Category Archives: Songbirds

Yesterday at Duck Hollow: A Powdered Dancer

Insects, Songbirds
Powdered dancer damselfly, Duck Hollow, 7 July 2024 (photo by Charity Kheshgi)

8 July 2024

Eight of us gathered yesterday morning, 7 July, to look for birds at Duck Hollow. Alas, I forgot to take a group photo.

It was hot.

We stuck to the shade and saw two fly-by ospreys and a host of juvenile songbirds. We also saw a Best Insect — the powdered dancer (Argia moesta) damselfly pictured above — and a Best Mammal sighting of two juvenile muskrats (Ondatra zibethicus) swimming in Nine Mile Run creek.

We learned about the immature plumage of northern rough-winged swallows (Stelgidopteryx serripennis) when several perched on a wire and one turned its back. Through binoculars you can identify immature birds by their reddish-brown wing bars. Click here to see.

Juvenile northern rough-winged swallow, Duck Hollow, 7 July 2024 (photo by Charity Kheshgi)

We also saw two juvenile northern mockingbirds (Mimus polyglottos) — a first for me.

Juvenile northern mockingbird, Duck Hollow, 7 July 2024 (photo by Charity Kheshgi)

In 90 minutes we tallied 23 species. It was hot and getting hotter so we went home.

Duck Hollow, Allegheny, Pennsylvania, US
Jul 7, 2024 8:30 AM – 10:00 AM
23 species

Canada Goose (Branta canadensis) 30 — Youngsters w adults. Adults flightless.
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) 6
Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura) 1
Chimney Swift (Chaetura pelagica) 15
Ruby-throated Hummingbird (Archilochus colubris) 1
Killdeer (Charadrius vociferus) 1
Herring Gull (Larus argentatus) 1
Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) 1
Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura) 1
Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) 2
Cooper’s Hawk (Accipiter cooperii) 1
Belted Kingfisher (Megaceryle alcyon) 1
Downy Woodpecker (Dryobates pubescens) 3
Blue Jay (Cyanocitta cristata) 6
Northern Rough-winged Swallow (Stelgidopteryx serripennis) 14 — At least 3 immatures
Carolina Wren (Thryothorus ludovicianus) 3
Northern Mockingbird (Mimus polyglottos) 4 — Two juvenile birds
American Robin (Turdus migratorius) 12
American Goldfinch (Spinus tristis) 6
Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia) 3
Orchard Oriole (Icterus spurius) 1
Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus) 5
Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis) 4

View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S185899887

Thanks to Charity Kheshgi for the photos.

Sounds Like A Bug

Migration, Songbirds
Clay-colored sparrow singing in Minnesota (photo by Lorie Shaull via Flickr Creative Commons license)

25 June 2024

Today I’m with a group of friends looking for a bird that sounds like a bug in Clarion County, PA.

We’re at Piney Tract, State Gamelands 330, where we expect to hear — and maybe see — grasshopper, field, Henslow’s and song sparrows.

Piney Tract, Clarion County, 1 June 2017 (photo by Kate St. John)
Piney Tract, Clarion County, 1 June 2017 (photo by Kate St. John)

Many grassland sparrows sound like bugs — hence the name “grasshopper” sparrow — but the bird we’re looking for is a clay-colored sparrow (Spizella pallida) who sounds like this:

This bird is special because he’s outside his normal range.

Range map of clay-colored sparrow (image from Wikimedia Commons)

Here’s one in North Dakota.

Clay-colored sparrow in North Dakota (photo from Wikimedia Commons)

Dan Mendenhall saw the bird last Friday so we stand a good chance of finding it. See Dan’s photo here.

Seen On Laurel Mountain

Phenology, Plants & Fungi, Songbirds
Canada warbler, Laurel Mtn, 9 June 2024 (photo by Charity Kheshgi)

15 June 2024

During spring warbler migration I try to see as many species as possible as they pass through Pennsylvania and Ohio. Unfortunately, I missed some of my favorites this year, most notably the Canada warbler (Cardellina canadensis), so Charity Kheshgi and I went to Laurel Mountain last Sunday to find them on their breeding grounds.

The air was filled with veery (Catharus fuscescens) songs when we arrived at Laurel Summit State Park.

We thought we’d be able to see at least one of the two Canada warblers we heard singing along Spruce Bog Trail, but not. However, we got lucky on the Picnic Trail when the bird pictured above and below approached us making his warning call.

Canada warbler, Laurel Mtn, 9 June 2024 (photo by Charity Kheshgi)

Here’s an example of what he sounded like:

There was plentiful shade in the forest, but that made the birds harder to see. This ovenbird (Seiurus aurocapilla) is nicely lit but still in the dark.

Ovenbird, Laurel Mtn, 9 June 2024 (photo by Charity Kheshgi)

We found other delights on the mountain. A tiger swallowtail butterfly sipped nectar from pitcher plant flowers at Spruce Bog.

Tiger swallowtail at pitcher plant flowers, Spruce Bog, Laurel Mtn, 9 June 2024 (photo by Kate St. John)

Pennsylvania’s state flower, mountain laurel (Kalmia latifolia), was in bloom.

