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The PeregrineThree Rivers Birding Club Newsletter
Vol. 11, No. 6, November/December 2012http://www.3rbc.org
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Renowned Couple’sTopic on December 5:“Why We Need Birds”
Three Rivers Birding Club will present two of North America’s most widely known and respected ornithologists and conservationists at our meeting on Wednesday, December 5. They are Kenn and Kimberly Kaufman, whose two-part program is titled “Why We Need Birds.”
The meeting will be held at the Phipps Garden Center, 1059 Shady Avenue in Shadyside. Doors will open at 6:30 PM, a brief business meeting will begin at 7:30, followed immediately by the program. Ample parking is available along Beechwood Boulevard.
The usual snacks will be available, but in the kitchen behind the stage this time, to make more space in the meeting hall for the bigger-than-usual audience expected.
Having traveled the world in pursuit of birds, Kenn and Kimberly have gained insight and perspective on why birds are an important part of our quality of life. In this interesting and lively presentation illustrated with beautiful photos, they will share some of their favorite experiences with birds (and birders!) and remind us that we really do need birds.
CELEBRITY SPEAKERS – Kenn and Kimberly Kaufman, two of the best-known ornithologists and conservationists in the U.S. (and beyond), will be the speakers at our December 5 meeting.
By Brian Shema, CompilerThe Audubon Society of Western Pennsylvania hosts the
Pittsburgh Christmas Bird Count (CBC) annually, and it will be held on Saturday, December 29, this year.
Participants in the count join a group of area birdwatchers to tally all the birds they find during a single day. The Pittsburgh CBC is divided into 13 groups based on geo-political boundaries.
Participation in all CBCs is now free, and participants need not be experienced birdwatchers.
By participating, you will support Audubon’s work to under-stand bird populations in our region. Scientists use the remarkable trend data of the CBC to measure changes in the environment and in bird populations throughout the continent. While scientists rely on the data, the success of the CBC relies on volunteers like you!
Everyone (including those who do not participate in the count) is invited to the compilation dinner scheduled for 6 PM on Sunday, December 30, at Beechwood Farms Nature Reserve in Fox Chapel. Bring a covered dish, salad, or dessert that feeds 10, or make a donation to cover costs of the dinner. Immediately after dinner, the area leaders will announce their results.
ASWP also supports and encourages members to participate in three other counts in our area: Buffalo Creek Valley, which includes Todd Nature Reserve in Butler County, Pittsburgh South Hills, and Lower Buffalo Creek in Washington County. See these dates at right.
Pittsburgh Christmas Count Will Be Held on December 29To participate, contact one of the following area leaders, who
will welcome your help:
Fox Chapel – Brian Shema, 412-968-0855Franklin Park & Ohio Twp. (N) Stacy Widenhofer, 412-741-7536Hampton Twp. – Al Werling, 412-487-8581Indiana Twp. (W) – Steve Gosser, 412-855-5220Kilbuck Twp. & Ohio Twp. (S) – Paul Brown, 412-963-1979North Park – Bob VanNewkirk, 412-366-1694Oakmont & Harmar Twp. – David Yeany, 814-221-4361O’Hara Twp. – Steve Thomas, 412-782-4696Penn Hills & Verona – Eric Hall, 412-247-5528Frick & Highland Parks – Jack Solomon, 412-521-3365Pittsburgh (rest of city) – Mike Fialkovich, 412-731-3581Ross & McCandless Twps. – Bob Machesney, 412-366-7869Shaler Twp. – Joyce Hoffmann, 412-487-0921
***Other local counts: Buffalo Creek Valley – Saturday, December 15: Call compiler George Reese, 724-353-9649. Pittsburgh South Hills – Saturday, December 15: Call compiler Nancy Page, 412-221-4795.Lower Buffalo Creek (Washington County) – Sunday, December 16: Call compiler Larry Helgerman, 412-508-0321.
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Three Rivers Birding Club NewsletterPublished bimonthly:
January, March, May, July, September, November
Send articles and/or illustrations to:Paul Hess, Editor
[email protected] Hawthorne St., Natrona Heights, PA 15065
Send ideas or items for the website to:Julia Pahountis-Opacic, Webmaster
Send questions and suggestions to:Jim Valimont, President
[email protected] Deborah Lynn Court, Cheswick, PA 15024
Suggest or volunteer to lead outings to:Steve Thomas, Outings Director
[email protected] Center Ave., Aspinwall, PA 15215
Report bird sightings to:Mike Fialkovich, Bird Reports Editor
[email protected] Beulah Road, Pittsburgh, PA 15235
Send other correspondence to:Sherron and Pat Lynch, Co-Secretaries
[email protected] Hill Haven Lane, Wexford, PA 15090-8834
Membership: Free Student-Youth, $15 Individual,$20 Family, $50 Contributing, $100 Sustaining
Send check to Three Rivers Birding Clubc/o Bob Machesney, Treasurer
105 Lindley Lane, Pittsburgh, PA 15237
Copyright © Three Rivers Birding Club. All rights reserved.(Photographers and illustrators retain their copyrights.)
President’s Message
A Wealth of Memoriesfrom Harrison Hills Park
By Jim ValimontFor many years, I have led outings in the spring and fall at
Harrison Hills Park in Allegheny County. Many Three Rivers Birding Club members have participated, and we have had some spectacular and some not-so-spectacular days. Generally, I’ve been fortunate to have Paul Hess and Mike Fialkovich with me to help with tough identifications, particularly the fall warblers.
Paul has birded Harrison Hills more than any other person – regularly since the park opened in 1970. In my early years in the Audubon Society of Western Pennsylvania, I went to many outings led by Paul. Many of my life birds came at this park, including Red-shouldered Hawk, Veery, Philadelphia Vireo, Golden-winged Warbler, Nashville Warbler, Cape May Warbler, Blackburnian Warbler, Black-and-white Warbler, Worm-eating Warbler, Louisiana Waterthrush, Kentucky Warbler, and Hooded Warbler.
Parks change with time, though. There are too many deer in this park, and their effect is not good. Some areas that were once open fields have gradually become forest. The habitat for Golden-winged Warbler has disappeared. Red-shouldered Hawks have been displaced by Red-tailed Hawks. Kentucky Warblers, once common in the park, are increasingly rare and may no longer breed there. Still, it’s the best location I know of in western Pennsylvania for Philadelphia Vireos in spring or fall migration.
Paul has kept a park list that now totals 185 species. The most recent addition came this past September, when Paul found a Sedge Wren at the pond. A number of us went to catch a glimpse of this furtive species and were rewarded with not only the Sedge Wren, but also a Marsh Wren spotted by Ben Coulter at the op-posite end of the pond in a tiny group of cattails. Recent additions to the list also include Northern Shrike, Fish Crow, and Common Raven.
