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Water willow at Duck Hollow with (possibly) Tripudia flavofasciata moth feeding, 27 July 2025 (photo by Kate St. John) 21 July 2026 Join me this coming Sunday for a bird and nature walk at Duck Hollow and the Lower Nine Mile Run Trail — 26 July 2026, 8:30am to 10:30am. Monongahela River at Duck Hollow Trail, 8 August 2020 (photo by Kate St. John) A year ago at Duck Hollow, Charity Kheshgi and I found water willow blooming on the mudbar with an unusual moth feeding on it (photo at top). Our…
Flock of white doves (photo from Shutterstock, 2012) 20 July 2026 Rock doves (Columba livia) were domesticated 5,000 to 10,000 years ago and are still kept today worldwide for a variety of reasons including food or fancy show breeds, and especially for their homing instinct. Homing pigeons (yes Columba livia) are specially bred for navigation and speed and can fly home from a place they’ve never seen up to 600 miles away. This makes them valuable for carrying messages, taking part in races and…
Wildfire smoke in Niagara region, St. Catharines, ON, 15 July 2026 (photo from Wikimedia) 19 July 2026 As I wrote on Friday 17 July, wildfire smoke has been plaguing the northeastern U.S. and the Great Lakes region in the U.S. and Canada. The photo at top shows the worst day in the Niagara Falls area as seen in St. Catharines on Wednesday 15 July. Pittsburgh’s worst day was Friday the 17th, shown in the video below. Wildfire smoke in Pittsburgh on 17 July 2026, video embedded from WTAE-TV…
Asiatic dayflower, Schenley Park, 11 July 2026 (photo by Kate St. John) 18 July 2026 Before the smoke came to town I went on a long walk in Schenley Park and around the neighborhood this week. The captions tell the stories. Flowers and a cooperative young rabbit in Schenley Park on 11 July. Smoke-free sunrise on 12 July. A lovely tiny weed in the cobblestone cracks + a deer eating her way through a front yard on Bayard Street, 13 July. A dinosaur statue being repainted, photographed in media…
Wildfire smoke in Pittsburgh before sunset 16 July 2026 (photo by Kate St. John) 17 July 2026 Yesterday while I wrote about the raging wildfires in western Ontario, 1000 miles from Pittsburgh, their smoke was blowing in our direction. By 8:00am yesterday I could see it as faint haze. By sunset it had turned the sun orange. The smoke was so thick that John English did not need a filter to photograph the sun, complete with sunspot. Sun in wildfire smoke, Homestead, PA, 16 July 2026 (photo by John…
Forest fire photo from Wikimedia 16 July 2026 The wildfire smoke in Pittsburgh today is from wildfires in western Ontario and the Boundary Waters of Minnesota(*). As of Thursday 16 July at 6:03am, there are 857 fires burning in Canada. Active wildland fires in Canada, 16 July 2026, 10:03am UTC (map from Canadian Wildland Fire Information System) NASA’s GeoFire product shows fire hotspots and visible smoke on Monday 13 July. View this post on Instagram
Ringed (banded) racing pigeon in the wild in France (photo from Wikimedia) 15 July 2026 Peregrine falcons eat birds for a living and leave the remains behind, usually just feathers and bones. Every once in a while they eat a banded bird and if we’re lucky the band remains on the gravel at the Pitt peregrine nest. Can we identify who they ate? Right now there’s a small blue metal band near the green perch that’s been on the gravel for about a year, disappearing and reappearing at random. Blue…
(timelapse photos of Photinus pyralis in flight. fly left, fly right from Wikimedia) 14 July 2026 Last night after sunset I sat on a park bench and watched fireflies (a.k.a. lightning bugs) in my city neighborhood. I could tell by their flash patterns that they were Photinus pyralis, the common eastern firefly, because the males glowed while ascending in a J shape. Females flashed from the tips of grasses to attract a mate. You can see both behaviors in this video by Radim Schreiber at
Pigeon coming in the door (photo from Wikimedia) 13 July 2026 There’s a famous problem that humans get wrong almost all the time but pigeons get right. It’s called the Monty Hall Problem, named after the TV host, co-creator and co-producer of television’s Let’s Make A Deal. It works like this: There are three closed doors, one with a prize behind it, two with goats. Suppose you and the pigeon both pick Door #1. illustration for Monty Hall Problem at Wikipedia You still don’t know where the…
