stream in this video from Canada. I love how they flash open their wings.

video embedded from Dominique LaLonde Films on YouTube