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The Peregrine Three Rivers Birding Club Newsletter

http://www.3rbc.org Vol. 14, No. 2, March/April 2015 We’ll See How Ailing Wildlife Can Survive Preparing injured, ill, or orphaned wildlife to return into the wild is a labor of love we can all appreciate. The Three Rivers Birding Club program on Wednesday, April 1, will show us how it is expertly done at the Animal Rescue League Wildlife Center in Verona. Jill Argall, center director, will describe rehabilitation services offered. Her program will include a live bird. The meeting will be held at the Phipps Garden Center, 1059 Shady Avenue in Shadyside. Doors open at 6:30 PM for socializing, a business meeting begins at 7:30, and the program starts at 8. Jill, employed at the clinic since 2000, has been its director since 2003. She has a bachelor’s degree in biology, a master’s degree in business management, and is licensed by federal and state agencies for handling wildlife for rehabilitation. “All animals are admitted to our clinic with the goal of releasing them back into the wild as healthy individuals,” Jill says. HELP FOR THE HELPLESS – Jill Argall, director of the Animal The clinic admits more than 2,000 animals each year with a release Rescue League’s local rehabilitation center, will describe the rate near 65%, almost twice the national average. center’s activities at our April 1 meeting. Here, she displays a Great Horned Owl in rehabilitation after an injury. Christmas Bird Counters Tally 70 Species By Brian Shema, CBC Compiler As in 2013, Pittsburgh Christmas Bird Count (CBC) Turkey Vulture is also exhibiting an interesting trend. While participants were treated to milder than normal temperatures on the species has been found singly seven times in the past 30 years, December 27, 2014. With a low temperature of around 35 degrees recent high counts of 22 and 15 individuals indicate an increasing and a high of 55 degrees, there were no weather-related obstacles winter presence. The following species are notable: to overcome. All lakes, rivers and streams were ice-free. • An adult and a juvenile Ross’s Goose were present at Allegheny The Audubon Society of Western Pennsylvania sponsors Cemetery, first of the species recorded for this CBC(photo on the annual Pittsburgh count. This year a total of 165 participants page 6). counted birds within the 15-mile-diameter count circle, including • A Red-winged Blackbird in Indiana Township was the first 115 participants in the field and 50 who counted the birds at their record in 16 years. feeders. Field participants divided into 34 groups (an average of • A Ring-necked Duck was spotted along the Monongahela 3.4 people per field party) and covered 78.25 miles by foot and River. This species has been detected only seven times in the 257.50 miles by vehicle. past 30 years. Despite mild weather and a near-record number of • For the third time in as many years, a Rufous Hummingbird participants, our final tallies would prove to be perfectly average: was found, this time at Phipps Conservatory in Oakland by one 70 species and a total of 37,526 individual birds. (See page 6 for of our youngest participants (photo on page 5). the list.) • A Red-headed Woodpecker at Homewood Cemetery was a As always, American Crow led the numbers. The annual species only occasionally found in the circle (photo on page 6). winter roost in the East End continues to produce over 20,000 • Fish Crow and Common Raven were both detected. The individuals. former species will likely continue to increase in the region. The most notable trend depicted in the count is a continued As in other recent counts, our totals seemed to mirror the upward swing of Northern Mockingbird. Just 20 years ago, 25-year averages. As we’ve said in the past, sometimes an average Northern Mockingbirds were found each year, but in only single- count is the best kind of count! digit numbers. However, since the 101st count in December 2000 Our thanks to all participants in the CBC, and a special the species has exploded. This year, 127 individuals were tallied, a thanks to each of the area leaders. We hope you all enjoyed the Pittsburgh CBC record! experience, and we look forward to your participation next year!

See The Peregrine in beautiful color at 3rbc.org The Peregrine President’s Message The Peregrine Don’t Wait Until Spring Three Rivers Birding Club Newsletter Published bimonthly: By Bob VanNewkirk January, March, May, July, September, November By the time you read this article, spring may have appeared Send articles and/or illustrations to: on your calendar. However, March can have lousy weather because Paul Hess, Editor it’s still winter, and outing leaders are reluctant to schedule walks [email protected] because the weather and driving conditions are too iffy. 1412 Hawthorne St., Natrona Heights, PA 15065 If you checked the number of 3RBC outings offered in Send ideas or items for the website to: January and February, the total was two, and both were in Julia Pahountis-Opacic, Webmaster February: a Saturday walk at Sewickley Heights Park during the [email protected] Great Backyard Bird Count weekend, and one at the National Aviary. Although there are wonderful birds from all over the world Send questions and suggestions to: at the Aviary, these birds cannot be added to your life list. Bob VanNewkirk, President So, while you might be dreaming of an early spring outing or [email protected] 126 Timberlane Dr., Pittsburgh, PA 15229-1059 planning a May trip to Magee Marsh, l encourage you to venture into the outdoors now. After all, being outside in winter can be just Suggest or volunteer to lead outings to: as therapeutic as being outdoors in any other season. There have Steve Thomas, Outings Director been numerous studies confirming that direct contact with nature [email protected] increases mental health, provides stress reduction, and can lead to a 309 Center Ave., Aspinwall, PA 15215 more positive attitude. I know I feel better walking around the woods with binoculars Report bird sightings to: Mike Fialkovich, Bird Reports Editor around my neck. John Burroughs, a renowned naturalist, once said, [email protected] “I go to nature to be soothed and healed, and to have my senses put 805 Beulah Road, Pittsburgh, PA 15235 in order.” That is a sensible thought. Before heading outdoors, always check the weather forecast. Send other correspondence to: Dress in layers. Wear a hat and gloves, and wear boots to keep Sherron and Pat Lynch, Co-Secretaries [email protected] out snow, water, or mud. Bring water for hydration and take 195 Hill Haven Lane, Wexford, PA 15090-8834 snacks to boost your energy level. I personally consume peanuts and anything with chocolate to keep me happy. Consider wearing Membership: FREE Student-Youth, $15 Individual, sunscreen to reduce snow glare, which can cause sunburn. Taking $20 Family, $50 Contributing, $100 Sustaining the time to prepare for whatever weather comes your way will help Send check to Three Rivers Birding Club c/o Thomas J. Moeller, Treasurer you to enjoy your outdoor experience. 