When Panther Hollow Lake overflowed on 20 Aug duckweed floated with it, 21 Aug 2026 (photo by Kate St. John)
23 August 2026
On Thursday 20 August, in 45 minutes from 8:10 and 8:55am, it rained 1.55″ at the Allegheny County Airport. For almost 15 minutes it came down at the rate of 3.4″ per hour. Schenley Park’s Panther Hollow Lake was one of many waterways that overflowed. By Friday morning the flood waters had receded, leaving behind a coating of duckweed right up to the high water mark. This was the first time I’ve ever seen a duckweed flood.
Ideally the flood would have been handled by the old concrete overflow channel but it’s blocked by a landslide so the flood ran over the channel edge and down the path to the lake.
An old landslide below the Panther Hollow Bridge blocks Panther Hollow Lake overflow channel, 22 Aug 2026 (photo by Kate St. John)
Water scoured new ditches and carried an old orange cone into the lake. It also beat down the cattails on its way to the duckweed zone.
Flood path to Panther Hollow Lake, 21 Aug 2026 (photo by Kate St. John)
Panther Hollow Lake a sea of green, 21 Aug 2026 (photo by Kate St. John)
Duckweed heavily coated the concrete edge, …
Duckweed left behind by the 21 Aug flood, 22 Aug 2026 (photo by Kate St. John)
… and a lumpy log right next to the edge …
Duckweed coating everything from the 21 Aug flood, 22 Aug 2026 (photo by Kate St. John)
… and the grass.
Closeup of duckweed coating grass at the edge of Panther Hollow Lake, 22 Aug 2026 (photo by Kate St. John)
Usually duckweed (Lemnoideae) is a floating plant with each tiny leaf-like structure dangling a tiny root. But the water is gone. The leaflets are stuck to everything.
Duckweed from Panther Hollow Lake, 22 June 2025 (photo by Kate St. John)
Will it take another rain storm to wash away the duckweed? Or will the sun desiccate it and make it brown? I’ll have to go back and see.
Turkey oak, acorn on the tree, Schenley Park, 29 July 2026 (photo by Kate St. John)
2 August 2026
How many seed capsules can you think of that have “hitchhiker” hooks?
#1. I was puzzled by the acorn cup, pictured above, because I don’t know of any native northeastern oaks that have these hooks. The acorn is from a non-native Turkey oak (Quercus cerris) from southeastern Europe including Turkey. It was planted in Schenley Park at the top of the Serpentine Road more than 100 years ago.
#2. Those hooks reminded me of common burdock (Arctium minus), another non-native plant from Europe. The oak is not invasive but common burdock is.
Common burdock, 26 July 2026 (photo by Kate St. John)
#3. For native plants with hooks I thought of the sweetgum (Liquidambar styraciflua) seed ball even though its spikes are not very hooked at the tips.
Sweetgum seed ball, 18 November 2020 (photo by Kate St. John)
When the sweetgum ball dries out it is woody and spiky and very bad to step on with bare feet. Each sweetgum spike contains 1 or 2 seeds.
Sweetgum seed ball, 21 January 2022 (photo by Kate St. John)
#4. These small hooked seed capsules are on a stem of small flowered agrimony (Agrimonia parviflora). Agrimony branches dangle across the trail near knee height and readily grab onto your pant legs. They are at least slightly aggravating.
Agrimony seeds still on the stem, 23 July 2021 (photo by Kate St. John)
Can you think of other examples? If so leave a comment.
Serpentine Drive in Schenley Park, today, 23 July 2026 (photo by Kate St. John)
23 July 2026: A look back 7 years, 2019-2026
Seven years ago this month I was walking through Schenley Park to the Squirrel Hill business district when my pedestrian plans were detoured because a huge paving truck had fallen off the Serpentine Road(**) and overturned on the hillside. Everything was blocked off.
The presence of a huge paving truck in early July was normal. The City typically repaved the Serpentine just ahead of the Vintage Grand Prix (VGP) that uses this route in Schenley Park. But something had gone radically wrong.