The Creekside Trail that we always take on our walks has produced many rarities over the years. It is the primary location where Connecticut Warblers have been found in the park. This is also where Paul saw a Western Tanager in 1999. At the parking lot at the beginning of the trail is where he observed a Loggerhead Shrike in May 1981. I remember an amazing day along the trail when Paul and I saw no fewer than five Philadelphia Vireos!
The trail overlooking the cliff is the most reliable place I know for Cerulean Warbler. There seems to be a singing Cerulean Warbler every 50 yards along this trail in the breeding season. And here you are likely to see one without getting “warbler neck.” They are often at eye level or lower, thanks to the cliff. This is also the best location in the park for Worm-eating Warbler.
Open fields near the nature center provide good opportunities for Eastern Bluebird, Tree Swallow, Barn Swallow, and sparrows. It seems as though the park management is allowing the far fields to grow. Formerly, this area was regularly cut for equestrian events. This fall the fields were dazzling as goldenrods dominated with their vivid yellow. Paths mown through the fields allow further exploration.
This fall I scheduled two walks at Harrison Hills. One, on September 8, was not a good day. The second, on September 29, was much better, but I had a bad cold and Mike Fialkovich substi-tuted for me. Read about both in Outings Revisited.
Trust me. There will be many more walks here, and many more great sightings and memories!
Letter from the EditorBy Paul Hess
You see Mike Fialkovich’s name in The Peregrine as our bird reports editor. At 3RBC meetings, you hear his updates on the latest sightings. But do you know how far beyond 3RBC Mike’s abilities are recognized?
* He is a new board member of the Pennsylvania Society for Ornithology – a recognition of his ornithological knowledge.
* He is a new member of the Pennsylvania Ornithological Records Committee, the body that evaluates rare bird reports and maintains the official state bird list – a recognition of his knowl-edge of bird identification.
* He is the new chair of PSO’s Records and Data Committee, with many duties requiring the extensive expertise he can offer.
Meanwhile, Mike remains the Allegheny County compiler and spring-season editor for the journal Pennsylvania Birds. As if that’s not enough work, he is also Allegheny County editor for reports submitted to Cornell University’s eBird database.
We’re fortunate to have Mike in our club. When you see him, ask him how he manages to do any birding.
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continued from page 1Kenn scarcely needs an
introduction. He burst onto the North American birding scene as a teenager in the 1970s, hitchhiking all over the continent in pursuit of birds – an adventure he chronicled in his classic book Kingbird Highway. After working as a leader of nature tours to all seven continents, he made a transition into a career as a freelance writer and naturalist.
Kenn is a field editor for Audubon magazine, and he writes regularly for every major birding magazine. Most of his energy currently goes into book projects, including his own field guide se-ries, Kaufman Field Guides, which now includes volumes on North American birds (in both English and Spanish), butterflies, mam-mals, insects, and advanced bird-ing, plus a new volume on nature of the New England states.
He broke new birding ground in 1990 with A Field Guide to Advanced Birding in the Peterson Field Guide series, in which he tackled tough identification prob-lems such as distinguishing shorebirds, gulls, terns, flycatchers, fall warblers, sparrows, and many other difficult species. In a sequel just published in 2011, the Kaufman Field Guide to Advanced Birding, Kenn explains new approaches toward understanding and identifying species by what you see and hear.
Kenn’s other books include Lives of North American Birds and Flights Against the Sunset. One is a 675-page compendium that includes complete life histories for 680 species that occur regularly in North America, and shorter accounts for more than 230 that visit occasionally. In the other book, he recounts how he left home at age 16 to travel the world in search of birds, and then as a grown man and famous ornithologist he comes back to visit his ailing mother and explain to her what drove his obsession with bird life.
Kimberly is an Ohio native whose lifelong love of the outdoors grew into a passion for birds in the 1990s. She monitored nesting Bald Eagles for the Ohio Division of Wildlife and ran bluebird trails before she began banding migrant songbirds for the Black Swamp Bird Observatory (BSBO).
Kim’s involvement with BSBO escalated as she became the observatory’s education director in 2005 and then executive director in 2009, a position she still holds. She played a key role in starting the highly successful Ohio Young Birders Club, a group for teenagers that has served as a model for youth programs in 13 other states.
She has also had a key role in “The Biggest Week in American Birding,” a spring event that rapidly has become one of the largest birding festivals on the continent (and is an annual destination for many Three Rivers Birding Club members).
Renowned CoupleOutings to Come
Our Final Fall Hotspots Include Two Large Lakes
By Steve Thomas, Outings Director
Sunday, October 28 – Moraine State Park: This will be the 11th annual 3RBC picnic and bird walk. We will meet at 8 AM in the park's Day Use Area (South Shore) in the first parking lot on the right.
After the morning outing, we will have the potluck picnic at a pavilion near McDanel’s Boat Launch. Please bring a dish that will serve 4-6 people.
From I-79, take Route 422 east toward Butler and exit at the Moraine State Park exit. At the end of the ramp, turn left and go straight into the park until you see the first major parking area on your right. Allow one hour driving from Pittsburgh.
Saturday, November 3 – Yellow Creek State Park: This outing will be a joint outing of the 3RBC and the Todd Bird Club. Meet Margaret Higbee (724-354-3493) at 8 AM at the park office on Route 259 just off Route 422 east of Indiana. Allow an hour and 30 minutes driving from Pittsburgh. This park has been the prime outing location for the Todd Bird Club since the club was created. It has a wide variety of habitats and a large lake that at-tracts many waterbirds and sometimes exciting rarities.
Sunday, November 18 – Moraine State Park: We will gather at 8 AM at the park’s Day Use Area (South Shore) in the first parking lot on the right. This will be a leaderless outing. From I-79, take Route 422 east toward Butler and exit at the Moraine State Park exit. At the end of the ramp, turn left and drive straight into the park until you see the first major parking lot on the right. Waterfowl and late fall migrants make this outing a highlight of the season. Allow one hour driving from Pittsburgh.
EXPERT ANGLER – An Osprey at Lake Arthur in Butler County carries a prize catch. Steve Gosser photographed the successful raptor this summer.
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Bird Watch
Susanne’s JaegerBy Chuck Tague
The world is full of barriers. On my lifelong quest for new and exciting birds, I’m obstructed by rivers and swamps. Rushing streams force me far out of my way. Rocky ledges and steep slopes stop me in my tracks. Muddy trails and impenetrably dense brush make me miserable. Not just natural obstacles but man-made and artificial barriers constantly block my chosen path. Every day I’m obstructed by more buildings, fences, one-way streets, pastures, planted fields, and signs that shout “no trespass-ing,” “do not enter,” “private property,” “wildlife refuge,” or “propagation area.”
Water, hills, forests, and thickets pose few problems for birds – fences, buildings and imaginary property lines even fewer. Birds simply fly over them. Since I lack the luxury of flight, I must use my limited physical abilities, whatever tools I have, and my wits. This is the great challenge and the true competition of birding – me against the birds. However, the playing field is never level. Can I overcome the barriers or will my feathered adversaries evade me?
