This week Allegheny County announced that all balloons and all sky lanterns are now banned in Allegheny County Parks (see list of parks this affects). Their decision includes both balloon releases and balloon decorations because balloons are always left behind — one way or another — when the party’s over. The policy was prompted by balloon litter but there are additional benefits.
Balloons always end badly. None of them are disposed of by those who release them. Balloons cause:
Litter on the ground, stuck in trees, floating in the ocean as much as 10,000 miles away.
Harm to livestock who eat spent balloons that became incorporated in hay bales.
Harm to wildlife who mistake the balloon for food or get entangled in the strings.
Power outages when mylar balloons get caught in wires.
The damage does not occur close to the release. Helium balloons travel far because they travel in the jet stream, easily traveling from Ohio to the Atlantic Ocean (example is at this link),
Helium balloons are thought to be able to reach a height of 10 km [32,800 ft] and can travel significant distances. In 2012, one launched in Derby, England, was found in Sydney, Australia, having travelled 10,000 miles.
Balloons never disappear. Foil (Mylar) and latex materials take 100s of years to disintegrate into micro and nanoplastic particles in water and soil.
Often the balloon ends up in the ocean. This video from Australia shows how even on a remote island, seabirds find spent balloons on the ocean surface, mistake them for seafood, and feed them to their young.
Yesterday I described how rock pigeons and rock lobsters navigate using earth’s magnetic field. Behind the scenes I learned how much the magnetic North pole has moved recently. I hadn’t noticed because I no longer use a manual compass that has to be manually adjusted for the local declination.
Here’s how the poles have moved in an animation showing 1590 to 2025. Each pole is depicted as a green dot. The red, green and blue lines are magnetic 0° and declinations. The years 1590-1830 were backwards calculated.
The magnetic north pole is moving at a current speed of about 35-45 km (22-28 mi) per year toward Siberia. Its speed has slowed down recently after peaking at around 55 km (34 mi) per year in the early 2000s.
One last video from 2019, slightly redundant, that also explains how our GPS mapping apps are just fine.
Brilliant blue heron statue in Shadyside (photo by Kate St. John). Left=original photo , Right = [AI Enhance] turned it gray
12 August 2026
“Is it real or is it artificial intelligence (AI)?”
A decade ago only dedicated photographers and videographers had good editing tools because the software cost money and it took time to learn. But in the past two years AI became embedded in my cellphone photo editor. The tools are so easy to use I don’t need to know anything about how to make a good photo. I just look at it on my phone, click Edit, choose [Auto] and then [Enhance] or [AI Enhance]. It takes no training and no photo editing skills. The results are marvelous … in more ways than one.
As a matter of principle I do not use the AI editing tools because the result can be as inaccurate as autocorrect and the danger is that, just like autocorrect, I may send/post that fake result. Embarrassing typos, inaccurate photos.
The photos at top show, on the left, a brilliantly blue heron statue that I saw in Shadyside. Its color is why I took the picture. On the right is the AI Enhanced version, quite inaccurate. If this was a real bird I was documenting on an eBird checklist the AI Enhanced version is bad for science and will lead viewers astray. eBird doesn’t need altered photos. It needs truth.
The ebird.org story leads with this AI enhanced photo of a green heron posted on an eBird checklist (photo is embedded from the article). Notice the caption. AI gave the bird a 3rd leg.
The tsunami was truly “mega” with a wall of water 1,578 ft tall (481m). To put this in perspective, the wave would have over-topped Acadia National Park’s highest peak, Cadillac Mountain (1,530 feet) and was almost twice the height of the U.S. Steel Tower in Downtown Pittsburgh.
The tsunami was triggered not by an earthquake but by a landslide where the South Sawyer Glacier has retreated.
Fortunately it happened so early in the morning that no one was there. At midday as many as 100 sightseeing boats would have been in the fjord. This simulation by Patrick Lynett shows what it would have looked like from a boat viewing the toe of the glacier.
Within days USGS scientists conducted aerial surveys of Tracy Arm to measure the tsunami and the force of the water. They were amazed at what they found.
Scientists have known for years that glacial retreat can trigger landslides.
As glaciers retreat with ever-increasing speed, ice that for millennia has held up potentially unstable mountainsides disappears, a process called debuttressing. Geologists debate specifics of the process, but they acknowledge it contributes to slides, some of which are big enough to block rivers or trigger deadly tsunamis in lakes or oceans.
In making a fjord, the glacier carves a steep U-shaped valley. As it does so it loosens rock and exerts pressure against the walls it is creating. When the glacier retreats, the pressure against the walls disappears. Loose material sags and becomes a landslide.
What’s disturbing is that the frequency of glacial-retreat tsunamis has increased dramatically in Alaska in the past 15 years. Where is it dangerous? Should sightseeing boats avoid certain glaciers? Which ones? And what about coastal towns within reach of the tsunamis?
Have you seen this plant? Its wavy leaves are nothing like the plants I’m used to in Pennsylvania so I was surprised when I saw it at Bear Run Nature Reserve in late May. Was it a new wildflower? No!
