Redbud blooming on Clyde Street, 8 April 2025 (photo by Kate St. John)
12 April 2025
A week ago it rained and rained. All that water had to go somewhere and by Monday I could tell it had made it to the Monongahela River at Duck Hollow.
The mud bar at the mouth of Nine Mile Run was covered with fast moving water. A mallard barely had to paddle as he zoomed by.
Monongahela River running high, 7 April 2025 (video by Kate St. John)
Leafout continued with these box elder leaves at Herr’s Island on 9 April. Notice that they have the same 3-leaf arrangement as poison ivy but their shape indicates they are box elder.
Box elder leafing out at Herr’s Island, 9 April 2025 (photo by Kate St. John)
If it wasn’t raining it drizzled for most of the week. On Wednesday 9 April, rain and drizzle kept these tulips closed …
Tulips closed against the rain, 10 April 2025 (photo by Kate St. John)
… and the dusk-like conditions prompted seven deer to graze in full view behind Frick Fine Arts. These two didn’t care that I was looking at them. The other five crossed the driveway and melted down the hillside edge.
2 of 7 deer behind Frick Fine Arts, 10 April 2025 (photo by Kate St. John)
p.s. If all seven are pregnant does we can expect the herd to number 14-21 deer by the end of May.
Great horned owl siblings at Schenley Park on a cold morning, 1 April 2025 (photo by Dana Nesiti)
2 April 2025
Dana Nesiti visits Schenley Park every day to record the progress of the great horned owl family: mother, father, Muppet who was rescued in Feb and returned in March, and Sibling. (Read the back story in this 28 March article: Schenley Park Owl Update)
On Monday 31 March, Sibling made a big leap in development that allowed Dana to photograph three family members in one shot!
Muppet, Sibling and mother great horned owl at Schenley Park, 31 March 2025 (photo by Dana Nesiti)
Dana describes how big a deal this was:
4/1/2025. In today’s episode of the owlet’s development and behavioral series we find the owlets eating before daylight and then puffing themselves up against the cold wind. Video is a bit over 5 minutes.
Confirming with citizen scientist friends that yesterday’s [31 March] capture of Sibling finally making it up into the canopy with the adult and Muppet was a first for it. Today [1 April] was the first we saw it feeding with Muppet and the adult.
Yesterday was windy and cold so the two siblings ate and then puffed up and huddled together. Here’s Dana’s five-minute video of their morning activities.
video embedded from Dana Nesiti’s canonusr YouTube account
Great horned owl youngsters in Schenley Park, 25 March 2025. Muppet the rescued female + Sibling (photos by Dana Nesiti)
27 March 2025
This week Dana Nesiti is having a great time observing Schenley Park’s great horned owl family. Yesterday was exceptional when he found and photographed all four family members and confirmed the well-being of both youngsters. See the complete story in Dana’s Facebook post here.
Composite photo of the great horned owl family in Schenley Park by Dana Nesiti
Dana’s photo contains:
Top left: Historical perspective: Mother and two youngsters more than a month ago approx 23 Feb.
Top right: Mother owl and Muppet on the same branch on 26 March.
Bottom left: Father owl perched high above Sibling on 26 March.
This year’s two owlets are celebrities, easy to tell apart because they have different markings and even different personalities.
Great horned owl youngsters, Schenley Park 25 March 2025. Muppet the rescued female + Sibling (photos by Dana Nesiti)
Muppet a.k.a. “Muppet the Marauder” is the whiter of the two youngsters. She fell 100′ from the nest on 27 February and was rescued and taken to Tamarack Wildlife Center where she acquired her nickname. Tamarack returned her to Schenley Park on 11 March where she branched for a couple of days and soon began making short flights from branch to branch and tree to tree. Tamarack says she has the personality of an avid explorer. At this point Muppet has been flying for about two weeks.
Sibling, whose sex is unknown, stayed in the nest until 24 March and was seen making short flights the next day. Sibling is cautious compared to Muppet. Dana captured him/her making a flying leap.