Although I’m usually overmatched, sometimes I get lucky. On December 5, 1996, Susanne Varley and I drove from Pittsburgh to Presque Isle for a few hours of birding. We worked our way around the peninsula and set up the spotting scope along the road to scan the waterfowl. We found a few Tundra Swans feeding in the shallows with some Hooded Mergansers. Several Gadwalls swam around, and a Great Blue Heron hunkered down by the edge. As we watched, Jerry McWilliams drove up.
Jerry, co-author of The Birds of Pennsylvania, is a thorough and tireless birder. He always beams when he talks about birds, but he was more excited than usual. He suggested that we should hike out to “the Point.” He’d watched a Pomarine Jaeger harass-ing gulls earlier in the morning, only the second one he had seen at Presque Isle. Jerry suspected that the bird would hang around. He left it resting on the beach about a half-hour before.
Jaegers, predatory seabirds that resemble large, dark gulls, have falcon-like wings and slightly hooked beaks. Two feathers projecting from the center of the tail distinguish adult jaegers, but immature birds lack these eye-catching characteristics. Jaegers breed in the Arctic and winter in tropical and southern oceans. During migration they travel along the coasts, only rarely coming inland.
“What an opportunity,” I thought, “a Pomarine Jaeger resting on the beach.”
Of course there was a barrier. Getting to Gull Point was not difficult then. Although sandy and sometimes soggy, the trail was clear, level and only a half-mile long. It was, however, a formi-dable barrier for Susanne. She’s had rheumatoid arthritis most of her life. A long walk through sand and water would be strenuous, painful, and too dangerous to consider. She offered to wait in the car, but that was out of the question. Our only hope was to scan Gull Point from vantage points along the road.
Gull Point is a constantly-changing sand spit. It forms the eastern tip of Presque Isle, a seven-mile-long peninsula that runs parallel to Lake Erie’s shore. Migrating birds use Gull Point as a staging and resting spot. Its dunes and beaches also provide nest-ing habitat for shorebirds. A special management area has been set aside and is closed to human activity from April 1 to November 30.
The best view of Gull Point without walking the trail is Beach 11. We set up the scope and looked across Thompson Bay. On Gull Point’s southern edge and the sand spit’s tip, we saw some
A JAEGER ADVENTURE – Chuck Tague photographed this Pomarine Jaeger on a pelagic trip out of New Smyrna Beach, Florida, on January 26, 2009. He regularly watches jaegers harassing gulls and terns off Daytona Beach, Florida, but his first sighting at Presque Isle, Pennsylvania, was his most memorable.
Great Black-backed and Herring Gulls but mostly many Ring-bills. A few Hooded Mergansers bobbed and dove in the shallows, and Bonaparte’s Gulls cruised low over the bay. We thought we spot-ted a Snow Goose, but it was only a barnyard escapee.
After an hour with no sign of the jaeger, we moved to the north pier and the lighthouse that guards the channel into Erie Bay. Susanne climbed the ramp with some effort and we walked out far enough to see the western edge of Gull Point. We found nothing different. The brutal wind cut through our coats so we moved to Beach 10, our last shot.
Beach 10 is the last recreation beach on the lake side of the Peninsula. The trail to Gull Point begins in the parking lot, but instead of taking the trail, Susanne and I went toward the beach. From the edge of the sand, Susanne scanned the lake. I walked to the water to see how much of Gull Point was visible, but a bend in the shoreline obstructed my view. All I found was a Red-breasted Merganser paddling around the breakwater and a man walking a large black retriever.
I watched for 15 minutes, hoping the jaeger would show itself. Nothing happened, just the man and the dog getting farther away. Then I realized that if they circled the point, they would flush the birds that we couldn’t see from Beach 11. I ran across the sand and hurried Susanne to the car.
As we turned into the Beach 11, a large flock of gulls swarmed over Thompson Bay. Below the group the bulky, slaty-colored jaeger chased a Ring-billed Gull. Susanne spot-ted it immediately. The pursuer, slightly larger than the gull, had falcon-like angled wings. Two feathers extended shortly beyond a wedge-shaped tail. Uniformly barred on its rump and flanks, it had extensive white markings on its upper wings.
As I ran and Susanne trudged through the sand, the screaming gull turned toward us. The gull frantically flapped a few feet above the water, turning, banking, dipping, desperately trying to evade its pursuer. The jaeger stuck close, just a little above and a little behind, matching its victim’s every move, giving the gull precious
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Susanne’s Jaeger
little space to maneuver. The two birds turned sharply just before they reached the beach. The gull did not want to be trapped over land. They passed close in front of us. About a hundred yards down the beach, the jaeger gave up.
The bulky, barrel-chested appearance and its size, slightly larger than the Ring-billed Gull, identified it as a Pomarine Jaeger. After breaking off pursuit, the jaeger landed on the peninsula side
of Gull Point, which was devoid of gulls. As we watched, the jaeger coughed up a pellet.
The jaeger rested on the beach for several minutes, then took off. It passed in front of us, made a few feeble attacks on some passing gulls, then turned back to Gull Point and out of view.
Susanne looked at her watch, “We should have left half an hour ago.”
“So what,” I thought, “our persistence paid off.” We con-quered a barrier, and it felt good.
Outings Revisited
Fun-filled Days BroughtUs Many Fall Migrants
Sewickley Heights Park – August 29: Even though the calendar said it was still summer, the temperature and light fog made it seem more fall-like for 11 birders who gathered for the first of two outings at the park. At the beginning of the migration season, we hoped to see as many warblers as we could. While we were milling around the parking lot, we sighted a Red-eyed Vireo, an Eastern Phoebe, and a Northern Flicker.
We began our warbler search by scanning the lower but-terfly meadow. After a slow start, the warbler action picked up quickly with a Hooded, a Magnolia, a Nashville, and a Common Yellowthroat. Birds patrolling the wooded edges and meadow flowers in search of seeds, insects, or berries came into view. A Blue-headed Vireo, a few Red-eyed Vireos, a Carolina Wren, three Ruby-throated Hummingbirds, a pair of Gray Catbirds, an Eastern Towhee, and nine other species were noted. Perhaps the best bird was a male Purple Finch that provided us with good, unobstructed looks. Much to our disappointment, a large group of horseback rid-ers chased off the birds as they rode along the lower trail in front of us. The flock moved on, and so did we. Chimney Swifts zigzagged over the upper meadow, and a Scarlet Tanager perched with Cedar Waxwings at the top of a tree.
Our hike along the first horse pasture produced Eastern Bluebirds perching on fence posts. A dozen or more Cedar Waxwings swooped out from trees, hawking for insects over the field. A Cooper’s Hawk was spotted sitting on top of a fence post in the middle of the field, with three crows foraging along the ground underneath it. They behaved as if they hadn’t even noticed the hawk. There was no cawing or mobbing. Even when the hawk flew away, the crows paid it no attention.