This is wavyleaf basketgrass, an extremely invasive plant that is just starting to take hold in Pennsylvania. This month the Pennsylvania iMapInvasives Program is holding a statewide blitz to find it so we can beat it back before it covers the state. I learned about it on The Allegheny Front.
Wavyleaf basketgrass (Oplismenus undulatifolius) doesn’t look very grassy, but it’s a perennial grass native to Eurasia. It spreads in North America by hitchhiking on people and animals that are moving through the forest.
Where did this invader start and where is it now?
Wavyleaf basketgrass was first found in North America in Howard County, Maryland in 1996 and spread quickly into connected natural areas and other Maryland counties. By 2004 (8 years) it had crossed into Virginia in Shenandoah National Park and Fraser Reserve. In 2016 (20 years) it was identified in Pennsylvania for the first time. This year, 2026, it was found firmly established in Smith County (east) Texas. This stuff travels!
And it is under-reported. Here’s the “Listed as Invasive” map.
Some counties won’t ever see wavyleaf basketgrass because it prefers moist, shady environments. It takes root in our forested natural areas, the places we’ve saved because they are so unique, places like Bear Run. It ultimately covers the forest floor similar to Japanese stiltgrass. Ironically wavyleaf basketgrass has been found growing under Japanese stiltgrass.
If you encounter this invader, be sure to clean it off your gear. If you don’t, the seeds will drop off at your next hiking location and you will unintentionally spread the problem.
Once a population has become established, complete eradication from a site has proven to be extremely difficult due to a long-lived perennial life cycle, a long seed germination season (April–November), and considerable seed mobility of the species.
On the ground it is frightening. My first view of it was this raw footage from a Canadian National Railway (CN) freight train trapped by fire near Armstrong, Ontario. The engineer is on the radio calling for help. WARNING: THIS RAW FOOTAGE CONTAINS AN UNCENSORED WORD.
In today’s social media climate rumors spread quickly and persist despite the truth. This is nothing new in human history. When Francesco I de’ Medici, the Grand Duke of Tuscany, died of a fever at age 46 in 1587, the rumor mill said his younger brother Ferdinando had poisoned him. The rumor lived on, even though Francesco’s doctors said he died of malaria.
Where did human malaria come from? DNA solved the mystery in 2020 by examining the similarities of Plasmodium in primates to Plasmodium falciparum.
They found at least nine species of Plasmodium, three unknown before. When compared to human P. falciparum, the most closely related came from western gorillas from Cameroon, the Central African Republic and the Republic of Congo. In fact one was nearly identical to all known human plasmodium sequences.
P. falciparum only had to jump once and it became ours. Thus it is no surprise that Africa is a malarial hotspot. It stays that way because it takes a lot of money to eradicate malaria, money that many African countries do not have.
In the end, the change of power benefited Tuscany’s citizens. Francesco (the guy who died of malaria) was often despotic, heavily taxed his subjects, and sent the money to Austria. Ferdinando who succeeded him was a benevolent ruler who cared about the welfare of his people. He re-established the justice system and returned prosperity to Tuscany.
The common nighthawk (Chordeiles minor) is my Spark Bird, the species that got me hooked on birds when I was only 10. That was a long time ago when gravel roofs were still common and so were flying insects(*). Since then nighthawk populations have declined precipitously.
Lack of flat roofs, pesticides, increased predation and loss of habitat are noted factors of their decline. Further unstudied potential causes of decline include climate change, disease, road kills, man-made towers (posing aerial hazards), and parasites.
The absence of flat roofs (made with gravel) in urban settings is an important cause of decline. In an effort to provide managed breeding areas, gravel pads have been added in the corners of rubberized roofs; this proves acceptable, as nesting has been observed.
Now that gravel roofs are scarce in Pittsburgh, we notice a nighthawk decline every time another gravel roof disappears. A nighthawk family used to breed on a roof on Craig Street, the only gravel roof left in the neighborhood, but in August 2020 (after the birds fledged) the gravel was replaced with plastic. No more nighthawks here.
Common nighthawks are virtually gone from the eastern U.S. Their range map in North America used to include our region but eastern states are now dark gray = “Outside the Modeled Seasonal Range.”
eBird Regional Trends show an even bleaker picture in state-by-state declines. The map below shows the double-digit percentage (>10) losses in orange and gains in green, 2012-2022.
Pennsylvania’s median trend was -29.12%. Colorado, the only state to gain nighthawks, had a 11.43% increase.
While birding with friends on 16 May at Presque Isle State Park we heard quite a few American robins extremely upset by something in a tree. Eventually I found their problem: a common nighthawk was roosting on a branch. Perhaps this species is so unusual, even to robins, that they had to remark on it.
Common nighthawk, Presque Isle State Park, 16 May 2026 (photo by Charity Kheshgi)
Seeing a nighthawk nowadays is a gift. Every nighthawk is a victory.