Electron micrograph of malaria parasite, Plasmodium falciparum, latched onto a red blood cell (photo from Wikimedia) 12 July 2026 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. Francesco…
Perennial sow thistle in fog, Albion Falls, Hamilton, Ontario, 5 July 2026 (photo by Kate St. John) 11 July 2026 Last weekend in Hamilton, Ontario we wanted to see Albion Falls cascade over the Niagara Escarpment but it was foggy. Albion Falls in fog, Hamilton, Ontario, 5 July 2026 (photo by Kate St. John) However at ground level there were beautiful water droplets on all the plants. Many of them “weeds” but all looked gorgeous. Top to bottom: Perennial sow thistle White sweet clover Common…
Yellow at the nest, 6 July 2026, 8:36pm (photo from the National Aviary falconcam at Univ of Pittsburgh) 10 July 2026 On Tuesday morning, 7 July, I was chatting with friends at Schenley Plaza when I heard a young peregrine whining for food — a normal sound in early June when young peregrines have just fledged but atypical in July. I looked up to see the whiner chasing her parents around the Cathedral of Learning. Yes, it was Yellow. She arrived at the nest the previous evening when her parents…
Not A Leaf: Acanalonia planthopper on a stem, Schenley Park, 3 August 2019 (photo by Kate St. John) 9 July 2026 Now that Bug Season is in full swing it’s fun to find the bugs in camouflage. Planthoppers are parasites that suck the juice from plants, though they rarely reach the pest level in their native range. They barely move when perched but if you jostle them they jump like grasshoppers. Plant.Hoppers. Every life stage uses camouflage to hide from predators. Google Lens identified the bug…
8 July 2026 Yesterday on Ellsworth Avenue my husband was surprised to see a curious fawn inside the Hunt Mansion fence. The fawn began to approach him. Where was its mother? Not far away. After a few steps the fawn paused and went to mom nearby. Its mother taught it that humans on the sidewalk … Continue reading City Fawn Learns From Mom →
Two bad ticks in PA: black-legged tick and lone star tick (photos from Wikimedia) 7 July 2026 At last the heat has broken and we’re able to enjoy the outdoors again, but don’t get too cocky. Tick bites are way up this year and they are TROUBLE. For most of the country, weekly emergency visits for tick bites are at the highest rates for this time of year since 2017, according to the CDC. — Allegheny Front: Tick bites up in U.S., Pennsylvania, this spring, prompting renewed emphasis on prevention…
Sand cat (photo from Wikimedia Commons) 6 July 2026 There is an elusive desert wild cat that is so similar in size and shape to a domestic cat that it could be mistaken for one. The sand cat (Felis margarita) lives in disjoint areas in deserts from North Africa to the Middle East to Turkmenistan and is so well camouflaged that it is almost impossible to see in the wild. They are always in remote desert areas and possibly extinct in some of their range. Distribution of sand cat as of 2016 (map…
Who's eating this hedge? 5 July 2026 In my neighborhood on 1 July I encountered a deer very close to the sidewalk who didn’t care that I stared at her. She was eating a large Japanese spindle hedge (Euonymus japonicus)*, a plant that is toxic to humans and pets but not toxic to deer. She must be eating it day after day because the long hedge is damaged and see-through. Japanese spindle hedge browsed by d
Statue of Liberty during the Annular Solar Eclipse on 10 June 2021 (photo from Wikimedia Commons) 4 July 2026 Today we celebrate the signing of the Declaration of Independence in Philadelphia in 1776, 250 years ago today. We often hear a sentence or two from the Declaration but it’s worth a look today to see how well it holds up. I have transcribed the beginning below. NOTE: I added 1 paragraph break for readability. Beginning of the United States Declaration of Independence (first 288 words)…
Pitt peregrine ‘Red’ near the snapcam on 5 June 2026, 2:37pm (photo from the National Aviary snapcam at Univ of Pittsburgh) 3 July 2026 In early June I routinely saw only one juvenile peregrine at the Cathedral of Learning. This was puzzling because young peregrines usually hang out at home for a couple of weeks, chasing their parents and playing in the sky with their siblings. Where were the other three? Puzzle solved for one of them: “Red” was rescued in early June and is on his way to rehab.…