SOGGY BIRDERS – Participants in 3RBC’s September 8 outing at Harrison Hills Park were caught in a tremendous downpour a long way from their cars. While they were hurrying back, Ramona Sahni insisted on taking their picture. They reluctantly but humbly complied.
We came to an area with thickets of multiflora rose bushes, small shrubs, and trees on one side of the trail, and grassland fields on the other. It’s perfect mockingbird habitat. We expected to see them there, but not in the numbers that we found. Juveniles called out, constantly revealing their presence, usually from the tops of shrubs. Adults would land near them and then, as if to coax the young birds into joining them, fly over to the fields. Thirteen mockers were counted. Perhaps this high number represented multiple family groups.
A Killdeer announced its presence as it flew into one of the fields. As we retraced our way back, a few birders got a quick glimpse of a Yellow-billed Cuckoo sitting on a shadowy branch. Near the parking lot, two Red-shouldered Hawks soared overhead.
Bird activity slowed down as we walked the Pipeline Trail and gravel path. Observing butterflies, beetles, and wildflowers now occupied our attention. Since the temperature began to creep upward, some of the group decided to call it a day while others went off to explore areas near Little Sewickley Creek.
A Yellow-throated Vireo, a Chestnut-sided Warbler, and a Black-and-white Warbler were discovered at Walker Park, and at the Edgeworth Dump we found a Red-tailed Hawk, Cedar Waxwings, House Finches, and Northern Mockingbirds. A Warbling Vireo was heard singing, but not seen. A scan of the Ohio River near the Dashields Dam produced a Great Blue Heron and a dozen Double-crested Cormorants perched on buoys above and be-low the dam. On a beautiful late-summer day, 47 species, including six warbler species, were recorded. –by leader Bob VanNewkirk
Harrison Hills Park – September 8: It was a dark and stormy day as nine birders arrived at the park to find the gate unlocked as promised by the Allegheny County Police. The weather forecast was not good. On our walk down to the pond, we were rewarded with a small flock of migrant warblers, including
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Outings Revisited
Magnolia, Black-throated Green, and Wilson’s, and a family group of Indigo Buntings. A Ruby-throated Hummingbird pursued a Wilson’s Warbler, perhaps gleaning small insects chased out by the warbler. A distant Red-breasted Nuthatch called from beyond the line of evergreen trees, but failed to show for the group. Steady light rain began.
A walk along the creekside trail produced nothing of note. We sat out a heavier shower in a pavilion and then retreated back to the cars. I wanted to try the fields up near the nature center, but we hadn’t walked more than 50 yards when the wind picked up and the rain came down in sheets. Ramona Sahni insisted upon a group photograph in the drenching rain, then a second shot!
We then went to the cars and retreated to a nice breakfast at Eat ‘N’ Park. Newcomer Eleanor, a Carnegie-Mellon University student, joined us and got to know more about 3RBC along with her chocolate pancakes. As we left, we noted a sizeable puddle of water under the coat tree where we had hung our raingear. For the day, we totaled a wimpy 22 species, not the kind of day we hope for at Harrison Hills. –by leader Jim Valimont
Conneaut Harbor and Pymatuning area – September 15: The 3RBC outing with 21 participants was highlighted by a Buff-breasted Sandpiper at Conneaut Harbor, which came within 10 feet from us. Other highlights were 1 Lesser Yellowlegs, 1 Least Sandpiper, 2 Sanderlings, 3 Semipalmated Sandpipers, 8 Semipalmated Plovers, 1 American Black Duck, 1Pied-billed Grebe, 1 Green-winged Teal, 10-plus Caspian Terns, 1 Bald Eagle, and 1 Great Black-backed Gull.
At the Pymatuning area, we had lunch at picnic spots near the Spillway, and we watched birds while we ate: 5 Blackpoll Warblers, 1 Yellow-rumped Warbler, and 1 Scarlet Tanager.
Along the Railroad Spillway Trail there were 10 Great Egrets, 2 Bald Eagles, 1 Cape May Warbler, 2 Red-eyed Vireos, 3 Pied-billed Grebes, 1 Gray Catbird, 1 Belted Kingfisher, 4 Yellow-rumped Warblers, and 2 Blackpoll Warblers.
WATCHING CLOSELY – The highlight of 3RBC’s outing to Conneaut Harbor, Ohio, on September 15 was this rare Buff-breasted Sandpiper, which came within 10 feet of the excited birders. Leader Shawn Collins photographed it at close range.
Then we went to the Miller Ponds, where we saw a Northern Shoveler, 4 Blue-winged Teal, 2 Green-winged Teal, 1 Lesser Yellowlegs, and a flock of 50+ Bobolinks.
Finally, at Tamarack Lake, there were 15+ Great Egrets, 4 Lesser Yellowlegs, 75+ Great Blue Herons, and 1 Bald Eagle. –by leader Shawn Collins
Allegheny Front Hawkwatch – September 20: Seven mem-bers of 3RBC made the trek to the hawkwatch, a five-acre privately owned section of ridgetop along the Allegheny Plateau near the Somerset-Bedford County line. We joined counters Ed and Jim, and a dozen or so other hawk-watching enthusiasts.
The view is stunning! From an elevation of 2,780 feet, an im-pressive 180-degree panorama opens up, exposing miles and miles of farmland, small rural communities, and Shawnee State Park. A painted guide of the view is posted that names several landmarks, making it easier to describe where birds are spotted. From this high perch, it is possible to see hawks pass closely at, above, and even below eye-level.
Winds from the east with clouds are the optimum migration conditions for raptors gliding past the ridge. On the day we visited, the wind was from the south-southeast and the sky was mostly cloud free. Even with mild temperatures in the 50s and 60s, most watchers were bundled up with layers of fleece and wind-breaking shells, and some sported gloves. The constant breeze made it chilly for humans but perfect for birds in the midst of a long southward journey.
Our first glider of the day was a Turkey Vulture. It appeared from the left and slid by, gently rocking on long dark wings at eye level. Next, a Sharp-shinned Hawk followed the same path. Twice a Sharpie took a dive at the Great Horned Owl decoy that’s mounted on a tall pole. An Osprey came in low, showing off its beautiful markings.
September 20 has traditionally been the peak of Broad-winged Hawk migration with daily counts often in the 500 to 800 range. Throughout the day we saw groups of two or three and sometimes larger kettles totaling 130 for the time we where there. A kettle of 32 birds was spotted in the distance. We watched the tiny, spiraling specks grow larger and larger as they approached the ridge and soared by.
Falcons were represented by a couple of American Kestrels and a single Peregrine. The Peregrine lived up to its reputation for speed by making the quickest pass of the day. Four Bald Eagles, two adults and two juveniles, were a thrilling sight. A few Red-tailed Hawks and a single Northern Harrier passed through.
