In case you missed it at Wissahickon Nature Club last month, here’s another opportunity to learn about peregrine falcons in western Pennsylvania.
Join me on Tuesday, 4 February 2020 at the Todd Bird Club in Indiana County, PA where I’ll present Peregrine Falcons: An Environmental Success Story.
From their extinction in eastern North America in the 1960s, to their recent removal from the Endangered Species list in Pennsylvania, the peregrine falcon’s success story is an inspiration to us all.
When: Tuesday, 4 February 2020, 7:00+pm. Arrive by 7:00 to socialize. Refreshments are provided.
This mammal and the bird have a cooperative relationship. The red-billed oxpecker eats insects and ticks that it finds in the impala‘s fur. Both of them benefit.
When humans cooperate we benefit, too, and there’s a surprising outcome. Cooperation makes each of us happy and forges trust. When we refuse to work together we become angry and sad.
Sometimes it takes effort to cooperate but it’s worth it. Everyone benefits and it improves our mood.
So my hope for 2020 is that we all — myself included — …
Act kindly. Think kindly. Work together.
Make it a happy new year.
p.s. Did you know that humans are instinctively quicker to cooperate than compete? If we go with our first impulse we’ll do better! Read more here.
(photo from Wikimedia Commons; click on the caption to see the original)
These beautiful decorations are at Phipps Conservatory’s Holiday Magic event that continues after Christmas through 12 January 2020. Don’t miss it, especially at night! Click here for a timed ticket.
One species, the Scots or Scotch pine (Pinus sylvestris), doesn’t lose its needles even when it’s completely dry. I’ve seen Scotch pines put out for trash collection in January that looked as if they were freshly cut. There’s a down side though, as described at The Spruce:
You’ll want to wear gloves when decorating a Scotch pine since its needles can be sharp as pins!
However Scotch pines have this advantage, and so do other live trees: If you feed birds in your backyard, place your old Christmas tree near the feeders to provide winter cover for birds.
(photos from Bugwood.org and Wikimedia Commons; click on the captions to see the originals)
Audubon’s 120th annual Christmas Bird Count (CBC) is about to begin. Every year from December 14 through January 5 volunteers count the birds they see in a single 24-hour period within 15-mile diameter “count” circles.
It’s easy to participate. No experience is necessary. Count at your feeders or in the field. Count on your own or in a group.
Choose a location and date that suits you from the map at audubon.org. Click on the bird icon inside the circle for a description and contact information, then contact the Count Coordinator to let them know you’re counting. The Coordinator makes sure you don’t double-count someone else’s territory and helps you join a group if you wish.
Peregrines are a great environmental success story, from their extinction in eastern North America in the 1960s, to their recent removal from the Endangered Species list in Pennsylvania.
Join me on Thursday, 12 December 2019 at the Wissahickon Nature Club where I’ll present the history and habits of peregrine falcons in western Pennsylvania.
When: Thursday, 12 December 2019, 7:30pm. Doors open at 7:00pm. Come early to chat and eat Christmas cookies at our annual cookie exchange.
Visit the University of Pittsburgh’s Hillman Library for the 9th annual Audubon Day on Friday 6 December 2019. Events include:
10:00 – 11:00 Hillman library, Ground Floor, Room G-49 Meaning, metaphor and the words that birds have given us. Presentation by Dr. Karen Park, Assistant Professor of Linguistics at the University of Pittsburgh
11:00 – 12:00 Hillman library, Ground Floor, Room G-49 Live Bird Meet-and-Greet presented by the National Aviary. Whooo? will the Aviary bring to the meeting? Come and find out.
9:00 – 4:00 Hillman Library, Ground Floor, Room G-20 Original Prints from John James Audubon’s Birds of America on display.
Most people tune in for the peregrine nesting season but there was a big surprise this year. The most popular article by far was my 25 February prediction of 17-year cicadas in May: Let Me Be The First To Tell You. With over 6,400 readers it was a two-day wonder.
This 12th anniversary is an opportunity to thank you, dear reader, for your enthusiasm, comments, suggestions and “shares.” Thank you for sticking with me. You inspire me to keep going every day.
Thank you, also, to the many excellent photographers who’ve contributed photos and videos, to Wikimedia Commons for their vast store of Creative Commons media, and to YouTube and Twitter videos that allow embedding on my blog. Without photos and videos my blog would be just a pile of words.
Most places on earth don’t participate in this controversial event. It’s not even universal in countries that observe it. Arizona, Hawaii and the U.S. island territories remain on Standard Time year round. The European Union may end their Daylight Saving requirement in 2021.
I wish we’d stop turning the clocks back and forth. The sign in the photo above, behind the Kaufmann’s Clock in Downtown Pittsburgh, seems to agree.
No Turns.
p.s. The Kaufmann’s Clock at Fifth & Smithfield is a well known meeting place with a long history. My favorite story is the time in 1983 when Pittsburgh City Councilwoman Michelle Madoff challenged Council President Eugene “Jeep” DePasquale to meet her under the clock and make good on his promise to kiss her “you-know-what” after a tax she proposed raised more than the $20 he believed possible. Michelle waited under the clock with a stuffed donkey (a.k.a. ass) for him to kiss. Jeep never showed up.
(photo from Wikimedia Commons; click on the caption to see the original)