The story of my Spark Bird is described in this vintage article from 2009: Not So Common Nighthawks.
The eaglets likely passed from Avian Influenza. Their symptoms and the progression of the illness is consistent with Avian Influenza, and they could have contracted it from ingesting goslings and geese that had been brought to the nest as food. We cannot know for certain without testing, but this is the most likely cause based on the evidence.
Ducks, geese, chickens and pheasants figure heavily in the spread of avian influenza because they are most susceptible to catching it. Interestingly they are closely related and stand alone in the phylogenomic supertree(pink square below). Birds that are not related to ducks and chickens, and birds that don’t flock are very unlikely to catch the disease.
Our hearts go out to all who love these eagles and are grieving. We have been blessed with 100% survivorship of eaglets from the Hays/Glen Hazel eagle nests over the past 14 years, while it is typical for 30% of eaglets to not survive until fledging age.
Kudos to the Glen Hazel moderator team for promptly noticing signs of illness in the chicks and notifying Tamarack Wildlife Center’s Executive Director and Licensed Rehabilitator Carol Holmgren on Friday morning, May 15. Carol immediately reached out to Pennsylvania Game Commission (PGC) and Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) colleagues, to loop them in that day, and has been in conversation since then. A few updates:
• It is FWS policy to let nature take its course at eagle’s nests and only approve intervention when there is a threat to the eagles that has a clear human cause such as fishing line entanglement or swallowing a fish hook. In this instance, the eaglets were ill, but not with a clear human cause where FWS and PGC would approve intervention. Much as that is difficult for us to witness, it is part of the natural history that eagles live with daily.
• The eaglets likely passed from Avian Influenza. Their symptoms and the progression of the illness is consistent with Avian Influenza, and they could have contracted it from ingesting goslings and geese that had been brought to the nest as food. We cannot know for certain without testing, but this is the most likely cause based on the evidence.
• The adults may also have been exposed to the virus. They typically have a stronger immune system than the young birds, and may be able to fight off the virus. Time will tell. We will be monitoring them. There is no treatment that can be given while they are free-flying. If one is on the ground due to illness, it may be able to be treated by a rehabilitator.
• Our hope is that their immune systems are strong and they can remain healthy.
• Our highest concerns at this point are 1. supporting the health of the remaining adult eagles and 2. caring for the moderators and community who love these eagles.
• Now that the two eaglets have passed, PGC has had extensive discussions about the risks vs benefits of accessing the nest to retrieve the now two deceased eaglets. They have decided not to pursue retrieval, in part to not stress the adult eagles through human presence at the nest.
• There is no practical benefit to confirming that the eaglets succumbed to Avian Influenza, beyond the human desire to know. The disease is known to be endemic in Pennsylvania now and there are no management actions that would be taken with that information.
• Due to the regulations and Acts protecting eagles and their nests, any access to the nest would also require both PGC and FWS support.
• PGC will be continuing to monitor the situation. If an eaglet should fall to the ground, they may pursue retrieval and testing since stress on the adult birds would be less, and FWS approval would not be needed.
Below is the full statement shared by our colleagues in PGC today. We appreciate the thoughtfulness with which they have considered this situation, and their continued collaboration.
The Pennsylvania Game Commission (PGC) appreciates the concerns of the public regarding the eagles in the Glen Hazel Eagle Nest Cam, located in Allegheny County.
Wildlife watching opportunities, especially ones that can occur from anywhere thanks to wildlife cameras and digital technology, are a popular way for the public to learn and love wildlife.
Unfortunately, nature can be hard to watch at times. When situations occur on live wildlife webcams, including this eagle’s nest, human intervention is not always recommended or possible.
PGC evaluated the situation carefully and considered many factors including human safety and exposure to potential pathogens. Additionally, human intervention could further stress the adult eagles. Any actions must also comply with federal regulations related to the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act. At this time, we have chosen to not intervene. If a safer opportunity presents itself in the future, we may pursue disease testing to hopefully determine what caused the death of these eaglets.
You’ve probably heard of “Dress for Success” career advice. Today we’ll explore dressing for outdoor success to avoid Lyme disease.
This spring there are so many black-legged ticks (Ixodes scapularis) that unless you are vigilant it’s very easy to get a tick on your body, be bitten, and quite possibly get Lyme disease. How vigilant do you have to be? It depends on what you wear.
If you wear summer clothes that expose your arms, legs and toes you’ll need to check frequently while outdoors and check very carefully when you come inside. Look at your ankles and between your toes. Look behind your knees … and in other places you don’t want to expose to the public. This chart does not check toes and ankles because it assumes you’ll wear socks!
How to do a tick check (image from PA Dept of Health & CDC.gov)
Light-colored long-sleeved shirt with collar. Ticks are trapped under collar!
Socks long enough to put over your pant legs.
Hat with brim. Good for sun, too!
Closed-toe shoes.
This 1+ minute video illustrates what to wear with extra tips. NOTE: The video says to spray your skin with DEET. Alas, no. DEET prevents mosquito bites but it does not repel ticks.