True to her personality Muppet flew much sooner than I expected. Sibling more is in line with my flight-date predictions.
If you want to find the owls in Schenley Park I suggest you look for the photographers or listen for blue jays. Both are good indications that an owl is nearby. 😉
Great horned owlet on a branch, Schenley Park, 12 March 2025 (digiscoped by Kate St. John)
The owlet spent Thursday well camouflaged on an inaccessible-to-humans cliff ledge. On Friday she was in a tree, see photograph at top. Juvenile owls use their claws to climb trees. (Note: in case you hear people calling her Muppet, Tamarack gave her that nickname.)
Mercury and Venus
After sunset on 9 March I noticed a bright planet in the west with a divot out of the top of it like a phase of the moon. It was Venus about to set. How did I live this long without knowing that Venus has phases?
When I digiscoped Venus I saw a shadowy planet next to it. Mercury was also about to set, pinkish and to the left of Venus whose brightness plays havoc with my optics.
Mercury and Venus with a divot off the top, 9 March 2025 (digiscoped by Kate St. John)
Here’s a view that shows Venus a bit better.
Mercury and Venus, 9 March 2025 (digiscoped by Kate St. John)
Incipient Spring flowers and leaves
Incipient is a good word to describe spring flower and leaf status this week. As of Thursday 13 March spring was “in an initial stage; beginning to happen or develop.”
Common whitlowgrass blooming in Aspinwall, 11 March 2025 (photo by Kate St. John)
Common whitlowgrass (Draba verna), a member of the cabbage family, blooms very early. It is native to Europe, western Asia and North Africa and is now spread around the world.
Honeysuckle leaves were just beginning to open on Thursday.
Incipient honeysuckle leaves in Greenfield, 13 March 2025 (photo by Kate St. John)
And the Cornelian cherry tree near Panther Hollow Lake had a single tiny flower open in the bud.
Incipient Cornelian cherry flowers, Schenley Park, 13 March 2025 (photo by Kate St. John)
All of these plants are from other continents and they start blooming sooner than our native plants.
After yesterday’s very warm weather everything else will speed up.
Great horned owlet about to be delivered to temporary nest, Schenley Park 11 March 2025 (photo by Dana Nesiti)
12 March 2025
Almost two weeks ago — on 27 February — this 6-week-old great horned owlet fell 100 feet from her nest on the Panther Hollow Bridge and was rescued and taken to Tamarack Wildlife Center. Tamarack determined her injuries were so minor that she was ready for release quite soon. But where to take her? Her birth-nest is inaccessible.
Panther Hollow Bridge, Schenley Park, with owls’ nest indicated (photo by Kate St. John)
She needed to be in a foster family with siblings her age but she is older than other known nestlings in western PA. (Her parents nest really early.) In the end the best choice was to return her to her parents by placing her in a temporary nest near the bridge.
Yesterday, 11 March, she went home with help from Tamarack Wildlife Center, City of Pittsburgh Forestry and Pittsburgh Park Rangers. Her adventure is documented in these photos by Dana Nesiti.
First, her temporary nest was placed 20-30 feet up in a tree within sight and sound of her parents. Then George DeSavage of City Forestry received her from Tamarack staff.
The handoff, great horned owlet on his way to the temporary nest in Schenley, 11 March 2025 (photo by Dana Nesiti)
As a parting shot she bite the gloved finger of her Tamarack handler. Fortunately those gloves are very thick.
Owlet bites a finger during the handoff, fortunately in a stout glove! Schenley Park, 11 March 2025 (photo by Dana Nesiti)
Then she rode in the bucket truck to her temporary nest …
Owlet on his way to the temporary nest via bucket truck, Schenley Park, 11 March 2025 (photo by Dana Nesiti)
… and settled in.
Great horned owlet in his temporary nest, Schenley Park, 11 March 2025 (photo by Dana Nesiti)
She is just the right age to begin “branching” — walking off the nest — so her parents will not be surprised to hear her away from the birth-nest. When she wakes up hungry she will make begging calls like this and her parents will bring her food.