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — The driver of a tri-axle truck has been rescued after the vehicle plunged over a hillside late Wednesday morning [July 10, 2019] in Squirrel Hill.
The truck crashed around 10:45 a.m. at the intersection of Serpentine Drive and Bartlett Street, and dropped about 50 feet over a hillside. It happened in the Panther Hollow area of Schenley Park. …
“From initial reports, it appears part of the hillside gave way, and again, they’re doing work on the roadway. They’re milling it and repaving it,” Pittsburgh Police spokesperson Chris Togneri said. “We’re not sure what caused the vehicle to go over. We’re not even sure if it was moving or stationary at this point, but it was fully loaded with asphalt.” …
The road was closed while crews worked to clear the scene. Park rangers also closed a trail below the hillside to prevent hikers from entering the area.
No word on when Serpentine Drive will reopen to traffic as the road is still unsafe, according to police.
Here’s the Serpentine where it happened, highlighted in purple on Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy’s Schenley Park map. **NOTE: I call it Serpentine Road (it’s a ‘Burgh thing) but its real name is Serpentine Drive.
The road closed on 10 July 2019 and it took seven years to restore the wall, mostly due to funding. The slideshow below chronicles the Serpentine from 2019 to 2026, beginning with a Google StreetView snapshot of Serpentine Drive in June 2019. That’s the only photo I could find of the old road. The last seven photos were taken this morning.
Serpentine Drive: The hole in the wall 2019 to 2026
Google StreetView of Serpentine Road before the accident, June 2019
Pittsburgh Public Safety Dept photo of the accident 10 July 2019
The hole where the truck fell in as seen on 13 July 2019
The hole in the wall, 13 July 2019
Serpentine landslide and debris from accident, 13 July 2019
Serpentine Drive in 2012 divided for both cars and pedestrians. Not well received
New retaining wall in progress, 20 Feb 2026
Retaining wall completed as seen 23 July 2026
The "join" where old meets new
Former landslide and debris area below the road
Serpentine Drive with skid marks from Vintage Grand Prix 2026
Serpentine Drive today 23 July 2026
In 2021, pictured in the slideshow, the City opened one lane for cars and one lane for everyone else, divided by a jersey barrier. Neither cars nor humans liked this compromise.
So for seven years we all got used to not driving on the Serpentine. What a lovely thing to walk or bicycle on this scenic road without having to worry about cars.
The City held a public input process, before the wall was done, to find out whether people wanted to open it to cars or leave it bike-pedestrian only. The overwhelming answer was Bike-Pedestrian Only.
Meanwhile cars have been very unhappy since the Panther Hollow Bridge closed in Fall 2024 (it is slated to reopen next month). As soon as the Serpentine wall was done, cars argued that they should be allowed to use the Serpentine. City Council held a public hearing. My Council representative Erika Strassburger was quoted at TribLive:
Strassburger said the issue seems to be a microcosm of a broader debate around who has the right to use certain spaces and how people move through the city. She acknowledged “valid concerns on both sides of the issue” but said the majority of people who have voiced their opinions expressed a desire to keep the road closed to traffic.
“I believe it’s time to put this to bed and move on,” she said, explaining the city has other issues to tackle. “This is a decision that has already been made.”
Cars will start to get happy as soon as the Panther Hollow Bridge reopens and will be ecstatic when the Anderson Bridge reopens. Hang on, cars. Good things are coming even though it feels like forever.
p.s. The Anderson Bridge closure is the worst. It prohibits everything — cars, bicycles, pedestrians, etc.
Spittlebugs made this, 28 June 2026 (photo by Kate St. John)
29 June 2026
Sunday morning started foggy so there were only five of us for the Schenley Park outing. Four are pictured below with Charity Kheshgi holding the camera. By the time we started walking the fog was gone at ground level.
Schenley Park outing, 28 June 2026 (photo by Charity Kheshgi)
As expected we saw several robin fledglings and a mother mallard with five ducklings. The Best Bird was a pair of pileated woodpeckers foraging and shouting to keep in touch with each other. They probably had nestlings nearby but we didn’t see the nest. This photo from the same area a month ago is probably one of the pair. See our checklist at the end.
