Category Archives: Phenology

Seen This Week

Phenology, Plants & Fungi
Woodland crocus blooming in the grass on Neville Ave, 1 March 2024 (photo by Kate St. John)

2 March 2024

Despite a few cold snaps, this winter has been quite warm in Pittsburgh and the plants are responding. During the past ten days I’ve found:

  • Woodland crocuses (Crocus tommasinianus) blooming in the grass on Neville Avenue and at Schenley Park,
  • Skunk cabbage (Symplocarpus foetidus) at North Park,
  • Flowering cherry trees blooming at Carnegie Museum.
Skunk cabbage at North Park, 23 Feb 2024 (photo by Kate St. John)
Flowering cherry at Carnegie Museum, Pittsburgh, 29 Feb 2024 (photo by Kate St. John)

Despite these signs of spring the overall look of the land is brown. Last Sunday, 25 Feb, I took a walk with the Botanical Society of Western PA at Hays Woods where I learned a new grass.

Botanical Society walk at Hays Woods, 25 Feb 2024 (photo by Kate St. John)

Grease grass or purpletop (Tridens flavus) is a native bunchgrass whose seeds are oily, hence the grease name. Claire Staples holds it against a dark background so we can see the seeds.

Greasy grass or purpletop, Tridens flavus, held by Mark Bowers and Claire Staples at Hays Woods, 25 Feb 2024 (photo by Kate St. John)

On Thursday I found several species of honeysuckle (Lonicera sp.) leafing out in Schenley Park.

Honeysuckle leaf-out in Schenley Park, 29 Feb 2024 (photo by Kate St. John)

Honeysuckle leafout is an spring indicator on the National Phenology Network (USA NPN) so I wondered about the status of spring elsewhere. On 26 February USA NPN wrote:

How does this spring compare to “normal”?
After a slow start to spring in Florida and parts of the Southern Great Plains, spring is spreading more quickly now across the country. Albuquerque, NM is a week early, St. Louis, MO is 2 weeks early, and parts of Washington, D.C. are 22 days early compared to a long-term average of 1991-2020.

— USA National Phenology Network, Status of Spring on 26 Feb 2024

Yikes! Spring is running more than 3 weeks early in Washington, DC!

Spring is early here, too. Hang onto your hats, Pittsburgh! It’s time to get outdoors.

Hot Weather Affects Maple Sugar Season

Climate Change, Phenology
Maple sugar bucket hanging on a tree (photo from Wikimedia Commons)
Bucket collecting maple sap to make maple syrup (photo from Wikimedia Commons)

28 February 2024

The month of March is traditionally the best month for tapping maples to collect sap for maple syrup. The sap runs best with daytime temperatures above freezing and nights below freezing. When the days are too hot the sap becomes bitter. When the nights don’t freeze the sap stops running and the season is over.

This winter we’ve had yo-yo weather in the Northeast and Great Lakes states. You can see it in the forecast highs this week from Tuesday 27 Feb through Sat 2 March. The cold front coming through today will result in two nights below freezing. Then temperatures will rise again into the 60s. You can see the new blob of hot weather approaching from the Great Plains on Saturday 2 March.

Maple sugar farmers have had to adjust by starting the season whenever the sap runs — in Pennsylvania that might mean January — and pausing the season when the temperature goes up too high in hopes it will drop again.

This news article from Minnesota shows what their maple farmers are dealing with.

video embedded from KSPT5 Eyewitness News

It’s Time to Look for Fairy Shrimp

Fish, Frogs, Phenology
Vernal pool in late winter (photo from Wikimedia Commons)

27 February 2024

Yes, it’s still February but this winter has been so warm that it’s already time to look for shrimp in the woods.