Four Common Ravens were seen and heard croaking. Other birds of note included two Chimney Swifts, a flock of Cedar Waxwings, and a Northern Flicker. Dragonflies and several species of butterflies were also spotted, including 20 Monarchs.
The Allegheny Plateau Audubon Society maintains the hawk-watch site. Check out their website for more information and charts of past and current counts. –by participant Sheree Daugherty
Sewickley Heights Park – September 21: It’s very unusual that a scheduled bird walk has to have a Plan A and a Plan B. Due to a waterline project from the park entrance on Fern Hollow Road to the top of the hill, the entrance was supposed to be closed to the public on Friday – the day of the outing – until further notice. This bit of information was relayed to me on Wednesday.
This meant that I had to find a different meeting place and birding location nearby. The one selected was the 100-acre
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Outings Revisited
Allegheny Land Trust property on Audubon Road – a five minute drive from the intersection of Little Sewickley Creek Road and Fern Hollow Road. A notice of the change in meeting place and the new birding destination was placed Thursday on the Fern Hollow website and on the PaBirds listserve. Unfortunately, not everyone got the message, as I will explain later.
Eleven birders carpooled to the new site and we proceeded to explore the woodlands. The morning was a bit slow, with only the usual resident birds such as Carolina Wrens, jays, chickadees, titmice, and nuthatches. While we walked along a small creek, Swainson’s Thrushes were heard. Their soft, chip notes indicated that six or more were near, but we did not see any.
When the sun illuminated a patch of woods on a hillside, bird activity picked up. A Scarlet Tanager, a pair of Northern Flickers, a Hairy Woodpecker, and an American Redstart were discovered. We watched robins forage for fruit in numerous grapevines. As we took a brief rest stop while walking uphill, a bird was spotted standing still in the middle of a leafless vine. Finally, we had our first look at a Swainson’s Thrush – a life bird for several of the participants.
Moving on to the Creek Trail along Little Sewickley Creek Road, we quickly saw a Hooded Warbler and a first-year male Rose-breasted Grosbeak, and we heard the tinny call of a Red-breasted Nuthatch.
At Walker Park, we had a flyover by a Pileated Woodpecker, a Red-tailed Hawk, and three Turkey Vultures. In the weedy sec-tion of the park near the grove, we discovered two Black-throated Blue Warblers, a Black-throated Green Warbler, and a Nashville Warbler. A Swainson’s Thrush popped up on a bare branch in front of us and was joined by a second one about a foot away. The birds lingered for awhile and gave us fantastic looks at them before flying off. As we walked near the creek, the rattled call of a Belted Kingfisher alerted us to its presence. We located it perched on a snag hanging over the creek.
Our last stop was at the Edgeworth Dump. Mockingbirds nest there, and we were able to find one. A check of the Ohio River at the Dashields Dam produced a Great Blue Heron and 14 Double-crested Cormorants. The cormorants were sitting on buoys above the dam. We had 38 species for the day, and it was a good time meeting new people and exploring a new location.
I later found out that people showed up at Sewickley Heights Park but found no leader present. They did not see or read the post-ings about the outing changes. However, someone involved with
SOARING SOUTHWARD – The Allegheny Front on the Somerset-Bedford County border is the nearest place for 3RBC birders to see good numbers of migrating raptors. Among the hawks Tom Moeller photographed during the September 20 outing were this juvenile Red-tailed Hawk (left) and an adult Broad-winged Hawk (right).
the maintenance crew allowed several cars to park above the gate and gave the group access to the park. One of those birders, Ryan Tomazin, was designated to be the leader, and he led them on a walk in the park. –by leader Bob VanNewkirk
Fox Chapel Area – September 23: On a chilly and cloudy morning on the first full day of autumn, 12 birders gathered at Beechwood Farms to see what migrants could be found.
The area at the trail heads of Spring Hollow, Goldenrod, and upper fields was very productive. This area has had exceptional birding this year, and on our outing we saw American Redstart, Black-throated Green, and Black-throated Blue Warblers. First-year Chipping Sparrows, House Finches, American Goldfinches, and Gray Catbirds visited the willows and nearby trees.
At the pond a Great Blue Heron was sitting on the solar panel on the pond’s island. The heron took off, circled around, and landed on a top branch of the large oak tree overlooking the pond. The heron gave up and left, but three Mallards continued dabbling.
We traveled up to the upper fields and found a few birds, all of which we had seen or heard below. Returning to the trail heads, we were all surprised to see a Peregrine Falcon flying high overhead from west to east.
The sun came out around 10:30 AM as we moved to our next location, Salamander Park. At the start of the creekside trail, we were greeted by a wave of warblers: Black-and-white, Black-throated Green, and Magnolia. Later on the back trail we had good close-range looks at male, female, and juvenile Redstarts and a Ruby-crowned Kinglet. A Pileated Woodpecker was also seen and heard in a dispute with a Red-bellied Woodpecker. On the morning outing we had 35 species. –by co-leaders Steve and Sue Thomas
Harrison Hills Park – September 29: Jim Valimont was the scheduled leader, but I had a message from him in the morning that he was ill and would not be able to make it. He asked if I could lead the outing for him. I was planning on going anyway, so I became the substitute leader.
A good group of 19 people were ready to explore this wonder-ful county park. One person in the group had never visited the park and was impressed with it.
As is often the case in fall, dense fog greeted us and remained for almost two hours while we explored the pond and meadow. A few warblers were present near the pond including a Tennessee, Nashville, Black-throated Green, Palm, Black-and-white, several Yellow-rumpeds, and a Black-throated Blue.
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Outings Revisited
Two Golden-crowned Kinglets were cooperative for the group. The first Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers of the fall at the park were nice to see, and two Red-breasted Nuthatches that had been present for the past few weeks were calling in the spruces.
The pond area hosted four Eastern Phoebes, often at very close range.
An extremely cooperative Ovenbird worked the ground be-neath a spruce tree, allowing everyone in the group to get a look. A calling Swainson’s Thrush remained out of sight.
Leaving the pond area, we next explored my favorite trail in the park that runs along a small stream, loaded with brush and fruit-bearing Spicebush. Unfortunately, the area was very unpro-ductive, and we continued to the overlook to view the Allegheny River Valley. Two raptors were soaring over the river. One was a Cooper’s Hawk and the other was a buteo that was too far away to identify with certainty. It eventually came toward us, but close views were hampered by the trees.
We began walking the cliff trail and found many American Robins feeding on wild grapes. One or two Swainson’s Thrushes were picked out among the robins.
We continued along the trail to loop back to the parking lot. Along the way we heard several Eastern Towhees and came upon a Wood Thrush that turned out to be cooperative, allowing everyone to see it – no small feat on a narrow trail crowded with birders. A perched Gray-cheeked Thrush was the opposite; only a few of us were able to see it. Another Swainson’s Thrush was heard calling, and both thrushes were among American Robins in the woods.
