Category Archives: Books & Events

Seen Yesterday at Duck Hollow, 29 March

Books & Events, Songbirds, Water and Shore
The Mon River is so high that there is no “mud bar” at the mouth of Nine Mile Run, 28 March 2026 (photo by Kate St. John)

30 March 2026

Five of us gathered at Duck Hollow yesterday morning when it was cold and cloudy. Waterfowl activity was low because the river was so high. The mud bar (not a sandbar) was still submerged.

We hoped to find the blue-winged teal that was there on Saturday but no luck. Instead we saw the usual suspects, mallards and Canada geese, and a beautiful male wood duck and three common mergansers.

We bundled up and looked for birds, 29 March 2026 (photo by Kate St. John)

Thankfully the clouds broke up, the sun came out, and songbird activity picked up. A single northern rough-winged swallow gave us a Rare Bird Alert though it was “too early” by only a few days.

Red-winged blackbird males competed for the best territories before the females arrive.

Red-winged blackbird displaying his red wings, 29 March 2026 (photo by CJ Showers)

One red-wing kept the area safe from raptors by chasing off an immature red-tailed hawk.

Red-winged blackbird attacking immature red-tailed hawk at Duck Hollow, 29 March 2026 (photo by David Bennett)

What bird did we spend the most time on? This drab brown female. Couldn’t see her back. The light was so weird that it made her face look yellow and her beak thin. Eventually we walked close enough to cancel the effects of odd light. Her drabness, conical beak, and beady eye = female brown-headed cowbird. We saw two male cowbirds displaying elsewhere.

Featureless mystery bird … except for her beak, Duck Hollow, 29 March 2026 (photo by David Bennett)

Most surprising observation: We saw more cardinals than robins.

See our checklist at https://ebird.org/checklist/S314555426 and printed below.

Duck Hollow, Allegheny, Pennsylvania, US
Mar 29, 2026 8:30 AM – 10:45 AM, 27 species

Canada Goose (Branta canadensis) 20. More than 10 in the distance, but seen only via scope
Wood Duck (Aix sponsa) 1 Male
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) 13
Common Merganser (Mergus merganser) 3. Pair, but not in suitable habitat
Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura) 5
American Herring Gull (Larus smithsonianus) 2
Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura) 7
Cooper’s Hawk (Astur cooperii) 1
Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis) 4. One immature was attacked by a red-winged blackbird
Belted Kingfisher (Megaceryle alcyon) 1
Red-bellied Woodpecker (Melanerpes carolinus) 2
Downy Woodpecker (Dryobates pubescens) 2
Northern Flicker (Colaptes auratus) 1
Eastern Phoebe (Sayornis phoebe) 3
Blue Jay (Cyanocitta cristata) 4
Carolina Chickadee (Poecile carolinensis) 5
Northern Rough-winged Swallow (Stelgidopteryx serripennis) 1. (Rare Bird Alert)
Northern Mockingbird (Mimus polyglottos) 2
American Robin (Turdus migratorius) 11
House Sparrow (Passer domesticus) 1
House Finch (Haemorhous mexicanus) 3
American Goldfinch (Spinus tristis) 12. Some males were molting into bright yellow
White-throated Sparrow (Zonotrichia albicollis) 6
Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia) 3
Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus) 5. One attacked red-tailed hawk as it flew
Brown-headed Cowbird (Molothrus ater) 3. Two males, 1 puzzling female
Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis) 20. Males chasing each other & females. Females also chasing each other.

Duck Hollow Outing, 29 March 8:30a

Books & Events
Closeup of great blue heron (photo from Wikimedia Commons)

23 March 2026

Birdblog outings resume this month with my first outing next Sunday at Duck Hollow.

Sunday 29 March 2026 — 8:30am – 10:30am

Duck Hollow

Meet at Duck Hollow parking lot at the end of Old Browns Hill Road. We’ll check the river for waterfowl, look for migrating songbirds along Nine Mile Run, and see many signs of Spring.

Duck Hollow can be excellent or just ho-hum. Migrating waterfowl have already left Pittsburgh but new songbirds are showing up every day. Brown thrashers are due here soon.

What will we see next Sunday? I’m counting on a great blue heron, above, and maybe a flyby of the local peregrine.

Peregrine at Duck Hollow, 28 Jan 2026 (photo by Charity Kheshgi)

Dress for the weather and wear comfortable walking shoes. Bring binoculars, birding scopes and field guides if you have them.

Hope to see you there!

Sunday’s weather looks good so far but always check the Events Page before you come in case of cancellation.