6357 Ebdy St., Pittsburgh, PA 15217-3035 There are many options for deciding where to go birding, [email protected] depending on the time you set aside for your outing. For the best diversity, my favorite is Presque Isle State Park. Park maps are Copyright © Three Rivers Birding Club. All rights reserved. available at the Ranger Station. Waterfowl and gull species should (Photographers and illustrators retain their copyrights.) be represented in large numbers. As you enter the park, stop at the first parking lot called Vista 1. This will give you a chance to stretch your legs after your long drive and check out the bird activity in the expansive bay. The piers can be very productive for ducks, geese, and Letter from the Editor swans. Misery Bay and Thompson Bay are must stops for seeking waterfowl and gulls. With luck, you might even find Horned By Paul Hess Well, the idea I suggested in the last issue for a feature called Grebes, scoters, and loons. If you wish to look for northern “My Favorite Bird Sighting” was a flop. I thought members migrants such as redpolls, siskins, Brown Creepers, Fox Sparrows, would love to tell about and read about their birding excitement. I and Red-breasted Nuthatches, check out Leo’s Landing, Pine Tree received only one response, from Denise Kelly. Thanks so much, Trail, Sidewalk Trail, and Fry’s Landing. A walk out to Gull Point Denise. Your response captures perfectly what I had in mind: can also be productive for a wide range of species. The trailhead “A couple of years ago I attended a Bird Fest in Foxburg, begins at the end of the Beach 10 parking lot. Your one-mile hike Pennsylvania. The group met at the Piney Tract early on a clear may reward you with a Snowy Owl and perhaps an assortment May morning. The leaders talked about commonly seeing of gulls, diving ducks, and shorebirds. Keep your eyes open for a Northern Harriers in the area. Lo and behold, a harrier flew up flyover from a Bald Eagle, a Peregrine Falcon, or a Merlin. over the hill and started hunting in the adjacent field. The light If you were among the millions who viewed and enjoyed was perfect. I was able to locate the bird with my binoculars as it looking at Pittsburgh’s eagle nest at Hays in the webcam last crested the hill, and watched it hunt nearby. It was a life bird for year, then visit Pymatuning Lake. It is the place to find raptors, me and absolutely memorable.” especially Bald Eagles. During a late-March birding club outing *** there last year, 22 eagles were counted. Scott Shalaway’s Birds & Nature radio show is back on the Other raptors that may be present in the Pymatuning area air on Sundays, from 3 to 4 pm on station KBH 620 Pittsburgh. are Northern Harrier, Red-tailed Hawk, Rough-legged Hawk, and Thanks to Jack Solomon for calling this to our attention. continued on page 4 2 The Peregrine Outings to Come Depot on the right. Continue over an overpass. Go straight at the light leaving Route 6 onto Park Avenue (a Taco Bell will be on the Let’s Look Forward left corner) and continue through town. At the intersection with a Burger King on the right, turn right on to North Street (Route 27). to a Bird-filled Spring Take North Street two blocks to North Main Street (Route 86), where there is a Country Fair on the left side. Turn left on North By Steve Thomas, Outings Director Main Street and continue past a secondary school on the right and past Allegheny College for 3 or 4 miles. You will pass the Elks Sunday, March 22 – Moraine State Park: This leaderless Lodge and Meadville Country Club. After crossing a small bridge outing will be our first visit of the year to Lake Arthur, a man-made over Woodcock Creek, turn at the next right onto Route 198 (where lake that is the heart of Moraine State Park. The lake provides good there is a sign for Woodcock Lake). Go up Route 198, pass an and sometimes spectacular numbers and variety of waterfowl in entrance to park in the middle of the upgrade, and keep going. At migration. Meet at 8 AM in the Day Use Area (South Shore) in the top of the small upgrade, you will see Bossard Nature Center the first parking lot on the right. From I-79, take Route 422 east on the left. Across the street in a huge parking lot, where you toward Butler and exit at the Moraine State Park exit. At the end of will see Woodcock Dam. Turn right and park in the lot. The GPS the ramp, turn left, and go straight into the park until you see the coordinate is 41.702276,-80.101041. first major parking area on your right. Allow one hour driving from Pittsburgh. Saturday, April 25 – Raccoon Creek State Park: This is a joint bird and wildflower walk and picnic with the Brooks Bird Wednesday, March 25 – Woodcock Walk: Meet leader Club, which is based in West Virginia. Ryan Tomazin (412-220- Tommy Byrnes (724-715-7184) at 6:30 PM in the Ladbrokes (now 9726; [email protected]) will lead the bird walk. Meet The Meadows) parking lot behind the Primanti Brothers restaurant at the Roadside West picnic area at 9:30 AM. We will drive to off the Harmar exit 11 of Route 28. We will carpool and drive a the beach and around the lake after checking out the picnic and short distance to a field in Harmar Township that has produced parking lot area. A potluck lunch will be held around 12:30 or 1 American Woodcocks in the past several years. Be prepared for a PM. Please bring a dish to feed 6-10 people (at least), and bring muddy walk and bring a flashlight. Before going to the field, we your own plates, cutlery, and drinks. There are ample picnic will look across the river to view the Great Blue Heron colony, benches under the giant oaks. which in previous years has been an exciting sight. If there is interest, and if the weather is appropriate, we can bird and botanize the Wildflower Reserve. It should be the perfect Saturday, March 28 – Pymatuning Area: Meet leader time for wildflowers. If you have any questions or would like to Bob VanNewkirk (412-366-1694; [email protected]) at the RSVP, please feel free to contact Ryan either by phone or by email. Pymatuning Wildlife Learning Center (Waterfowl Museum) at 8 Directions: From Pittsburgh take Route 22/30 and exit at AM for this all-day outing. Plenty of waterfowl, Bald Eagles, and Imperial. Take Route 30 west to the Raccoon Creek State Park some Rough-legged Hawks are likely, and Horned Larks are also entrance, and drive through the park to the Roadside West picnic possible. Take I-79 north to Route 6, and go west to Linesville. area. In case of inclement weather, we should be able to use the Turn left at the light in Linesville where the sign points toward the center at the Wildflower Reserve. Pymatuning spillway. The sign for the Wildlife Learning Center will be on the left, past the fish hatchery and before the spillway. Wednesday April 29 − Knob Hill Community Park in Lunch will be arranged in the morning for those who wish to eat Wexford: Meet Karyn Delaney at 8 AM in the second parking lot at the Spillway Inn. Note: Temperatures may be colder than in on the left on Knob Road. Target species include Baltimore Oriole, Pittsburgh. Scarlet Tanager, Northern Mockingbird, Wood Thrush, and Hooded Warbler. Many migrating species are possible. Be prepared for wet Saturday, April 4 − Yellow Creek State Park: Meet grass and muddy trails. We’ll bird until approximately noon. In Margaret Higbee (724-354-3493) at the park office at 8 AM for case of inclement weather, the walk will be rescheduled for Friday, this joint outing of the 3RBC and the Todd Bird Club. The office May 1. Contact Karyn at 724-713-9474 with any questions. is located on Route 259 just off Route 422 east of Indiana. Allow Directions: Traveling north from Pittsburgh on I-79, take approximately 1 hour and 45 minutes to drive from Pittsburgh. The Warrendale exit 75 (formerly exit 23). At the exit ramp, turn left park has been the prime outing location for the Todd Bird Club onto Warrendale-Bayne Road. Take the first right (approximately since the club was organized. It contains a variety of habitats and a 1/8 mile) onto Brush Creek Road. Stay on Brush Creek Road for large lake that attracts a wide variety of species. about 1 mile and turn left at the second traffic light onto Knob Road. Then travel 1/2 mile to the parking lot on your left. Wednesdays, April 8 and 15 – Woodcock Walk: Meet Traveling south from Butler on I-79, take Cranberry exit 78 Tommy Byrnes at 7 PM for these two outings at the Harmar (formerly exit 25). At the exit ramp, turn right onto Route 228. At Township hotspot for this species. See the March 25 listing for the first traffic light turn left onto Route 19 south. Continue on 19 directions. to the third traffic light (at the entrance to Thorn Hill Industrial Park). Turn right at this light and go to the next traffic light. Turn Saturday, April 25 − Woodcock Lake (Meadville): Meet Shawn left at this light, continue approximately 1 mile, and turn right at a Collins ([email protected]) at 9 AM for this spring trip to traffic light onto Knob Road. Then travel 1/2 mile to the parking the lake as a follow-up to our successful trip last fall. After a visit lot on your left. to the lake, the outing will continue to the Pymatuning area. Please bring a lunch. We will meet at Woodcock Lake dam site. Fridays, May 1 and May 22 – Sewickley Heights Park: Directions: Take I-79 north from Pittsburgh. Exit at the In collaboration with the Fern Hollow Nature Center, Bob Meadville exit and take Route 6 east past a Giant Eagle/Home VanNewkirk (412-366-1694; [email protected]) will lead continued on page 4 3 The Peregrine President’s Message Outings to Come continued from page 2 continued from page 3 American Kestrel. Look for them hunting the fields or perched in these bird walks. They will begin at 7:30 AM starting from the trees along the wooded edges of Swamp Road, Wilson’s Road, upper parking lot. Directions to the park can be found on the and the Linesville-Hartstown Road. These same fields offer good 3RBC website (www.3rbc.org). Be prepared for muddy trails. It habitat for sparrows, Eastern Meadowlark, Killdeer, American is also advisable to bring water and a lunch. Besides birding in the Pipit, and sometimes shorebirds. park, we will drive and make stops along Little Sewickley Creek. The Causeway, the Wildlife Learning Center, the Spillway, Louisiana Waterthrush, Yellow-throated Warbler, and Warbling and the Linesville Fish Hatchery are also well-known locations Vireo nest in the area. that can provide eagle sightings. Dabbling and diving ducks as Sunday, May 3 − Frick Park: Meet leaders Sue and Jack well as Tundra Swans, Common Loons, Horned Grebes, Canada Solomon (412-521-3365) at 8 AM at the Blue Slide park entrance Geese, and sometimes Snow Geese may also be present wherever at the corner of Beechwood Boulevard and Nicholson Street in you find open water. Take time to walk the woodland path around Squirrel Hill. The park can be an excellent “migrant trap,” and the Wildlife Learning Center. You may find various sparrow we’re hoping for lots of warblers. Take Beechwood Boulevard 1.1 species, woodpeckers, kinglets, nuthatches, Brown Creepers, and miles south from its intersection with Forbes Avenue. You will need chickadees. to park on the street. This new meeting place is necessary because A closer place you may want to visit is the New Wilmington of construction of an environmental center at the traditional area in Lawrence and Mercer Counties. This mostly agricultural Beechwood Boulevard site. area can be a hotspot for locating Horned Lark, Lapland Longspur, Snow Bunting, Killdeer, Eastern Bluebird, Rough-legged Hawk, Sunday, May 3 − Buffalo Creek,Washington County: Larry and American Pipit. If you are lucky, you may come across fields Helgerman ([email protected]) will lead us at this important that have recently been fertilized. The manure is a great attraction bird area (IBA-80). We will meet at 7:30AM at the S-Bridge for birds and, of course, birdwatchers. parking area at the intersection of SR-221 and US-40. You can find directions to these places and many other destinations by visiting our club’s website at www.3rbc.org. Click Saturday, May 9 − Forest County: David Yeany (dyeany2@ on Birding Locations. gmail.com; cell 814-221-4361) will lead us on a car trip of Forest Late winter does not have to be a bleak time to go birding. County birding hotspots. Meet at the Sheetz in Brookville at 7AM. The Sheetz is located at 300 West Main Street, at the intersection of Visit any local, county, or state park, nature reserve, or bike trail. Route 28 and Route 322. Look for brushy areas that offer birds shelter and protection, or stands of conifer and oak trees that provide pinecones or acorns. Saturday, May 23 – Presque Isle: This trip to one of Open fields with weedy plants are good sources of food and Pennsylvania’s greatest birding locations will be led by Bob shelter, which also are attractive to raptors who hunt rodents VanNewkirk (412-366-1694; [email protected]). Meet at 8 AM there. Find open water in rivers, lakes, ponds, and creeks, and you at the first parking lot on the right after entering the park. From might locate eagles, ducks, geese, gulls, herons, kingfishers, and Pittsburgh, take I-79 north until it ends. Take the exit for Route occasionally shorebirds. 