Last year Adam Haritan at Learn Your Land taught us about fairy shrimp in vernal pools. If you missed his 7-minute video, view it right now to find out what these tiny creatures look like and where to find them.

video embedded from Adam Haritan’s Learn Your Land

Amazingly there are 313 species of fairy shrimp (Ansotraca) around the world. Some live in brine water, some live in freshwater. The Eubranchipus genus which Adam mentioned contains 16 species including this female in Poland. You can see the eggs inside her at the root of her tail.

Fairy shrimp, female, Eubranchipus genus in Poland (photo from Wikimedia Commons)

Are you ready to go look for fairy shrimp? Find an isolated ephemeral pool in the woods and look for tiny movement in the water. Here’s a photo to set your size expectations. There’s one at the tip of the fingernail.

Fairy shrimp in Oregon (photo from Wikimedia Commons)

Look for vernal pools in the days ahead. In addition to fairy shrimp you’ll find wood frogs and spring peepers. Don’t delay. The end of March may be too late.

(credits and links are in the captions)

Seen This Week

Deer, Phenology, Weather & Sky
Sunrise in Pittsburgh, 7 Feb 2024 (photo by Kate St. John)

10 February 2024

Beautiful sunrises, calm reflections and high water at Duck Hollow were on tap this week in Pittsburgh.

Wind-less clear skies along the Monongahela River at Duck Hollow, 4 Feb 2024 (photo by Kate St. John)
Pastel sunrise on 8 Feb 2024 (photo by Kate St. John)

The week began as Winter but ended even warmer than early Spring. The tulips in my neighborhood are well above ground, fortunately without flower buds. One week from today, on 17 Feb, the weather forecast calls for temperatures as low as 19°F.

These tulips think it’s already spring, Pittsburgh, 7 Feb 2024 (photo by Kate St. John)

The tulips survive in my too-many-deer neighborhood because they’re surrounded by buildings and tall fences with no obvious exit other than a narrow driveway.

I thought that the maze of buildings and driveways would protect these Japanese yews in front of Newell-Simon Hall at Carnegie Mellon, but deer found their way in and munched the bushes down to sticks. There’s a lot more to eat here. The deer will be back.

Deer damaged yews at Newell-Simon Hall, CMU, 7 Feb 2024 (photo by Kate St. John)

Seen This Week + Pittsburgh’s Deer Won This Round

Deer, Phenology, Plants & Fungi
Afternoon light in Schenley Park, 3 Jan 2024 (photo by Kate St. John)

6 January 2024

Pittsburgh had a rare moment of sunshine on 3 January. I was happy to be outdoors during the Golden Hour in Schenley Park.

This El Niño winter has been so warm that bulbs sprouted in my neighborhood in December. Here are four of the many I found on New Years Eve. That exposed bulb would never have survived in a normal winter like those we used to have just a decade ago.

Flower shoots emerge on New Year’s Eve, 31 Dec 2023 (photo by Kate St. John)
Pittsburgh’s deer won this round.

At Carnegie Museum in Oakland this week I discovered that deer damage near the rear parking lot was so severe that gardeners removed all the Japanese yews. It took two years and an ever-burgeoning deer population to reach this stage.

All the yews have been removed at Carnegie Museum, Pittsburgh, 3 Jan 2024 (photo by Kate St. John)

Last August there were fewer yews than in 2022 because the damaged ones had been removed. Unfortunately the deer were severely browsing the now exposed healthy yews.

Damaged yews at Carnegie Museum in August 2023 (photo by Kate St. John)

Here’s what they looked like in August 2022. Those in front had been eaten bare and died. The next tier was severely browsed and those in back were still normal because the dead and dying yews protected them.

Deer damage on yews at Carnegie Museum, 16 August 2022 (photo by Kate St. John)

The bank of yews could not survive with so many deer.

Seen This Week

Phenology

18 November 2023

After beautiful fall foliage in late October, the landscape faded to brown this week. All the colors were in the sky.

Friday’s sunrise was spectacular for good reason. “Red sky at morn” meant rain was on the way. Fortunately. Even with yesterday’s precipitation we are 6.81 inches below normal for the year.