Great Backyard Bird Count starts this Friday!

Books & Events
Four mourning doves expect to be counted (photo from Wikimedia Commons)

10 February 2026

Doing anything special for Presidents Days weekend? Staying at home? Taking a walk? Going to somewhere warm? No matter where you go you’ll have four days of great excuses to go birding.

This year’s Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC) runs Friday the 13th through Monday the 16th of February 2026.

It’s easy to participate, as you can see in this video from Grant Rettig.

Count birds at your feeders or anywhere outdoors and anywhere on Earth. The Great Backyard Bird Count is global.

Spend time in your favorite places watching birds—then tell us about them! In as little as 15 minutes notice the birds around you. Identify them, count them, and submit your counts to help scientists better understand and protect birds around the world. If you already use eBird or Merlin, you don’t have to do anything special. Your submissions over the 4 days count toward GBBC.

— birdcount.org, just a little paraphrased

Here’s what we all saw in 2024. (Someone saw a sunbittern.) Let’s go, 2026!

(video embedded from Cornell Lab on YouTube)

Winter Crow Party Is Ending Soon

Books & Events, Crows & Ravens
Crows staging at Schenley Park golf course, 20 Nov 2024 (photo by Betty Rowland)

9 February 2026

This morning when I saw a distant flock of crows stream from the roost to the Mon River valley I knew the winter crow party was still having fun. Local groundskeepers and building managers are thinking “murderous” thoughts about the roost but now, just when humans have had enough, the crows will naturally disappear.

While the days are getting longer, crows think about going home to breed. In March they will act on it, the roost will dissolve, and the party will be over until next November.

To explain what’s happening, let’s look at their annual cycle in southwestern Pennsylvania. The crows’ New Year begins in Spring.

Southwestern PA crow calendar, breeding and wintering (chart by Kate St. John)

All year long established pairs stay in family groups with their kids.

  • In March established pairs migrate home to breed and new pairs migrate to find a territory. In spring an established family group is parents + youngest kids (usually a group of 4; the kids are helpers). New pairs in their first breeding season have no kids yet (a group of 2).
  • March to June — on territory — is the secretive phase of crow family life. They are quietly busy building a nest, incubating eggs, hatching young, and feeding them in the nest. Crows don’t want you to know they are there. They seem to be completely gone.
  • When crow nestlings fledge in late May/June they are loud! Suddenly crows are obvious.
  • July to August crow families remain at home while the youngsters learn. (Family groups of usually 6 crows.)
  • September kicks off fall migration and overwintering time.
  • September to October crows migrate slowly south to their overwintering site. Eastern crows travel an average of 287 miles to the site. What places could they be coming from that are 287 miles away from Pittsburgh? Two examples: Kingston at Lake Ontario and Barrie, Ontario near Lake Huron, both in Canada.
  • November to February: Let’s Party! Crows gather at the winter roost. The roost may move around during that period.
  • In March it’s time to go home.

Enjoy the crows in mid-latitude cities now before they’re gone.

See this Facebook video by Mary Ann Thomas about Pittsburgh’s crow party.

And here’s how Portland, Oregon celebrates their winter crows.

Squirrel Appreciation Day Coming Soon

Books & Events, Mammals
Eastern grey squirrel in St. James Park, London, Nov 2006 (photo from Wikimedia Commons)

14 January 2026

One week from today we will celebrate Squirrel Appreciation Day … or rather, “some of us” will celebrate. My husband has heard people complain about squirrels and asked, “How many members in the squirrel fan club? Three?”

If you have bird feeders, squirrels are often the mammal you love to hate.

An acrobatic eastern gray squirrel reaches Marcy Cunkelman’s feeder, Nov 2010 (photo by Marcy Cunkelman)

On the other hand they are very creative and fun to watch, especially when they have to solve problems to get to the feeder.

Some people put out food specifically for squirrels because they are so cute.

American red squirrel stops to take a look at the camera (photo from Wikimedia Commons)

And there is nothing cuter than the small nocturnal southern flying squirrel.

Southern flying squirrel at a bird feeder (photo from Wikimedia Commons)

Find out more about squirrels and their special day at this vintage article:

Squirrel Appreciation Day

Happy New Year 2026!

Books & Events
Ornament at Phipps Holiday Magic, 18 Dec 2025 (photo by Kate St. John)

1 January 2026

Are you starting a new Year List of the birds you’ve seen in 2026? I don’t usually bother with Year Lists but I like to play Last Bird / First Bird.