5 west (also called West 12th Street) and continue for about one To quote a baseball Hall of Famer who played catcher and mile. Turn right onto Route 832, which leads directly into the park. managed the New York Yankees, Yogi Berra once opined, “You Allow 2.5 hours driving time. The migration should still be well can see a lot just by observing.” I bet Yogi would have been a good underway, but you never know what to expect here. Presque Isle birding buddy. So grab your binoculars, take along a friend, and has produced some of Pennsylvania’s best (and only) records of some rarities. Bring a lunch or join the group at one of the local go have an adventure. Find something in nature that will take your restaurants just outside the park. breath away. Don’t worry. You’ll know what that is when you see it. Presque Isle Bird Festival

The Presque Isle Festival of the Birds, a spring highlight for hundreds of birders, will offer a tremendous variety of activities on May 8, 9, and 10. Field trips will visit the park’s hottest birding spots. Workshops will cover topics including birding for beginners, advanced birding, waterfowl and shorebird identification, bird photography, and making a bird-friendly backyard. Banquet speaker on Saturday night will be George Armistead, author of the forthcoming American Birding Association Field Guide to Birds of Pennsylvania. He will provide a lively look at birds’ courtship rituals and reproductive strategies, often relating them to human behavior. Other opportunities during the festival will be lagoon birding A WELCOME VISITOR – A few Pine Siskins visited fortunate from a pontoon boat, a visit to the banding station, a “birds of birders’ feeders last fall and winter. Cris Hamilton photographed the night” field trip, a trek to famous Gull Point, a sanctuary for this hungry siskin on November 25, 2014, at her feeder in Houston, migrating shorebirds and terns. See details and how to register at Washington County. www.presqueisleaudubon.org/festival.html.

4 The Peregrine Young Eyes Spot a Rarity for the Pittsburgh CBC By Hannah Floyd (Editor’s note: Hannah, age 10, is the daughter of birder Ted Floyd, a Pittsburgh native and editor of the American Birding Association’s Birding magazine. She is a perceptive observer, and I asked her to write an article about her discovery of a rare species on the Pittsburgh Christmas Bird Count. Here is her report.)

The News − Saturday, December 27: My dad was gone all day because he was helping in the Pittsburgh Christmas Bird Count. When he came home, he asked me if I had seen any birds today. I answered “Yes.” He asked me what I had seen. I said “A hummingbird!” “What?” he exclaimed. “Well, what did it look like?” he inquired. “It was mostly brown, beige, and green.” “Where did you see it?” “At Phipps.” My cousins Griffin, Daisy, and Edwin had seen it, too. My dad asked me for details, so I explained what happened.

The Discovery − Saturday, December 27: HUNGRY HUMMER − This Rufous Hummingbird was listed on I went to Phipps Conservatory with my cousins, my the 2014 Pittsburgh Christmas Bird Count, courtesy of Hannah brother, my mother, and my grandmother. When we signed Floyd who spotted it inside Phipps Conservatory. Geoff Malosh in, a lady asked us if we would like to do a scavenger hunt. photographed it on December 31, 2014. Then two more workers came and asked the lady if she knew about the hummingbird. Now that we knew there was a Young Birders Rule! hummingbird, we wanted to see it. “Where is it?” my grandmother asked. “In the Stove Room.” By Jack Solomon In my view, the importance of a CBC observation relates not We looked at all of the rooms and then arrived at the only to the rarity of the bird but also to the observer’s age: the Stove Room. We walked through a small cave, and that’s younger the birder, the more important the observation. By this when I saw it! A tiny bird fluttering above a tree with hot pink measure, I have determined Hannah Floyd’s hummingbird to be flowers. Zoom! It was gone. the most important bird reported on Pittsburgh’s 2014 CBC. “I saw it!” I said. Ten-year-old Hannah was visiting Phipps Conservatory on The hummingbird flew back and forth between the trees. count day, as her father, Ted, a former Pittsburgher visiting for the “It was brown, beige, and green,” said Daisy. holidays, scampered around Frick Park hoping for a rare bird. It was Hannah who scored the rarity, remarkably casually. Another Sighting − Monday, December 29: Her father was willing to let it all stay low-key until he or I went back to Phipps Conservatory with my dad and someone could go to Phipps for confirmation. But others coaxed my grandmother. We went to the Stove Room again, and my Hannah into standing up at the CBC dinner to report her rare bird. dad saw the hummingbird. It was in the same place and was Compiler Brian Shema said it was countable but would probably fluttering around the same tree, occasionally stopping on a have to be banded before it could be confirmed as one of two very branch. similar species: Rufous or Allen’s Hummingbird. It was not banded Tons of people saw the bird during its visit. To be exact, but was later reported officially as a Rufous. it was a Rufous Hummingbird, which is very rare in the East. Another young birder, Jack Chaillet, a high school student, It was the only Rufous Hummingbird my dad had seen in made a major contribution to the count with a bird he had the northeastern part of America. However, where we live in discovered previously. It was a Red-headed Woodpecker in Colorado, we have a lot of these at our feeders. Homewood Cemetery, and it lingered through count day − an uncommon bird in our area any time of the year.