Mountain laurel in bloom, Laurel Summit State Park, 9 June 2024 (photo by Kate St. John)

This trillium gone to seed showed well in dappled sunlight.

Trillium gone to seed, Laurel Mtn, 9 June 2024 (photo by Kate St. John)

We heard more birds than we could see, ultimately tallying 24 species in our checklist here.

Little Bird Attacks Big

Bird Behavior, Peregrines, Songbirds
Blue-gray gnatcatcher attacks peregrine fledgling, Cleveland Zoo, June 2021 (photo by Chad+Chris Saladin)

11 June 2024

During the breeding season birds try to drive predators away from their nests and young. Though small birds aren’t equipped with sharp beaks and talons, they relentlessly dive bomb raptors to make them leave the area.

In June 2021, Chad+Chris Saladin filmed a pair of blue-gray gnatcatchers (Polioptila caerulea) attacking a recently fledged young peregrine at the Cleveland Zoo. Gnatcatchers are really small so they barely ruffle a peregrine’s feathers.

Blue-gray gnatcatcher (photo by Steve Gosser)
Blue-gray gnatcatcher (photo by Steve Gosser)

But the young peregrine was so new to flying that she wanted to stay put for a while. One of the gnatcatchers pecked her head. “Hey!”

Blue-gray gnatcatcher attacking peregrine fledgling, Cleveland Zoo, June 2021 (photo by Chad+Chris Saladin)

Watch the encounter in this video by Chad+Chris Saladin. Chris explains what’s going on to passersby.

(video embedded from Chad+Chris Saladin on YouTube)

You may see chickadees attack blue jays, blue jays attack crows and red-winged blackbirds attack just about anything. This is the time of year when Little attacks Big.

UPDATE on the Pitt Peregrines: Yesterday, 10 June 2024, I was happy to find all four peregrines at the Cathedral of Learning at 12:15pm. Ecco was on camera on the green perch, Carla was on a stone peak at 38NW, one of the juvies was eating on the southwest dining ledge (approx 28th floor) and the other was on a grommet at 25SE. (The adults never perch on the grommets.) The Pitt peregrine juvies have been flying for more than a week now and are learning valuable skills.

Crowded Nest But A Mother Can Dream

Nesting & Courtship, Songbirds
Sitting Room Nuthatches have a full house, 30 May 2024 (screenshot from WildlifeKate (@katemacrae)

7 June 2024

We last caught up with WildlifeKate’s (@katemacrae) Sitting Room Nuthatches just after their eggs hatched on 13 May. You may remember them as the tenants who yanked out the decorations, added mud to the walls, and filled the room with dried leaves at Gwyllt Hollow, Wales.

By 30 May the youngsters had grown so large that the apartment was very, very crowded.

The crowding didn’t last long. They all left the nest.

screenshot from Live Feed of Sitting Room Nuthatches on 7 June 2024 (from WildlifeKate (@katemacrae)

From harried mother to empty nest, the kids grow up so fast!

p.s. these are Eurasian nuthatches (Sitta europaea).

Seen This Week

Nesting & Courtship, Songbirds
Kentucky warbler, Harrison Hills Park, 27 May 2024 (photo by Charity Kheshgi)

1 June 2024

This week was “All Peregrines All The Time” with a notable exception.

On Memorial Day Charity Kheshgi and I wanted to see a Kentucky warbler (Geothlypis formosa) so we went to Harrison Hills Park where they breed. It didn’t take long to hear one singing in an extensive thicket along the Pond Trail but we could not see him. We waited patiently for him to appear.

What an elusive bird! We never saw him fly from one end of the thicket to the other though he did it many times. He even flew, unseen, over the trail we were standing on. We must have waited half an hour before we got a glimpse of him in the shadows.

Kentucky warbler, Harrison Hills Park, 27 May 2024 (photo by Charity Kheshgi)

And then he perched and sang (photo at top). Ta dah! A Life Bird Photo for Charity.

We also saw an eastern wood-pewee (Contopus virens) building a nest.

Eastern wood-pewee with nesting material, Harrison Hills Park, 27 May 2024 (photo by Charity Kheshgi)

She had already decorated the exterior with lichen …

Eastern wood-pewee nest in progress, Harrison Hills Park, 27 May 2024 (photo by Charity Kheshgi)

… and was now working on the nest lining. She placed material inside the cup and used her belly to form the interior.

Eastern wood-pewee building nest, Harrison Hills Park, 27 May 2024 (photo by Charity Kheshgi)

Her mate sang “Pee Wee” in the woods nearby.

Birds of the World says the “female often gives a plaintive, two-noted wee-ooo when nest building” but we didn’t hear that sound. She was busy.

The Tenants Have a Family

Nesting & Courtship, Songbirds
banner from Gwyllt Hollow Sitting Room Nuthatches

17 May 2024

In early April WildlifeKate (@katemacrae) introduced us to a pair of Eurasian nuthatches (Sitta europaea) who were remodeling a nestbox she’d provided at Gwyllt Hollow in southern Wales.