My Last Bird of 2025 would have been a rare bird if I’d seen it in Pittsburgh but we are visiting family in Kutztown, PA which is in the Eastern Flyway. Thus at 8:30pm I heard a small flock of snow geese (Anser caerulescens) flying over in the dark.

Snow goose flock overhead (photo from Wikimedia Commons)

This recording of a much larger flock is more than I heard but the “yaow” sounds are diagnostic.

For First Bird of 2026 I tried to find the snow geese in the field across the way. None there, probably because there was a fierce 15-minute snow squall at 4:05am and the wind is still very strong. But as I looked at that field, seven starlings (Sturnus vulgaris) flew over it. Oh well.

European starlings (photo from Wikimedia Commons)

What was your last bird of 2025? Your first of 2026?

Wishing you a happy, healthy new year full of birds!

Phipps Holiday Lights Through January 4

Books & Events
The Cathedral of Learning is a backdrop to the Phipps Holiday Magic lights, 18 Dec 2025 (photo by Kate St. John)

26 December 2025

Between the holidays is a good time to soak up some beauty. Visit Phipps Holiday Magic now through Sunday 4 January 2026. Order your timed tickets at this link.

Phipps Conservatory decorated for the Holiday Flower Show, 2018 (photo by Kate St. John)

Indoors …

In the orchid room, Phipps Conservatory, 18 Dec 2025 (photo by Kate St. John)
Orchids by the window, 18 Dec 2025 (photo by Kate St. John)
Shrimp plant in the ocean theme, 18 Dec 2025 (photo by Kate St. John)

And outside after 5:00pm … Phipps Outdoor Garden at night.

Phipps Holiday Magic, 18 Dec 2025 (photo by Kate St. John)
Through the arch, 18 Dec 2025 (photo by Kate St. John)
Phipps Outdoor Garden at night, 18 Dec 2025 (photo by Kate St. John)

Start Counting! Christmas Bird Counts Begin This Sunday

Books & Events
Christmas Bird Count at Tacony Creek Park, Philadelphia, 14 Dec 2024 (photo from TTF Watershed on Flickr, Creative Commons license)

11 December 2025

Coming soon, the 126th Christmas Bird Count (CBC) runs Sunday 14 Dec 2025 through Monday 5 Jan 2026. It’s a great time to get out and see birds.

The CBC is an annual tradition, coordinated in the U.S. by the National Audubon Society. Each “Count” is a 15-mile diameter circle manned by volunteers who count all the birds they see in a single 24-hour period. Each circle has a Compiler who makes sure there’s no birding overlap. As I write this, Compilers for Sunday’s counts have already mobilized volunteers and are assigning local coverage areas within their circles.

In North America the circles are densely packed in metro areas.

Christmas Bird Counts interactive map at National Audubon

In the Pittsburgh area there are 14+ circles.  Just west of Pittsburgh the Imperial CBC, centered on Imperial, PA, will be this Sunday. The “Pittsburgh” CBC, which includes the City of Pittsburgh, is on 27 December and compiled by Brian Shema at ASWP.

Screenshot of 2025 Christmas Bird Count map in southwestern PA

It’s easy to participate.  Volunteer to count at your own feeders or out in the field.  But first, be sure to call or email the compiler to confirm your assignment. Compiler contact information is on the map(*).

I’ll be counting at the Pittsburgh CBC on the Saturday after Christmas. My main assignment will be counting crows and I’ll need your help. Stay tuned for more info.

Now’s the time to count.

(*) To find a Compiler’s contact info go to this link and zoom in on the map until you can see the circle you want. Click on the colored hawk icon for Compiler information.

So Many Crows!

Books & Events, Crows & Ravens
Crows staging at Schenley Plaza and Frick Fine Arts, 9 Dec 2025, 5:14pm (photo by Kate St. John)

10 December 2025

Pittsburgh’s Christmas Bird Count is coming up on Saturday 27 December and I’ve volunteered to count crows. I know from years past that there are 10,000 to 20,000 of them but counting is a challenge.

Yesterday evening Charity Kheshgi and I tried to count crows as they came into the trees near the Frick Fine Arts building in Oakland. We’d tallied 3,000 – 4,000 crows before sunset (4:53pm) but after that huge flocks arrived from all directions. And then they started swirling.

Counting was impossible so I took photos and videos with my cellphone and kept the original audio.

So many crows!

Crows in Oakland, Pittsburgh, 5:00pm 9 Dec 2025 (video by Kate St. John)