5 The Peregrine 2014 Pittsburgh CBC List Ross’s Goose 2 Downy Woodpecker 287 Canada Goose 915 Hairy Woodpecker 61 American Black Duck 6 Northern Flicker 59 Mallard 560 Pileated Woodpecker 38 Ring-necked Duck 1 Blue Jay 772 Bufflehead 3 Fish Crow 1 Hooded Merganser 12 American Crow 21,371 Common Merganser 2 Common Raven 2 Wild Turkey 135 Carolina Chickadee 131 Pied-billed Grebe 3 Black-capped Chickadee 214 Double-crested Cormorant 19 chickadee sp. 461 Great Blue Heron 15 Tufted Titmouse 680 Turkey Vulture 9 White-breasted Nuthatch 258 Bald Eagle 4 Brown Creeper 11 Sharp-shinned Hawk 6 Carolina Wren 295 Cooper’s Hawk 17 Winter Wren 9 FIRST FOR THE CBC – These geese at Allegheny Cemetery were accipiter sp. 1 Golden-crowned Kinglet 35 first-timers for the Pittsburgh Bird Count. An adult Ross’s is at Red-shouldered Hawk 3 Eastern Bluebird 120 left. The juvenile at right has been questioned as possibly a hybrid Red-tailed Hawk 96 Hermit Thrush 2 between Ross’s and Snow Goose. (photograph by Jim Hausman) American Kestrel 1 American Robin 1,707 Merlin 3 Northern Mockingbird 127 Peregrine Falcon 2 European Starling 3,386 Outing Revisited American Coot 3 Cedar Waxwing 130 Killdeer 1 Yellow-rumped Warbler 3 Two Brave Souls End Ring-billed Gull 212 Eastern Towhee 5 Herring Gull 19 American Tree Sparrow 11 Our Autumn Season gull sp. 34 Song Sparrow 398 Rock Pigeon 710 Swamp Sparrow 2 Moraine State Park – November 23: This leaderless outing Mourning Dove 826 White-throated Sparrow 223 was almost a personless outing with only two people participating. Eastern Screech-Owl 24 Dark-eyed Junco 610 It was cold and overcast with a light drizzle and a fog that limited Great Horned Owl 11 Northern Cardinal 598 visibility. Barred Owl 1 Red-winged Blackbird 1 Rufous Hummingbird 1 House Finch 316 Lorraine Asturino and I waited until 8:10 for others to arrive Belted Kingfisher 9 Pine Siskin 10 and then started on the Sunken Garden Trail. At the beginning Red-headed Woodpecker 1 American Goldfinch 597 of the trail, we encountered a flock of about 12 American Tree Red-bellied Woodpecker 284 House Sparrow 646 Sparrows actively feeding on goldenrod seeds. Farther along, a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 7 White-breasted Nuthatch, a Downy Woodpecker, Black-capped Chickadees, and some Northern Cardinals foraged near the trail. The highlight here was a pair of Swamp Sparrows. We then took advantage of the restroom and in the distance we saw what looked like six Tundra Swans. By now the drizzle had stopped. The shallow bay by the parking lot was ice covered and no waterbirds were visible. As we surveyed the ice, American Crows and Blue Jays broke the silence and a lone female Red-winged Blackbird landed at the top of a leafless tree. We drove over to the swimming area to get a better look at the swans and discovered that we had actually found a family of Trumpeter Swans. There were two adults and four juveniles. One of the adults was sporting a neck band (R48), and we enjoyed hearing them vocalize. They really do sound like trumpets and very different from Tundra Swans. There was some open water here and American Coots and Ruddy Ducks were present. We saw a flock of Ring-billed Gulls resting on the ice, with three Bonaparte’s Gulls mixed in. Our next stop was the point. We scanned the lake and found Horned Grebes, Pied-billed Grebes and some Buffleheads. There PLEASANT SURPRISE – A Red-headed Woodpecker is rare were also a fair number of Ring-billed Gulls patrolling the lake. anytime in Pittsburgh. This juvenile was seen by many birders at Our final stop was the Bear Run Boat Launch, where the huge Homewood Cemetery, and it was present for the Christmas Bird expanse of water was essentially devoid of waterbirds except for Count. Geoff Malosh photographed it on December 26, 2014. some distant gulls. −by participant Richard Nugent

6 The Peregrine Birds and Healing (Editor’s note: Frank Izaguirre, a 3RBC member, posted this inspiring essay on the American Birding Association blog. It produced a tremendous outpouring of appreciation. See the responses at blog.aba.org/2015/01/birds-and-healing.html.) By Frank Izaguirre Birders are well aware that even the unlikeliest of things can sometimes come true. Rarities and mega-rarities bring us so much joy, but an unlikely thing made this past year a very difficult one for me. For the second time, I was diagnosed with colon cancer, this time Stage 4. I thought I had beaten it three years ago, but last March I learned of a sizeable tumor in my liver, one of the most common places where colon cancer spreads. I would need months of chemotherapy, one major surgery, and several minor procedures, along with canceling my upcoming wedding, stopping work, and moving back in with my parents. It was hard. Even so, there was Joy. Literally, there was Joy. Joy is a nurse who’d worked with me the first time around. I’d liked her a lot then, even though we hadn’t figured out that we were both birders. This time, she saw a post of mine on the local bird club’s website, and she made the connection. Even though I was no longer receiving care in her department, Joy found me. I never told her when I had an upcoming appointment, but almost every time I sat in my chair to receive chemotherapy treatments, prep for CT scans, or wait for the oncologist, Joy was there, and we talked birds. Birds are good for healing. It must be something in their vitality, the way they move through the world with such seeming SUPERMARKET BATTLE –A Pine Siskin objects to a House ease, easily passing through physical barriers the rest of us would Finch’s attempt to share Tom Moeller’s thistle feeder in Squirrel find difficult or impossible to overcome. It is easy for the mind to Hill on December 8, 2014. wander to birds while hooked to an Oxaliplatin drip. I’d hoped that while I received treatments I could at least continue working on my writing, but I soon learned that was impossible because of a thing called “chemo-brain,” a mental fogginess that destroys a person’s ability to concentrate. I remember the way that nasty stuff felt inside my head, and I Volunteers Are Needed appreciate the ability to coordinate my thoughts on birds and nature into writing all the more now. for Marsh Bird Surveys So birding became even more important. It was my only passion I had left. I went through two migrations while