Pileated woodpecker at Schenley Park 25 May 2026 (photo by Charity Kheshgi)
Yesterday’s big attraction were the insects.
We found white foam patches on plant stems (photo at top). Hiding inside the foam are spittlebugs, nymphal froghoppers that suck the juice out of plants and excrete it as a sticky foam to protect themselves from temperature extremes, dessication and predators.
I took a photo of an interesting orange fungus, then noticed several millipedes next to the fungus. Why 3 instead of the usual one? It’s Millipede Mating Season, a subject so fascinating that I’m saving it for tomorrow.
Millipedes on a tree stump among fungi, 28 June 2026 (photo by Kate St. John)
We found a dead butterfly, “one of those punctuation butterflies,” so I took a lot of photos — it wasn’t going anywhere. It’s a Question Mark butterfly named for the white marks on its cryptic ventral side. The question mark is inside the pink circle that I’ve drawn on the cryptic photo. (Ignore the white five-armed vegetation on top of the dead butterfly.)
Question mark butterfly, ventral view (deceased)
Question mark butterfly, dorsal view with the question mark circled (deceased)
Max found a bee tree off the trail. Charity took a video.
Honeybee hive in a tree in Schenley Park (video by Charity Kheshgi)
Bumblebee at obedient plant, 23 June 2026 (photo by Kate St. John)
27 June 2026
This week I was in Blair and Allegheny Counties where I found late June flowers, busy insects and urban deer.
Beauty
Obedient plant (Physostegia virginiana), at top, attracts many pollinators. It’s called obedient plant because if you move an individual flower to the side it stays in place.
Enchanter’s nightshade (Circaea sp.) started blooming at the summer solstice in Schenley Park.
Enchanter’s nightshade, Schenley, 26 June 2026 (photo by Kate St. John)
American germander (Teucrium canadense) is blooming at the Herrs Island back channel.
American germander, near Herr’s Island, 24 June 2026 (photo by Kate St. John)
On 21 June we had a beautiful morning birding the Lower Trail at Mt. Etna Station in Blair County. Before the day heated up, mist rose from the damp wooden railing on the pedestrian bridge over Frankstown Branch of the Juniata River.
Mist rises from a damp railing on the Lower Trail at Mt. Etna, 21 June 2026 (photo by Kate St. John)
Bugs
Also on the Lower Trail a bug floated down from the trees. We caught and examined it, only to find it was the exoskeleton of a mayfly.
Mayfly exoskeleton, Lower Trail in Blair County, 20 June 2026 (photo by Kate St. John)
On that same day back in Pittsburgh John English saw his first spotted lanternfly. 3rd instar.
Spotted lanternfly, Homestead, 20 June 2026 (photo by John English)
In 24 June I visited the Herrs Island back channel where I reliably find spotted lanternflies in the summer. There weren’t many but at least one was already in the final instar … the red one.
Two instars of spotted lanternfly, Herrs Island back channel, 24 June 2026 (photo by Kate St. John)Spotted lanternfly 3rd instar, Herrs Island back channel, 24 June 2026 (photo by Kate St. John)Spotted lanternfly 4th instar, Herrs Island back channel, 24 June 2026 (photo by Kate St. John)
The 4th instar will transform into a winged adult. This is only a matter of days away …
Spotted lanternfly stages, from nymph to adult (image from Wikimedia Commons)
Urban Deer
The deer in my urban neighborhood don’t care about people and cars. On 20 June my husband photographed a limping doe.
Limping deer in Shadyside, 19 June 2026 (photo by Richard St. John)Limping deer in Shadyside, 19 June 2026 (photo by Richard St. John)
And on 24 June my neighbor pointed out a doe and buck resting behind the retaining wall at Neville House. The buck is well hidden from my location. You can see the doe’s resting legs, her body and the back of her head.
Doe and buck sleeping behind the wall at Neville House, 24 June 2026 (photo by Kate St. John)
They never mentioned the black bears who used to live here, were gone for a long time, and are now making a comeback on their own.