Wednesday’s sunset was muted by comparison.

Sunset in Pittsburgh, 15 Nov 2023 (photo by Kate St. John)

By now the native trees in Pittsburgh are all brown or bare, so why are there still yellow and green leaves in Schenley Park?

Scene from Schenley Park Upper Trail, 17 Nov 2023 (photo by Kate St. John)

Invasive alien plants are tuned to the climate and daylight levels of their homeland. Those that originated further north than Pittsburgh, Japan for instance, see our November daylight as if it were October back home. Thus invasive honeysuckle bushes are still yellow-green and Norway maples still cling to their yellow leaves.

This virburnum retains its pinkish-green leaves for the same reason.

Pink-green leaves on alien viburnum, Schenley Park, 17 Nov 2023 (photo by Kate St. John)

The sun’s low angle showed off two Agaricaceae mushrooms among fallen leaves in Hays Woods.

Agaricaceae mushrooms at Hays Woods, 12 Nov 2023 (photo by Kate St. John)

Yesterday I found a tree on stilts in Schenley Park. This black locust germinated on top of a log on a rock. As the log deteriorated the roots found soil on either side of the rock. Years later there is a significant gap between the trunk and the ground.

Black locust tree “on stilts” because it grew on top of a rock, 17 Nov 2023 (photo by Kate St. John)

(photos by Kate St. John)

Yesterday at Duck Hollow: A Few Good Birds

Phenology
Monongahela River valley at Duck Hollow, 12 Nov 2023, 10:30am (photo by Kate St. John)

13 November 2023

Warbler migration is over and waterfowl migration has not yet reached Pittsburgh so at times we seem to be in a birdless state. The Monongahela River at Duck Hollow was in that condition at yesterday’s Duck Hollow outing — a dozen mallards and 1(!) Canada goose — but we found a few good birds in the thickets.

When we arrived the sky was brilliantly blue with some russet trees on the hillsides. Our group of five was so small that we didn’t do go-around-the-circle introductions and I forgot to take a group photo.

Brilliant blue sky, fading leaves, Duck Hollow, 12 Nov 2032 (photo by Kate St. John)

One golden-crowned and three ruby-crowned kinglets bopped around us as we looked up this hill.

Best birds of the day were five purple finches (Haemorhous purpureus) — one male and four females — that were too far for a photograph, so here’s one from Wikimedia. We parsed out the females first: Very brown stripes on chest, wide white eyebrow, brown face, brown head, notched tail.

Female purple finch (photo from Wikimedia Commons)

Then we saw the lone male (again this photo is from Wikimedia). House finches were nearby for comparison. Here’s how to tell the difference –> Purple and House.

Male purple finch (photo from Wikimedia Commons)

Later a northern mockingbird came close for a photo, this one by Charity Kheshgi.

Northern mockingbird, Duck Hollow, 12 Nov 2023 (photo by Charity Kheshgi)

View our checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S154301974 and below.

Duck Hollow, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania
Nov 12, 2023 8:30 AM – 10:15 AM
5 participants, 25 species

Canada Goose (Branta canadensis) 1
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) 12
Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura) 3
Killdeer (Charadrius vociferus) 3
Herring Gull (Larus argentatus) 2
Red-shouldered Hawk (Buteo lineatus) 1
Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis) 1
Belted Kingfisher (Megaceryle alcyon) 1
Red-bellied Woodpecker (Melanerpes carolinus) 1
Downy Woodpecker (Dryobates pubescens) 1
Northern Flicker (Colaptes auratus) 1
Blue Jay (Cyanocitta cristata) 5
Carolina Chickadee (Poecile carolinensis) 3
Ruby-crowned Kinglet (Corthylio calendula) 3
Golden-crowned Kinglet (Regulus satrapa) 1
Carolina Wren (Thryothorus ludovicianus) 4
European Starling (Sturnus vulgaris) 1
Northern Mockingbird (Mimus polyglottos) 3
American Robin (Turdus migratorius) 8
House Finch (Haemorhous mexicanus) 8
Purple Finch (Haemorhous purpureus) 5
American Goldfinch (Spinus tristis) 5
White-throated Sparrow (Zonotrichia albicollis) 8
Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia) 3
Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis) 6