on The Pennsylvania Game Commission (PGC) is looking for chemotherapy. I can’t understate how much birds helped me. collaborators and volunteers for its 2015 Marsh Bird Surveys. Sometimes I would be too tired and sick to even go outside, and The surveys focus on secretive nesting marsh birds including sometimes I would push it and suddenly become so exhausted Pied-billed Grebe, American Bittern, Least Bittern, Black Rail, I would need to lie down on the forest floor and sleep while my King Rail, Virginia Rail, Black Rail, King Rail, Sora, Common fiancée Adrienne sat beside me. But on each of the days I felt Gallinule, and American Coot. strong, we were outside, seeking warblers in South Florida’s Surveyors use a play-back technique adapted from the tropical hardwood hammocks and waders in its wetland expanses. Standardized North American Marsh Bird Monitoring Protocols, I even saw a few life birds. There was the trip to Key West which are very similar to the method used in the second Adrienne and I took before my liver resection. I had the chance Pennsylvania Breeding Bird Atlas. Other species of interest that for two lifers, Brown and Masked Booby, at Dry Tortugas. Then may be encountered include Black Tern, Wilson’s Snipe, Northern a miraculous Red-necked Stint appeared on a nearby key. We Harrier, Marsh Wren, and Prothonotary Warbler. searched twice, along with dozens of other birders, and missed it, The Game Commission asks Three Rivers Birding Club until someone posted a report of the bird having been relocated. members for help in monitoring these sensitive and secretive We arrived, and Joy was there, waving us right over as if she’d bird species. In particular, the PGC is interested in some of the been waiting for us the entire time. There, pumping along the state’s larger wetlands with historical nesting habitat for these bird beach between two Semipalmated Sandpipers: a Florida state first species. Moraine State Park has a wetland of high priority in the and lifer, the Red-necked Stint. state’s southwestern area. I may be young for cancer, but beyond that I don’t think what The surveys need to be conducted between May 15 and June happened to me is particularly unique. Lots of people go through 30 on wetlands statewide. The information collected will promote what I went through. The point of it all is: birds are healing, but conservation efforts for this declining habitat and the birds and birders are healing too. Joy may be the most appropriately named other wild species that depend upon it. person I’ve ever met, but any of us can be Joy. Any of us can help If you are interested in participating, please contact Alison someone pass through barriers that would otherwise seem difficult Fetterman, survey coordinator, at [email protected]. or impossible to overcome. 7 The Peregrine breed in the park. We saw two females—perhaps nest mates Great Expectations hatched this past summer—jerking their way up the trunk of an old

sycamore. By Ted Floyd Red-bellied Woodpeckers were within earshot practically all Christmas day, my family and I flew to my natal town of day long. Frank and I tallied 19, and I bet we undercounted. The Pittsburgh. We deplaned and were greeted at the gate by a Santa Red-bellied Woodpecker population explosion in the Pittsburgh Claus impersonator. Then we got on the bus to my boyhood home, region still amazes me. That was a good bird, a hotline bird, when I where my parents still live. The bus took us past the same rivers, was a kid. It was a bird to brag about at the CBC compilation. bridges, and buildings from my childhood. At my parents’ house, So was the Northern Mockingbird. Frank and I found a the gas fireplace, piano, and piles of books were as they always had couple, and parties elsewhere in and around the park found many been. more. They found a flock of Wild Turkeys, too, and a couple of On occasions such as this, one might be pardoned the sin of Merlins. Wild Turkeys and Merlins, like crows in the late 20th nostalgia. century, are in the process of being urbanized. In the old days, only Our second day back, I did the Pittsburgh Christmas Bird the northern suburbs ever reported turkeys. And nobody ever got a Count (CBC). I had done my first CBC, in Pittsburgh, in 1982, Merlin. Bald Eagles have become routine in winter in recent years when I was 14. My current assignment was Pittsburgh’s Frick on the CBC, and so have Turkey Vultures. Cooper’s and Red- Park, the same as in my teen years. shouldered Hawks are more numerous than they used to be, too, I got to the park early for owling. There I met up with Frank especially in the urban districts. Izaguirre, and he and I proceeded through the old woods to a Every chickadee Frank and I detected was a Carolina stretch of trail called the horseshoe. The horseshoe was good in Chickadee. When I was a kid, only Black-capped Chickadees were the old days for Eastern Screech-Owls. So it was this morning. A reported on the CBC. That’s mainly because there were a lot of bonus was two Great Horned Owls sitting silently on the bough of the latter species. It’s also because we simply assumed they were a gnarled locust. Come to think of it, my first CBC at Frick Park, all the latter. Birders are funny that way. Birders get notions, and 30+ years ago, was highlighted by a bonus Great Horned Owl. notions get in the way of reality. Well, Pittsburgh birders finally got We pressed on into the heart of Frick Park. It was quite dark it all straightened out, and now it’s all Carolina Chickadees in and this cloudy morning, but that didn’t matter. Years ago, the lay of around Frick Park. For more than 30 years, we now know, Carolina the land was imprinted in my brain forever. After all these years, I Chickadees have been pushing into the Pittsburgh region, and can still find my way around the park by topographic triangulation: Black-capped Chickadees have been withdrawing. the grade of the trail, the squishiness of the ground, the way sounds We wrapped up our day atop a bluff overlooking the carry in the steep hollows. Monongahela River valley, and I pondered an illusion. It was Frank and I played a little guessing game: What would be tempting to say nothing had changed. The river was still there, the first bird of the daylight hours? Several screech-owls later, and the hills. The parkway, too, and the same bridge and tunnel. we had