Tamarack explains:
Over the next 3-4 weeks, she will practice perching, hopping, flapping and short flights before being fully able to fly at around age 9 weeks.
Great Horned Owls spend more time with their young than any other owl species in Pennsylvania. Six months or more are spent supporting their young and teaching them hunting skills, before encouraging their young to disperse in the fall.
Great horned owl nestling showing new wings, 4 Mar 2025 (photo by Jim McCollum)
7 March 2025
On Tuesday 4 March Jim McCollum visited Schenley Park to see the great horned owls’ nest. While there he was lucky to see a nestling stand up and stretch. Look who has wings!
Great horned owl nestling & mother in Schenley, 4 March 2025 (photo by Jim McCollum)
Great horned owl family in Schenley Park, 4 March 2025 (photo by Jim McCollum)
Great horned owl nestling in Schenley Park opens his new wings, 4 March 2025 (photo by Jim McCollum)
Great horned owls in Schenley Park, 4 March 2025 (photos by Jim McCollum)
These wings are not fully developed yet but they are looking good and will be further along today than they were three days ago.
When will the Schenley owlets fly?
Here is my best guess at when the nestlings will fly from the Schenley Park bridge nest.
Based on their appearance and behavior I think the first egg hatched around 5 February and the second about two days later. Approximate hatch dates = 5-7 Feb. [Update from Tamarack: Hatching was approx 28-30 January.]
Great horned owl nestlings walk off the nest and start “branching” at 5-6 weeks = approximately 12-21 March.
Branching youngsters fly away from the nest — “fledging” — at 9-10 weeks = early April. I am not sure of this estimate. It may be sooner (late March) though I doubt it will be later in April.
Mother great horned owl and owlet, 2 March 2025 (photo by Dana Nesiti)
3 March 2025
Yesterday’s great horned owl outing in Schenley Park was a great success. More than 25 people got to see the nest and the mother owl. Near the end of our visit one owlet poked up its head but we were gone by the time it stood up and gave Dana Nesiti this lovely view, above. (See NOTE below on the number of owlets.)
We also trooped down the path to find the father owl who is so camouflaged at his roost that we had to sit or crouch to see his face. I set my scope quite low to digiscope two photos.
Male great horned owl (“Papa”) roosting in tree in Schenley Park, 2 March 2025 (photo by Kate St. John)Another view of the male great horned owl roosting in Schenley Park, 2 March 2025 (photo by Kate St. John)
Dana and I were not surprised to see only one baby owl. On Thursday 27 February an owlet fell from the nest and was rescued by Sarah Mateskovich & WIN. It was taken to Tamarack Wildlife Center where they determined it had a minor injury to its beak and tongue. Tamarack may foster the rescued owl at another nest since the bridge nest is inaccessible for her return. Click on the embedded Facebook post to see the rest of Tamarack’s news.
It appears that the rescued owlet was one of three because there were still two at the nest on Friday the 28th when Ankur photographed and videoed them with late day sunlight shining through the bridge.
Mother owl with two owlets at Schenley Park nest, 19 Feb 2025 (photo by Dana Nesiti)
1 March UPDATE: Yes this outing is happening as planned and yes it will be COLD. Dress warmly. Here’s some news:
One of the owlets fell from the nest on Thursday 27 Feb and was rescued by Sarah Mateskovich & taken by WIN to Tamarack Wildlife Center where they determined it has only a minor beak injury. The rescued owlet may be fostered at another nest since this bridge nest is inaccessible for her return.
As of 28 February there were still 2 owlets in the nest, apparently there were 3 to begin with!
23 February 2025
You’ve been hearing about them. Now come see them!
Join me on a daytime great horned “owl prowl” in Schenley Park on Sunday 2 March 2025. Meet at 9:30am in front of the Schenley Park Visitor Center (40.438514, -79.946479). We’ll walk from there to the viewing area.