The sitting room was beautiful before they yanked out the decorations, added mud to the walls, and filled the room with dried leaves up to the chair rail.

Before remodeling: screenshot from April 09 video from WildlifeKate at Gwyllt Hollow

Having built the nest to their liking the female laid eggs that hatched last Sunday 12 May. (yes there’s a rooster on the sound track.)

video embedded from WildlifeKate at Gwyllt Hollow

This pair now has a large and hungry family.

video embedded from WildlifeKate at Gwyllt Hollow

The chicks are growing fast. As of this morning their eyes are still closed.

Watch the live feed at Gwyllt Hollow – Sitting Room Nuthatches. See the adults hand off food to feed their growing the family.

NOTE: This live stream is 5 hours ahead of U.S. Eastern Time.

Have You Seen Any Nighthawks?

Books & Events, Songbirds
Common nighthawk, Tower Grove Park, Oct 2020 (photo from Wikimedia Commons)

16 May 2024

When I was a kid in the 1960s common nighthawks (Chordeiles minor) were so common that they attracted my notice and inspired my love for birds. In the late 1970s many flew above my neighborhood on summer nights, hawking moths over the Magee Field ballpark lights. In the 1990s their population began a steep decline and by the late 2000s I noticed it in my neighborhood. This year I haven’t seen a nighthawk yet. Their decline has gotten worse in the last 20 years.

Nighthawks are nightjars and they are all in trouble including whip-poor-wills and chuck-wills-widow.

How many nighthawks are left? Where are they now?

You can help answer these questions by participating in the 2024 Nightjar Survey conducted by the Center for Conservation Biology(*).

Nightjar Survey logo

The survey window for the entire continental US opened yesterday, running from 15 May to 30 May.

Nightjar Survey Locations during 15 May — 30 May Window

Interestingly you only have to count nighthawks by the light of the moon because they call more often when the moon is shining. The next full moon is 23 May, right in the middle of the survey period.

Rainbow around the nearly full moon, North Park, Pittsburgh, 16 March 2022, 8:01pm

Check out the survey instructions PDF here or on their website at nightjars.org. (*)Update on 18 May: The nightjars.org website is temporarily unreachable.

Read more about the decline of nighthawks in this vintage article from 2009.

Not So Common Nighthawks

p.s. I participated in the nightjar survey with Michelle Kienholz in 2018. The maximum number we counted at any one stop was only two.

See survey results from all years here.

Putting Fluff to Good Use

Nesting & Courtship, Songbirds, Trees
Warbling vireo using cottonwood fluff to build its nest in St. Louis, MO, 19 May 2019 (photo by Andy Reago & Chrissy McClarren via Wikimedia Commons)

12 May 2024

Eastern cottonwoods (Populus deltoides) rely on the wind for both pollination and seed dispersal. In the spring the male and female trees each produce an inflorescence.

Looking up into an eastern cottonwood (photo from Wikimedia Commons)

The males produce catkins which drop off the tree when the pollen is gone. The females produce flowers whose seeds are embedded in fluff to carry them away on the wind.

Eastern cottonwood inflorescences: male and female (photos from Wikimedia Commons)

By the time the cottonwoods have gone to seed warbling vireos (Vireo gilvus) have returned to the trees on the shore of Lake Erie. Though the birds look nondescript their song is the sound that fills the air in the parking lot at Magee Marsh in May.

Yesterday at Presque Isle State Park we watched a warbling vireo building a nest in a cottonwood. The nest is a cup that hangs from the fork of two small branches. Both sexes help build it.

Warbling Vireo on nest, Ruby Mountains, Nevada

In s. Ontario [the region of Lake Erie], nest exteriors fashioned with insect and spider silk and cocoons, paper and string, and bits of birch bark; exterior walls composed of grasses, plant fibers, bark strips, plant down, hair, leaves, fine twigs, lichens, and rootlets. Linings were fine grasses, pine needles, plant fibers, rootlets, feathers, and leaves.

— Birds of the World: Warbling vireo account

Warbling vireos put the fluff to good use.

p.s. Here’s a mnemonic to help you remember their song:

 The mnemonic of “If I see you, I will seize you, and I’ll squeeze you till you squirt!” is very useful in identifying and remembering this bird’s song.

While easily heard, the Warbling Vireo can be difficult to spot. They tend to perch themselves high in treetops. When they are seen, this common bird is often described as “nondescript”.

— from Indiana Audubon description of warbling vireo

Don’t Miss These Birds!

Migration, Songbirds

7 May 2024

If you’re wondering whether to go birding, don’t wait! Spring migration has been exceptionally good in the past few days migration. The slideshow, above, shows just a few of the 58 species Charity Kheshgi and I saw at Schenley and Frick Parks on Sunday 5 May.

The birds are here right now and they’re fairly easy to see despite the early leaf cover. They’re on the move. Don’t miss them. It’s time to get outdoors!

p.s. Did you notice that the first two birds in the slideshow are “Nashville” and “Tennessee” ?

(photos by Charity Kheshgi)