our answer. It was a good one, a Winter Wren, giving its They’ve been there for as long as I’ve been alive, and they’ll shrill chimp-chimp call. On that first CBC at Frick Park, my party long outlive me. There’s nothing new under the sun, says the old found a Winter Wren, one of the best birds of the long day. proverb. It was 1982 all over again. On this trip down Memory Lane, But the birds say otherwise: the crows and ravens, the vultures I was half-expecting to bump into a 14-year-old version of myself and eagles, the “Coops” and “-shoulders,” the Carolina Chickadees birding along the trail. and Wild Turkeys, the Merlins and mockingbirds, the Red-bellied Not so fast. and Pileated Woodpeckers, and more. Birding has its traditions, for Our next bird was an American Crow. Then another. Then sure, and birders are probably as prone to nostalgia as anyone else. dozens. Then nearly a thousand, streaming east from a roost near the city center. Another party, assigned to count crows at continued on page 9 the roost, tallied an astonishing 19,000+ birds. That would have been unimaginable in the early 1980s, at which time crows were beginning to colonize the city. The late Dr. Kenneth C. Parkes, Curator of Birds at Pittsburgh’s Carnegie Museum of Natural History, considered the urbanization of the American Crow to be the most remarkable ornithological phenomenon he had ever witnessed. I wonder what he would think now. And it’s not just crows. One of the CBC parties in the city proper reported a Common Raven, another a Fish Crow. Ravens occurred nowhere near Pittsburgh in the early 1980s, and Fish Crows were unrecorded in the region at the time. Today a three-Corvus day within the city limits is unremarkable. The crows completed their passage over Frick Park, and Frank and I got our first woodpecker of the day: a Pileated. A Pileated! In the early 1980s, I listened enthralled as the old-timers INCREASING FAST – As Ted Floyd comments, the Northern told me the tale of the one, wild Pileated Woodpecker that once Mockingbird population is growing in Pittsburgh. Tom Moeller wandered into the park. It might as well have been a wolf or an saw this one in his Squirrel Hill yard on March 21, 2014. alligator, that’s how rare Pileateds were at the time. Today they

8 The Peregrine At oh-dark-thirty the next morning, my family and I caught the early bus back to the airport. We stood in the cold at the intersection of Forbes and Morewood avenues, and I couldn’t help myself. I couldn’t help but notice certain landscape features from my youth: a small woodlot behind us and a railroad valley beyond, hills rising where there always had been hills, the bend in Forbes Avenue, and the low cloud deck. Suddenly I heard faint call notes, light lisps, somewhere out there in the dark. Flight calls? Nocturnal flight calls? I quickly scrolled through my mental rolodex: not Song Sparrow…not White-throated Sparrow…Chipping Sparrow not likely…American Tree Sparrow? Could they be tree sparrows? In Colorado at least, American Tree Sparrows move around a fair bit in the winter, they’re nocturnal migrants, and they call incessantly. My son had wandered from the bus stop, and was looking CHANGING TIMES – Ted Floyd notes in his essay that a Common intently at something in the branches of a tree by a bright lamp. Raven in Pittsburgh would have been unpredicted several decades “A Northern Cardinal!” he declared. (He always says “Northern.” ago. Now it is fairly regular. Tom Moeller photographed this one It’s my son’s favorite bird, a rarity in our home state of Colorado, on April 18, 2014, across the street from his house in Squirrel Hill. and he says the species deserves to be called by its full name.) Of course. Just a cardinal. I rationalized my blunder: The bus stop was Great Expectations loud, the bird was distant, and I wasn’t expecting a cardinal to be continued from page 8 calling in the middle of the night. I wasn’t expecting a cardinal… Hold onto that thought. But if you stick at it with birding long enough, you’re confronted I’m at a curious juncture now in my birding life. I’ve been with an inescapable reality: “Everything changes, nothing stays the birding now for more than a third of a century, and, statistically same.” So said the Greek philosopher Heraclitus, and so it is today. speaking, I’ve got about another third of a century ahead of me. My family and I went ice skating that CBC evening. Well, I won’t rattle off a list of names, but I know that a bunch of you they skated while I tallied up my tick marks. During one of the reading this are in the same demographic boat as I. Zamboni-mandated breaks in the action, I asked my daughter if If you’re like me, you reflect from time to time on how much she’d seen any birds during the day. Her answer surprised me. things have changed in the past few decades. I’ve told the story of She’d been sitting on a rarity, a hummingbird, apparently a Rufous the Pittsburgh CBC, but it’s the same in Chicago and Denver, Los Hummingbird. Naturally, I requested details. Angeles and New York, London and Amsterdam, and practically Long story short: With various of her relatives, she had seen everywhere else on Earth. Here’s my challenge to you: What will one inside one of the big glasshouses at the Phipps Conservatory, things be like in the late 2040s? Assuming the Singularity hasn’t a stone’s throw from her grandparents’ house. The Rufous happened, many of us will still be around then. Hummingbird, until recently an “accidental” in Pennsylvania, is What are we to expect? now rare but regular in fall and winter. Still, I had to see this for I don’t know. In the early 1980s, we in Pittsburgh weren’t myself. Two days later, I went with my daughter and mother to the expecting population increases across so broad a taxonomic conservatory. swath. Think about it again. All these birds have enjoyed Sure enough, there was a hummingbird in there, right where population increases on the Pittsburgh CBC: Turkey Vulture, they’d found it, a female, and probably a Rufous, although I Bald Eagle, Cooper’s Hawk, Red-shouldered Hawk, Red-bellied cannot rule out the possibility that it was a much rarer Allen’s, Woodpecker, Pileated Woodpecker, Merlin, Peregrine Falcon, accidental in Pennsylvania. I hope somebody can nail down the American Crow, Fish Crow, Common Raven, Carolina Chickadee, ID. In the meantime, the hummingbird seems to be doing just fine, and Northern Mockingbird. And I haven’t mentioned a slew of feeding on the inflorescences of a red powder puff tree,Calliandra others: Canada Goose, Double-crested Cormorant, Herring Gull, haematocephala. Ring-billed Gull, Barred Owl, Eastern Bluebird, Carolina Wren, Our mission completed, my mother and daughter and I exited and more. the conservatory. Then I heard it! And in an instant I saw it! At As I said, I don’t know what the future holds in store. But if last! A Common Raven! This is the bird I’d been wanting more things continue as they have—and why wouldn’t they?