Black bear in western Pennsylvania, May 2010 (photo by Chuck Tague)
This week a black bear is roaming North Park, running across the street, and swimming in the lake. CBS Pittsburgh reports, “The Pennsylvania Game Commission is monitoring the situation. … Visitors are asked to use caution, give the bear plenty of space and keep their dogs on leashes. Don’t try to interact with the bear.”
Learn more about Beasts of the East when Andrew Moore presents his new book at Greentree Public Library on June 24th. Registration is required for this event.
Parent blue jay with fledgling, Schenley Park, 31 May 2026 (photo by Charity Kheshgi)
2 June 2026
In the midst of Peregrine Fledge Watch Season this blog has been All Peregrines All The Time but I’ll take a break to tell you about our outing on 31 May.
Fourteen people came out last Sunday for a walk in Schenley Park. Here are 10 of us at journey’s end.
Schenley Park outing, 31 May 2026 (photo by Charity Kheshgi)
Highlights were:
A fledgling blue jay was perched low within sight of the sidewalk. He looked so young with a yellow gape and almost no tail. We were glad to see a parent feed and check on him frequently (photo at top).
Blue jay fledgling, Schenley Park, 31 May 2026 (photo by Charity Kheshgi)
A large flock of about 30 northern rough-winged swallows and 10 swifts flew just over our heads as they ate flying insects at Panther Hollow Lake. When the sun heated the air the bugs rose higher and so did the swallows. Sometimes a swallow landed on the wire between the lightpoles.
Northern rough-winged swallow, Schenley Park, 31 May 2026 (photo by Jeff Cieslak)
We saw a busy pair of eastern phoebes gathering food and soon found out why. They were feeding a voracious brown-headed cowbird fledgling. In the lefthand photo below, the fledgling looks larger than its foster parent. In the righthand photo you can tell it’s not a phoebe baby.
Brown-headed cowbird fledgling begging from its eastern phoebe foster parent, Schenley Park, 31 May 2026 (photos by Charity Kheshgi and Jeff Cieslak)
Nearby a female cowbird, perhaps the birth mother, watched the fledgling. As soon as he is “weaned” from his foster parents he will figure out he’s a cowbird when he hears his mother (or another female cowbird) make the rattle call.
Female brown-headed cowbird watching an eastern phobe feeding a cowbird fledgling, Schenley, 31 May 2026 (photo by Jeff Cieslak)
A northern house wren sang on a lightpole, then went inside the light itself to a potential nest site (his “house”). When he exited the hole Jeff Cieslak captured him in flight.
Northern house wren exits from his nest hole, Schenley, 31 May 2026 (photo by Jeff Cieslak)
Carla flying at Cathedral of Learning with Schenley Park in the background. 21 May 2021 (photo by Jeff Cieslak)
25 May 2026
The Pitt peregrines live so close to Schenley Park that when they leave the nest the park is their backdrop. Next Sunday 31 May I’ll combine Schenley and peregrines in two back-to-back outings:
11:00am: Pitt Peregrine Fledge Watch. Meet at the Schenley Plaza tent. (Note: This may be one day too early … we’ll see.)
Parking is FREE on Sundays.
Schenley Park Bird and Nature Walk, May 31, 8:30a – 10:30a.
Wood thrush singing, 2011 (photo by Steve Gosser)
Join me for a bird & nature walk in Schenley Park on Sunday, May 31, 8:30a – 10:30a.
We’ll meet me at the Schenley Park Visitor Center to see what’s popping in the park. Dress for the weather and wear comfortable walking shoes. Bring binoculars and field guides if you have them.
Click here for more information and in case of cancellation.
On Friday I heard four wood thrushes (Hylocichla mustelina) singing in the Panther Hollow valley. They were were well hidden in the trees but I’m sure we’ll hear one on Sunday. Listening is the best part.
Wood thrush singing in Schenley Park (video by Kate St. John)
… and then …
As soon as the bird walk is over, I’ll adjourn to Schenley Plaza to look for peregrines. (I will start the watch immediately when I get there. The 11:00a start time insures that peregrine fans will find me even if our bird walk runs late.)
Pitt Peregrine Fledge Watch, May 31, 11:00a – noon.