An immature Hooded Warbler betrayed its presence by chipping and eventually came into view. Immatures do not have any trace of hoods, so we noted the call note, the yellowish color, and the white flash with every nervous flick of the tail. We finally picked up a Gray Catbird, too.
I wanted to walk through the field of goldenrod near the nature center, and most of the participants were willing to continue on. The goldenrod was past its peak, but still washed the field in a sea of yellow, what I call the glory of the fall. We found several Palm Warblers, Common Yellowthroats, and Cedar Waxwings along the wood edge and shrubs in the field. Field Sparrows were along the dirt road near the nature center as well as Eastern Bluebirds.
We were a bit distracted by the Common Buckeye butterflies in the field. Normally a southern species, they sometimes emigrate north and this year they are numerous.
We finished quite well with a great look at a Lincoln’s Sparrow that perched cooperatively in a shrub. –by Mike Fialkovich, substitute leader
WATCH FOR THESE – The forecast for Pine Siskins suggests that some in the Northeast will move south this fall. They are already appearing widely in Pennsylvania. Geoff Malosh photographed this one at Moon Township in January 2009.
Will We See an Invasionof Finches This Winter?
(Editor’s note: Each fall Ron Pittaway, retired from the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, forecasts the possibility of winter finch invasions south of their breeding range. His forecast also in-cludes a non-finch, the Red-breasted Nuthatch. Here is an abridge-ment of his predictions for the 2012-2013 winter. It is oriented mainly to Ontario, but it has implications for the northeastern U.S. as well.)
By Ron PittawayThe theme this winter is that each finch species will use a
different strategy to deal with the widespread tree seed crop failure in the Northeast. It will be a quiet winter in the eastern North Woods. Both coniferous and hardwood tree seed crops are gener-ally poor from northeastern Ontario eastward across Quebec to Newfoundland south through the Maritime Provinces, New York, and New England States. Within the Northeast there are pockets of good crops. Cone crops are much better in the Hudson Bay Lowlands and northwestern Ontario west to Alberta, Northwest Territories and Yukon.
PINE GROSBEAK: A good flight is expected into southern Ontario because the mountain ash berry crop is variable in the boreal forest. Many berries are hard with low moisture content be-cause of the drought. The European mountain-ash and ornamental crabapple crops are poor to fair in southern Ontario, so these crops won’t last long. Grosbeaks will be attracted to the usually abundant buckthorn berries and to bird feeders offering black oil sunflower seeds.
PURPLE FINCH: Most Purple Finches will migrate south of Ontario this fall because both coniferous and deciduous hard-
3RBC Needs Website Assistance
If any member has experience with Wordpress, HTML, JavaScript, and CSS (cascading style sheets), please contact President Jim Valimont. We need assis-tance in setting up a new website.
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continued from page 8wood seed crops are very low this year in the Northeast. Purple Finch numbers dropped significantly in recent decades as spruce budworm outbreaks subsided and currently a moderate population decline continues in the province.
RED CROSSBILL: Red Crossbills comprise at least 10 “types” in North America. Each type probably represents a sepa-rate or newly evolving species. Most types are normally impossible to identify in the field without recordings of their flight calls. Matt Young of The Cornell Lab of Ornithology reports that there is currently a large early irruption of Type 3 Red Crossbills (smallest-billed type) from the west into eastern North America. Recordings can be made with a cell phone and sent to Matt to be identified ([email protected]). Every recording adds an important piece to the puzzle, especially when accompanied by notes on behaviour and ecology, including tree species used for foraging and nesting. Matt emphasizes that the conservation of crossbills representing all call types depends on understanding their complex distributions and ecological requirements.
WHITE-WINGED CROSSBILL: With very poor spruce cone crops in the Northeast, most White-winged Crossbills will likely stay this winter in the Hudson Bay Lowlands, northwestern Ontario and western Canada where spruce cone crops are gener-ally very good. They will be virtually absent from traditional hotspots such as Algonquin Park where spruce crops are very low. Wandering birds may show up throughout the Northeast.
COMMON REDPOLL: There should be a good southward flight because the white birch seed crop is poor to fair across the north. Watch for redpolls on birches and in weedy fields and at bird feeders offering nyger (preferred) and black oil sunflower seeds. Check flocks for the rare “Greater” Common Redpoll (subspecies rostrata) from the High Arctic. It is reliably identified by its larger size, darker and browner colour, longer/thicker bill and longer tail in direct comparison to “Southern” Common Redpolls (nominate flammea subspecies). Note: The notion of a “biennial periodicity” that redpolls irrupt south every second winter is not supported by records in Atlantic Canada. Authors of one study have concluded that “irregular abundance but near-annual occurrence” of redpolls in the Atlantic Provinces is a better explanation than a two-year cycle.
HOARY REDPOLL: Check redpoll flocks for Hoary Redpolls. There are two subspecies. Most Hoaries seen in southern Canada and northern United States are “Southern” Hoary Redpolls (subspecies exilipes). “Hornemann’s” Hoary Redpoll (nominate subspecies hornemanni) from the High Arctic was previously regarded as a great rarity in southern Canada and the northern United States. In recent decades a number have been confirmed by photographs. Hornemann’s is most reliably identified by its larger size in direct comparison to flammea Common Redpoll or exilipes Hoary Redpoll. Caution: White birds loom larger than life among darker birds and size illusions are frequent.
PINE SISKIN: Some siskins currently in the Northeast should move south this fall and winter because cone crops are poor. However, siskins are opportunistic nomads wandering east and west continent-wide in search of cone crops. Most siskins will probably winter in northwestern Ontario and western Canada
Winter Finches
POSSIBLY AN INVASION – Based on a poor to only fair birch seed crop in the far north, we may be in store for a good Common Redpoll invasion. Geoff Malosh photographed this acrobatic redpoll at Presque Isle on January 30, 2001.
where cone crops are generally very good. Major southward irrup-tions occur when cone crops fail across most of North America.
EVENING GROSBEAK: This spectacular grosbeak is ABA’s Bird of the Year in 2012. We can expect some at feeders in central Ontario and probably elsewhere in the Northeast because coniferous and hardwood tree seed supplies are low. Highest breed-ing densities are found in areas with spruce budworm outbreaks. The larvae are eaten by adults and fed to young. Current popula-tions are much lower than several decades ago when budworm outbreaks were much larger and more widespread.
RED-BREASTED NUTHATCH: A widespread irruption of this nuthatch beginning in mid-summer indicated a cone crop failure in the Northeast. Most will leave the eastern half of the province for the winter, but some will probably remain in north-western Ontario where cone crops are much better.
***WINTER FINCH BASICS: A primer on finches, seed crops
and irruptions is at www.jeaniron.ca/2011/WinterFinches.pdf.