Deep orange sky, hot sun (photo from Wikimedia Commons) 2 July 2026 We have been living with extreme heat in Pittsburgh since Monday 29 June and we’re learning how to cope, but it’s worth pointing out Extreme Heat will continue in the City and Allegheny Valley through Sunday 5 July. We won’t be out of the furnace until the work week begins on Monday, shown in the slideshow below. (Click on a slide to zoom it.) National Digital Forecast, HeatRisk experimental, centered on Pittsburgh PAFri 3 July…
#1 Ecco #2 Flurry of peregrines #3 All gone except Yellow A flurry of peregrines. But who? 30 June 2026, 4:51pm (photos from the snapshot camera) 1 July 2026 This morning when I pulled motion detection photos of the Pitt peregrine nest I found three in a row that didn’t make sense. #1 Ecco on green perch, #2 a flurry of peregrine wings, #3 juvenile peregrine Yellow on the green perch. Maybe photo #2 was Ecco leaving when Yellow burst in, but there were too many wings in that flurry. Who
Millipedes on a tree stump with fungi, Schenley Park, 28 June 2026 (photo by Kate St. John) 30 June 2026 Last Sunday in Schenley Park we discovered that right now it’s Millipede Mating Season in southwestern Pennsylvania. Millipede mating habits are so fascinating that I had to look into it. First off, millipedes are not insects; they have a lot more than six legs. Their class Diplopoda contains 13,000 species, all of which have two pairs of jointed legs per body segment. The number of body…
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 but Best Bird was a pair of pileated woodpeckers foraging and shouting to keep in touch with each…
Green whines at the nest on Friday 26 June 2026 (photo from the National Aviary falconcam at Univ of Pittsburgh) 28 June 2026 On Friday one of this year’s juvenile peregrines burst into the Cathedral of Learning nest and complained loudly that her parents should feed her “Right Now!” though she’s old enough to hunt on her own. Ecco was in the nestbox, about to bow — maybe Carla was going to join him? — but we’ll never know because “Green” was so demanding that she chased Ecco away. Green…
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,…
Whooper swan with young on nest (photo from Wikimedia) 26 June 2026 This week I received a video from our friends in Finland where the whooper swans (Cygnus cygnus) have returned to the lake outside their cottage. When we visited Finland last year I was disappointed that no whoopers were breeding nearby. Erkki was happy to show me the swans are back. Whooper swan family at Lake Rikkavesi, Finland, June 2026 (video by Erkki Makinen) Whooper swans nest on shorelines and islands at lakes like…
Merlin, eastern US (photo by Wm.H. Majoros via Wikimedia Commons) 25 June 2026 Have you heard this sound in your neighborhood? It’s a merlin! Listen. video embedded from Carl Barrentine on YouTube Merlins (Falco columbarius) are small, dark-striped, very fast falcons who’ve been making a comeback in Pennsylvania. Their population was wiped out during the DDT era and they didn’t return to PA until this century. In 2006-2009 the 2nd Pennsylvania Breeding Bird Atlas confirmed just 6 nests. The 3rd…
Yellow at the nest on Tues 23 June 2026 (photo from the National Aviary falconcam at Univ of Pittsburgh) 24 June 2026 This morning the motion detection photos from the Cathedral of Learning showed a juvenile peregrine near the snapshot camera. Who is this? Juvie peregrine at the snapcam at Cathedral of Learning, 23 June 2026 (photo from the snapshot camera) Day-In-A-Minute video reveals it’s “Yellow.” She spent at least half the day loafing at the nest and when her parent(s) came near she…
Juvie on the “runway” at 62nd Street Bridge, 20 June 2026 (photo by Jeff Cieslak) 23 June 2026 Halfway into the 2026 Peregrine Season I thought our region would have lower than usual nesting success because we had fewer active sites than last year. But peregrines always surprise me. This month observers found fledglings at two bridges that weren’t on the list: 62nd Street Bridge and the Rt. 40 Bridge at West Brownsville. This adds two nests and 4 young to our regional total. Woo hoo! 62nd…
American robin fledgling in Frick Park, 16 May 2021 (photo by Charity Kheshgi) 22 June 2026 Nesting is at its peak, June flowers are blooming, bugs are buzzing, and robins are fledging their second brood(*). Join me for a bird and nature walk in Schenley Park on Sunday, June 28, 8:30am to 10:30am. Meet at the Schenley Park Cafe and Visitor Center where Panther Hollow Road joins Schenley Drive. In addition to birds we’ll see wild urban plants, including native Daisy fleabane (Erigeron annuus)…