Schenley Plaza tent (photo by Kate St. John)
Join me at the Schenley Plaza tent, 11:00am – noon, for a Pitt Peregrine Fledge Watch. We’ll swap peregrine stories and get close-up looks at the peregrines through my scope.
Pitt Peregrine Fledge Watch, 2 June 2025 (photo by John English)
Will one or more Pitt peregrine chicks be visible that day? If they’ve left the camera view, their next step is to walk on the bulwark. Here’s an example from 2025.
Peregrine chicks on the bulwark, 2 June 2025 (photo by John English)
Click here for a Google map of Schenley Plaza. Don’t forget to check the Events page for last minute updates before you come. Fledge Watch will be canceled if it’s raining or thundering.
p.s. A complete Pitt Peregrine Fledge Watch schedule will be posted later this week.
Goldenseal, 20 April 2026 (photo by Kate St. John)
26 April 2026
Hatch Day preempted Saturday’s usual Seen This Week, so today we’ll take a look at Spring in photos Seen Last Week.
Raccoon Creek State Park
Goldenseal
Maidenhair fern
Dwarf larkspur
Frick Park: Golden ragwort
Schenley Park
Fleabane, an alien with pretty pink accents
Fringetree
Jack in the pulpit — from the top and under the spathe
Maidenhair fern, 20 April 2026 (photo by Kate St. John)Dwarf larkspur, Racoon Creek Wildflower Preserve, 20 April 2026 (photo by Kate St. John)Golden ragwort, Frick Park, 18 April 2026 (photo by Kate St. John)Fleabane in bloom, Schenley Park, 22 April 2026 (photo by Kate St. John)Fringetree in bloom, Schenley Park, 22 April 2026 (photo by Kate St. John)Jack-in-the-pulpit with a look inside, Schenley Park, 22 April 2026 (photo by Kate St. John)
Aphids were all over this plant ten days ago in Schenley Park … but then it got cold and they died.
Aphids did not survive the almost-freeze in Schenley Park, 22 April 2026 (photo by Kate St. John)
On a trail in Frick Park I encountered the enormous root ball of a blow down. For perspective I propped my walking stick against it. Note the black hand loop and orange uppershaft. The root ball is a lot taller than me.
Root ball of a blown down tree in Frick Park. Walking stick shows perspective, 19 April 2026 (photo by Kate St. John)
Honeysuckle from buds to first leaves, Schenley, March 8 & 13 (photos by Kate St. John)
14 March 2026
It was as hot as May at the beginning of the week as leaf and flower buds swelled and opened. Then temperatures returned to normal and it felt cold. Seen this week were ….
The first Amur honeysuckle leaves (above) and Cornelian cherry tree flowers.
Cornelian cherry flowers: buds to fully open, Schenley, March 6 to 11, (photos by Kate St. John)
Swelling buds on ginkgo trees.
Ginkgo tree buds swelling, Schenley, 13 Mar 2026 (photo by Kate St. John)
Invasive Callery pear about to bloom.
Callery pear flowers buds swell, Schenley, 13 Mar 2026 (photo by Kate St. John)
Viburnum plicatum leaf buds swelling in Frick Park. (This shrub is invasive.)
Virburnum plicatum leaf buds, Frick, 8 Mar 2026 (photo by Kate St. John)
First flowers on forsythia.
Forsythia drooping after cold night, Schenley, 13 Mar 2026 (photo by Kate St. John)
Pale green branches on the willows … tiny leaves.
Willows turning green in Schenley Park, 12 Mar 2026 (photo by Kate St. John)
First goutweed leaves.
First goutweed leaves, Schenley, 11 Mar 2026 (photo by Kate St. John)
And tree pollen allergies if you are susceptible. My husband wondered why his allergies gave him a twinge this week. American elm flowers were blooming. They are wind-pollinated.
Pixel Weather screenshot, Pollen count, 10 Mar 2026
All the tender leaves and flowers will be smacked down this coming Tuesday and Wednesday when temperatures drop into the low 20s. I cannot feel bad for half of the plants pictured here. Four of them are invasive aliens.