CROSSBILL FLIGHT CALLS: A detailed guide to North American Red Crossbill types, including identification of flight calls is available on Cornell University’s eBird website:ebird.org/content/ebird/news/red-crossbill-types.
PAST INVASIONS IN PENNSYLVANIA: Here are two articles about famous crossbill irruptions.
* Paul Hess, Michael Leahy, and Robert Ross analyze the 1977-1998 crossbill invasion in the journal Pennsylvania Birds –
www.pabirds.org/PABIRDS/BackIssues/PBV12N1.pdf.* Mike Fialkovich describes the White-winged Crossbill inva-
sion of 2008-2009 in Pennsylvania Birds – www.pabirds.org/PABIRDS/BackIssues/PBV23N2.pdf.
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Juvenile Downy Woodpecker
Juvenile Hairy Woodpecker
“Red-crowned” WoodpeckersBy Tom Moeller
Many of us have little trouble telling a Downy Woodpecker from a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker. The Downy has a black-and-white pattern on its head, and the male has a small red patch at the back of his head. The sapsucker also has a black-and-white pattern but has a red crown.
However, in May and June, when Downy Woodpecker fledglings appear, confusion in identification may occur. It happened to me!
I observed a Downy female feeding her fledgling in our back yard on an overcast day. The young bird seemed to have a brownish tinge in the black area of its crown. Seeing the fledgling again the next day, I noticed that the tinge on its crown was more reddish. Was the fledgling a female sapsucker?
A check of my field guides (Stokes, Sibley, and Peterson) showed that fledgling Downies do, indeed, have red on their crowns. As a male matures, its crown becomes black, and a red patch appears on the back corner of the crown. Female adults have no red on their heads.
My field guides also say that the red crown is true in fledgling Hairy Woodpeckers. A stop at The Birdwatchers’ Store in Slippery Rock partially confirmed the guides. There I observed a larger fledgling woodpecker – in fact, a juvenile male Hairy being fed by its mother. The younger bird was bigger than the adult! The red crown of this juvenile male was very prominent, and with a quick look the bird could be mistaken for a sapsucker. Although Sibley’s field guide says the red crown is prominent on Downy and Hairy juveniles in July and August, I photo-graphed the “red-crowned Hairy” on June 3. Other authors do put the time frame from May through August.
Female Downy and Hairy fledglings may also have red on their crowns, but not as much as male fledglings. Sometimes this red may only be near the back of a female’s crown. The red-tinged juvenile Downy in our yard had a sibling also fed by the parents, but “she” showed no red tinge at all. (I assumed the bird was a female due to the lack of red.) In other parts of the country, the Hairy juvenile’s crown could be pink or even yellow. Luckily, they all grow up to be more recognizable woodpeckers.
If you think you see a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker with its red crown during the summer months, look at its back. Sapsuckers have black-and-white striped backs. If the back is all white, you have an immature “red-crowned” Downy or Hairy Woodpecker.
***[Postscript: Jeffrey Hall noted in his August 3RBC meeting that juvenile male Red-
cockaded Woodpeckers also display full red crowns in their first months of life.]
Meeting Minutes
We Learned How to IDUnseen Birds by Calls
By Pat and Sherron Lynch, Co-secretariesOn what might have been one of the last warm evenings of
the season, 66 members and visitors gathered at the Three Rivers Birding Club meeting on October 3 to hear about a new technique in bird watching – and, in this case, a new method of bird listening.
Our speaker was Mike Lanzone, who is well known for his many birding accomplishments in Somerset County, through-out Pennsylvania, and across the country. He was the assistant coordinator for the recent state atlassing project, is a member of the Pennsylvania Ornithological Records Committee, and is vice president of the Pennsylvania Society for Ornithology. Mike is the CEO of Cellular Tracking Technologies in Somerset County.
His program, “Unraveling the Secrets of the Night: Flight-call Research Now and into the Future,” discussed the development of equipment and techniques to aid researchers, conservationists, and serious birders in identifying a bird by its flight call.
Isolating the flight call of an individual species was difficult in the field due to the number of birds in a flight and extraneous noises from insects, traffic, etc. until Mike’s chance discovery. A
warbler, mist-netted and placed in a paper bag for banding at the Powdermill Nature Reserve in Westmoreland County, became agitated and responded to members of its own species flying over.
Mike checked his theory by playing what he thought were ap-propriate flight calls to two other bagged warbler species, and they each responded in turn. There was the flight call – right there in Mike’s hands. Mike started with a pillowcase, quieter than a paper bag, and developed it into an acoustic cone in a room designed like a recording studio. Now flight calls can be isolated and recorded clearly and conveniently.
The recorded squeaks and chirps were categorized into “zeep,” “buzzy,” “up-seep,” and “thrush-like” calls. The audio was converted to squiggly pictures called spectrograms. Learning which birds have similar flight calls can help with identification of birds. Mike showed the spectrograms of a series of birds and played a tape of the corresponding calls. At normal speed the audi-ence had difficulty matching the sounds to the spectrograms, but at a slower speed some people started to make the connection.
Future research includes recording flight calls of more birds, analyzing more findings, studying migratory flyways, estimating population, and applying this technology to bird conservation.
To help you learn this advanced skill, find detailed informa-tion at the Cornell University website, macaulaylibrary.org/raven-viewer, and at www.oldbird.org.
(Complete meeting minutes are posted on the 3RBC website.)
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SUCCESS AT LAST – After an unsuccessful nesting attempt in 2011, Peregrine Falcons succeeded in fledging two young from a nest on the bridge that links Allegheny and Westmoreland Counties from Tarentum to New Kensington. Steve Gosser kept close watch, photographing both the adults and the young during the entire breeding season. He photographed the young bird at right in June and the one below in July.
SOUTHBOUND – Shorebird migrants begin to appear in our area during July. This Pectoral Sandpiper stopped to rest and feed at Imperial on July 20, 2012, where Geoff Malosh photographed it.
Birds in the Three Rivers Area
A Sora with Two ChicksHighlighted June-July 2012
By Mike Fialkovich, Bird Reports Editor
Following a warmer than normal spring, summer came with a vengeance. The last half of June was as hot as August with record high temperatures, and July’s temperatures soared to near 100 degrees. There was very little precipitation in both months, though thunderstorms brought some relief in the third week of July.
Wood Ducks were certainly successful breeders at Boyce-Mayview Park. Six adults and 20 ducklings were tallied 6/1 (FK). A Bufflehead lingered at North Park into the summer season and was last reported 6/17 (TA). The injured Common Merganser previously reported continues to live on the Monongahela River at Duck Hollow (TM, NM, et al.). A Great Egret was at Imperial 7/20 (MV).