NOTE the time! 1 HOUR LATER THAN USUAL! 9:30AM
Dana Nesiti photographed two owlets in the nest on 19 February, above. Since this outing is 11 days after his photo I expect the owlets to be halfway to adult size.
Dress warmly in layers and wear comfortable WARM socks and boots. Bring binoculars, field guides and a scope if you have them. We probably will be standing still on frozen ground while we wait for the owls to move. This is a very cold activity so be prepared!
The outing will last 60+ minutes, depending on the weather.
And just to tantalize you, here’s what they looked like this morning
Great horned owls in Schenley Park: Mother and two owlets, Sunday 23 Feb 2025, 9:15am (photos by Kate St. John)
Great horned owl mother and owlet, Schenley Park, 15 Feb 2025 (photo by Dana Nesiti)
17 February 2025
It was overcast with misty rain when Dana Nesiti visited Schenley Park on Saturday 15 February to capture photos of the great horned owl’s nest. As you can see, the owlet is growing fast and starting to get facial disc feathers. (You can also see raindrops on the back of Dana’s camera, below.)
screenshot of a photo on Dana Nesiti’s camera, 15 February 2025 (photo by Dana Nesitt)
For comparison, here’s what the owlet looked like 4 days earlier on 11 February — all beak.
Great horned owl mother with downy white owlet perched in front of her, 11 Feb 2025 (photo by Charity Kheshgi)
Hoping for a good look at the owl family, Charity Kheshgi and I visited Schenley yesterday while it was sunny. Unfortunately the wind was so cold that the owlet hid beneath his mother’s belly feathers while her ear tufts flapped in the wind.
We did, however, find the father owl roosting in a tree on the opposite hillside — in the sun and out of the wind.
“Papa” great horned owl roosting, 17 Feb 2025 (digiscoped by Kate St. John)
Today it’s so cold that the owlet will be hiding. Next weekend’s above freezing temperatures will be a good time to check on his progress.
Gull: Since most of the rain will fall south of here the Monongahela River will rise again. It was falling last Tuesday when I photographed one of the many ring-billed gulls at Duck Hollow. This one seemed to be asking, “Do you have food for me?” Someone had left birdseed on the trash can cover.
4 Merlins: Yesterday I went to the Bob O’Connor Golf Course at Schenley Park half an hour before sunset to see if I could find the two merlins who usually hang out there. As soon as I arrived one flew in and landed on the highest pine in the Palmer Loop Practice Area north of Schenley Drive.
Merlin atop an evergreen, Schenley golf course, 14 Feb 2025, 5:22pm (photo by Kate St. John)Zoomed cellphone photo: 1 of 4 merlins at Schenley golf course, 14 Feb 2025, 5:15-6:05pm (photo by Kate St. John)
Soon a second merlin landed on top of the tallest tree, a bare tree between holes 8 and 9. I walked a big circle to check for songbirds and saw the first merlin in an intense chase with a third. On my way back to the car I found a fourth(!) and was able to stand in one spot and see all four merlins at the same time.
Four is unusual but I remember a time, perhaps in the late 1990s, when Bill Hintze first found merlins at the golf course. In those days there were sometimes as many as four.
60 Feet into Ohio: On Monday 10 Feb four of us went birding on the Stavich Bike Trail in Lawrence County PA to do a Winter Survey for the Third PA Breeding Bird Atlas. We were ready to head back to the car when I realized we were only a half mile from Ohio. So we kept going, crossed the state line and walked 60 feet into Ohio.
Ta dah! Here we are just inside Pennsylvania. Best Bird: a white-crowned sparrow.
Birding with friends (Donna, Kate, Debbie, Linda) in PA at the Ohio state line, 10 Feb 2025 (photo by Donna Foyle)
Bonus Picture — great horned owlet: Here’s another owlet baby picture from Tues 11 Feb. The white fluff in front of the mother owl is the owlet’s head facing left with its eyes closed.
Great horned owl nest with mother and owlet, Schenley Park, 11 Feb 2025 (photo by Charity Kheshgi)