(credits are in the captions)

Seen This Week

Birds of Prey, Crows & Ravens, Phenology, Trees
Eastern screech-owl, Frick Park, 7 Nov 2023 (photo by Charity Kheshgi)

11 November 2023

Songbird migration is quiet now and birds, when they’re found, are in mixed species flocks.

On 7 November, Charity Kheshgi and I encountered agitated golden-crowned kinglets, tufted titmice and dark-eyed juncos but it took us a while to find what they were upset about. This red morph screech-owl was hiding above our heads in a small oak.

Golden-crowned kinglet, Frick Park, 7 Nov 2023 (photo by Charity Kheshgi)

An exception to the mixed species flocking rule is our “murder” of crows. My guess is that Pittsburgh’s winter crow flock is 90% American and 10% fish crows, but who can tell? They look alike.

In late afternoon crows stage in the trees in Shadyside and Squirrel Hill, then head west at sunset. 6,000 to 10,000 pass by my building on their way to the roost.

Crows staging in Squirrel Hill just before dusk, 10 Nov 2023 (photo by Stephen Tirone)

At sunset black birds in a darkened sky are impossible to photograph but it’s another story at sunrise. Click on the photo below for a closeup of crows in the brightening sky.

Sunrise with crows, 2 Nov 2023 (photo by Kate St. John)

Leaves littered the ground this week and the air was filled with the sound of leaf blowers. 🙁

Fallen red maple leaf, 7 Nov 2023 (photo by Kate St. John)

Most of the trees were bare in Schenley Park by Friday 10 November.

Bare tree touched by sun, Schenley Park, 3 Nov 2023 (photo by Kate St. John)
Most of the trees are bare, 10 Nov 2023 (photo by Kate St. John)

And finally, a reminder that the rut is still in progress and deer are crossing roads. This duo showed up at a Squirrel Hill polling place on Election Day at a place surrounded by roads. So watch out.

Deer at the polling place on Election Day, 7 Nov 2023 (photo by John via Mardi Isler)

(credits are in the captions)

Burst of Color Before The Freeze

Phenology, Schenley Park
Witch hazel in a garden, 28 Oct 2023 (photo by Kate St. John)

4 November 2023

Throughout October Pittsburgh’s city neighborhoods had not experienced a freeze, even though it was felt in the outlying areas. That changed on the first two days of November with a whisper of snow. We still had fall colors before the freeze. There are brown leaves and bare trees in our future.

At top, landscaping plants are often bred to maximize fall color as seen on a cultivated witch hazel on 28 October.

The oozing “sweat” beads on this polypore mushroom are just the right color for autumn.

Bracket polypore fungus, Schenley Park, 27 Oct 2023 (photo by Kate St. John)

Heavy mist on 29 October clung to ornamental grasses at Phipps Conservatory.

Heavy dew on ornamental grass at Phipps, 29 Oct 2023 (photo by Kate St. John)

Canada thistle (Cirsium arvense) was still blooming last week. Alas, it’s invasive.

Canada thistle still blooming, 27 Oct 2023 (photo by Kate St. John)

The dawn redwoods (Metasequoia glyptostroboides) at Phipps change color before they lose their needles.

Dawn redwood changing color, Phipps, 29 Oct 2023 (photo by Kate St. John)

Fall color was muted on a misty morning in Schenley Park, 29 October.

Panther Hollow Lake on a misty morning, Schenley Park, 29 Oct 2023 (photo by Kate St. John)

(photos by Kate St. John)