There was quite a bit of Osprey activity this summer. The pair along the Ohio River in Leetsdale were at the nest on a power line tower through June, but by 7/5 it appeared that their breeding at-tempt had failed (MV). Better news came from a few miles upriver at the Neville Island nest where 3 young were seen 7/12 (PB). A Bald Eagle flew over Oakland 6/6, surprising observers watching Pitt’s nesting Peregrine Falcons (KSJ). Another Bald Eagle was seen flying over Harrison Hills Park 6/14 (PH, JS, SS). A Red-shouldered Hawk was a welcome sight at Harrison Hills Park 6/14 (PH, JS, SS), where the species was previously reliable but is no longer regularly seen. The white Red-tailed Hawk reported in the spring was seen again on the North Side of Pittsburgh 6/28 (OM). A Peregrine Falcon was an exciting visitor to a yard in Pine Township 7/13 (PL, SL).
A real surprise, a Sora was observed with two downy young at Imperial 7/21 (MD). This is the first confirmed breeding at Imperial and the second in Allegheny County. The pond is only a few years old and was constructed at the entrance to a new industrial park. Cattails are beginning to grow in clumps and the vegetation is still rather sparse, but the birds apparently found it satisfactory for nesting.
The first southbound shorebirds began to appear. Killdeer gathered into a flock of 63 at Hampton Community Park 7/23 (DN). A Greater Yellowlegs was at Imperial 7/23 (GM), and
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4 Lesser Yellowlegs were there 7/20 (GM). Two Solitary Sandpipers were at Boyce-Mayview Park 7/1, a rather early date; one was at Imperial 7/13 (GM). Three straggling northbound Semipalmated Sandpipers were at Imperial 6/2 (GM). The first Least Sandpiper was at Boyce-Mayview Park 7/3 (FK), and 2 were at Imperial 7/5 (MV). A Pectoral Sandpiper was at Imperial 7/4 (MV) and 3 were there 7/20 (GM). Two Wilson’s Snipe at Imperial were entered into eBird 7/22 (IG).
Herring Gulls continue to nest on the Highland Park Bridge. A total of 87 adults and 17 juveniles were tallied 6/23 (MV). One chick was observed at Dashields Dam on the Ohio River 6/7 (MV), another nesting site. Two late Common Terns were flying around Lock and Dam No. 4 on the Allegheny River in Natrona Heights 6/7 (BC).
A large number of Mourning Doves gathered at Duck Hollow 7/25 (TM, NM); the tally was 59. The breeding Barred Owls at Boyce-Mayview Park reported last season continued to mid-June (FK). One visited a yard in Mount Lebanon in June (DR), one was seen at North Park 7/23 (DN), and one was calling in Schenley Park 7/27 (KSJ). Those are the most reports I’ve ever received for this species. Small numbers of Common Nighthawks were noted throughout July in various locations (v.o.).
There were two reports of Red-headed Woodpeckers in the county; a rare bird here. One bird visited a feeder in Upper St. Clair off and on for three weeks and was last seen 6/15 (RS). The other was in the same general area and may have been the same bird. It also visited a feeder and was seen from 6/4 through July (fide FK, DW, ST). Both birds were photographed.
Willow Flycatchers were reported at Imperial during the en-tire season (ST, GM). Great Crested Flycatchers are not reported regularly. One was in Pine Township 6/7 (PL, SL) and 3 were at Knob Hill Park 7/20 (KD).
Birds in the Three Rivers Area
IT’S MY TERRITORY – Good numbers of Grasshopper Sparrows were found at the Imperial grasslands during the 2012 breeding season. This one, photographed nicely by Jeff McDonald, was already establishing his breeding territory on May 23.
A Common Raven was seen near the Pittsburgh International Airport 6/2 (GM). Two were flying over East Liberty 6/18 (JS, MVV), one was at Imperial 7/4 and 7/20 (MV), and one was at Duck Hollow 7/21 (TM, NM).
Cliff Swallows are not common in the county at any time. One at Imperial 7/20 (MV) was unexpected. Surprising was the confirmation of at least one nest at North Park in July (DN). Cliff Swallows were confirmed nesting in the Pittsburgh area during the first atlas, but as far as I’m aware, not during the second.
A Brown Creeper was discovered near Settler’s Cabin Park at the future Pittsburgh Botanic Garden site 6/15 (BMu). This is an unusual species here during the summer.
The two nesting pairs of Eastern Bluebirds within the Pittsburgh city limits, first noted in the spring, were both successful as both nests contained young 6/19 (BMi, DY). Veeries were pres-ent in Pine Township the entire period (PL, SL).
A Northern Parula at Frick Park 6/3 (JS) may have been a late migrant because this species is not known to breed in the park. A pair was observed nesting at Boyce-Mayview Park 6/26 (FK), a rare breeding record for Allegheny County. The last Yellow Warblers reported were two at Frick Park 7/27 (MF). A surprising find was a Northern Waterthrush at Beechwood Farms Nature Reserve in Fox Chapel 6/20 (BSh). The bird was foraging along the shore of a small pond. Black-and-white Warblers were at Harrison Hills Park 6/10 (AH, PM) and 6/14 (PH, JS, SS), one of the few breeding sites in the county. Other rare breeders included Worm-eating Warbler at Harrison Hills Park 6/2 and 6/10 (AH, PM) and up to 4 Ovenbirds at Knob Hill Park (KD). A Kentucky Warbler was found at Harrison Hills Park 6/2 (AH, PM) and 6/14 (PH, JS, SS). There was only one report of Yellow-breasted Chat at Imperial 6/12 (ST).
A few Vesper, Grasshopper and Savannah Sparrows were reported at Imperial in June (v.o.). A nice count of 15 Grasshopper Sparrows and 4 Henslow’s Sparrows was made at Imperial 6/15 (ST).
The male Summer Tanager first reported in the spring remained at Schenley Park to 6/30 (HF, KSJ, et. al.). A female was never found. This is the same location where a pair attempted to nest last year.
A Dickcissel at Imperial 6/12 (ST) was the lone report. A female Bobolink was at Boyce-Mayview Park 6/27 (FK). The field where it was seen was mowed, and the bird was not relocated.
Purple Finch was confirmed breeding in Pine Township in June (PL, SL). The first-year male reported in May continued in Penn Hills at least to mid-June (MF).
Observers: Tim Andrle, Paul Brown, Ben Coulter, Michael David, Karyn Delaney, Mike Fialkovich, Hiro Fukuda, Ian Gardner, Amy Henrici, Paul Hess, Fred Kachmarik, Pat Lynch, Sherron Lynch, Pat McShea, Geoff Malosh, Oscar Miller, Ben Milleville (BMi), Nancy Moeller, Tom Moeller, Bob Mulvihill (BMu), Dick Nugent, Dick Ridgeway, Kate St. John (KSJ), Rosemary Salemi, Brian Shema (BSh), Jack Solomon, Sue Solomon, Shannon Thompson, Mark VanderVen (MVV), Mark Vass, Dave Wilton, Dan Yagusic, various observers (v.o.).
Join the fun at 3RBC’sPicnic Outing on Oct. 28
See details on page 3