—maybe than any other to see in the city. The raven is one of my favorite Rufous Hummingbirds will become as routine as Fish Crows. birds. I see them nearly daily where I live in Colorado, but I Throngs of Lesser Black-backed Gulls perhaps? Will Eurasian have long sought a definitive sighting in Pittsburgh. After several Collared-Doves finally establish? Why not Black Vultures and “maybes” and “mighta beens” in Pittsburgh, this was the real deal, Sandhill Cranes? Or how about stuff nobody’s even thinking of, grunting like a pig and mobbed by two pint-size crows. I dunno, African Collared-Doves, House Crows, and Northern I looked up and saw two Peregrine Falcons powering past Rough-winged Swallows? the iconic Cathedral of Learning. When I was a kid, I was thrilled It sounds far-fetched. But so did Peregrines and Merlins, to read that a CBC in Ohio had reported a super-rare Peregrine. I Fish Crows and ravens, cormorants and Herring Gulls, and many wasn’t sure if I’d ever live to see one. Today Peregrines—Merlins, others, not all that long ago. Heck, I’m just barely old enough to too—are more easily found in the city than kestrels. Once again, remember when folks were still remarking on the spread of the the wisdom of Heraclitus: Everything changes, nothing stays the House Finch. same. I ask the question again: What should we be expecting?

9 The Peregrine outside of the United States is also vitally important. Bob Mulvihill Looking Back galvanized many 3RBC members to participate in fieldwork for the state’s second breeding bird atlas. Club members, hence, provided with Appreciation a great amount of field data to help make this atlas an enormous success. By Pat Lynch Attendance has varied greatly for the meetings. Cornell’s Three Rivers Birding Club has had a total of 80 bimonthly Ron Rohrbaugh’s much-anticipated program on the Ivory- membership meetings since its inception. Mike Fialkovich began billed Woodpecker attracted 3RBC’s largest crowd of 138. our tradition of excellent speakers when he narrated a slide show Photographer extraordinaire Geoff Malosh’s Iceland (126) during 3RBC’s organizational meeting on July 29, 2001. I have and North America (125) secured the second and third highest been fortunate to have attended almost all of these meetings. attendances. He was followed by Kenn and Kimberly Kaufman The wide range of the 65 programs with guest speakers has (122), Jerry McWilliams’s rare birds of Pennsylvania, (116), Scott included identifying members of bird families, studying individual Weidensaul’s banding of hummingbirds and Northern Saw-whet bird species, birding in various states and abroad, the sex life of Owls (104), Julie Zickefoose’s Letters from Eden (97), Jon Dunn’s birds, fishing habits of birds, nocturnal flight calls, wind turbine sparrow ID (96), and Tammy Colt’s and Beth Fife’s Bald Eagles hazards, Important Bird Areas in Pennsylvania, the second in Pennsylvania (93). Three programs, Earl Schriver’s live raptors, Pennsylvania breeding bird atlas, the decline of certain species, the Tom Pawlesh’s and Scott Shalaway’s Canopy Tower, and Steve recovery of Bald Eagles and Peregrine Falcons in Pennsylvania, Hoffman’s raptor ID, each had 90 in attendance. Other meetings the fun of a Big Year, award-winning woodcarving, digital ranged from the 40s into the 80s. photography, birds in poetry, the thoughtful future of birding, and Over the years we have had many wonderful programs, many other topics. Tom Pawlesh provided the only non-avian most including beautiful photography. Everyone has favorite topic, the Monarch butterfly, when he fortunately substituted at the memories of certain programs. A few of mine include Chuck Tague last moment. Canadian Jean Iron probably has the distinction of describing fishing habits of birds; Larry Barth providing insights being the only non-U.S. speaker. into creating wood-carved masterpieces; Ross Gallardy living in Amazingly, of the 65 speaker programs, only nine people his car and subsisting on dry cereal in Australia; virtually anything have done more than one presentation. Chuck Tague leads with six, by Geoff Malosh; Ted Floyd discussing the future of birding; and followed by Geoff Malosh and Bob Mulvihill each with four. Mike Bob Mulvihill sharing the results of everyone’s research in the Fialkovich, Steve Hoffman, Jerry McWilliams, Tom Pawlesh, Second Atlas of Breeding Birds in Pennsylvania. Which programs Todd Katzner, and Tammy Colt each did two presentations. Our immediately come to mind for you? speakers have ranged from students and amateur bird watchers to Jon Dunn’s meeting was probably the most memorable. professional naturalists and ornithologists. Because of a last-minute scheduling snafu, 96 people listened to Fifteen meetings have been called slide slams, but with digital his descriptions of sparrows in Claire Staples’s crowded basement. photography they have morphed into PowerPoint presentations. Jon was a real trouper, and so was Claire. We don’t know how These have showcased the talents of many of the club’s many people missed the meeting because of the change in venue. photographers. During the last two years, the Audubon Society of Western Men predominantly have provided the programs. Sherron Pennsylvania and 3RBC have cosponsored two speakers—Scott Lynch (March 2003) was the only female presenter until Adrienne Weidensaul on banding and Cameron Cox on seawatching skills. Leppold (November 2006). A concerted effort to have more female We birders appreciate ASWP’s commitment to help 3RBC bring speakers led to Julie Zickefoose (February 2007) and Connie excellent speakers to the Pittsburgh birding community. Toops (April 2007). Other female presenters include Sheila Thorpe I thank the four people—Wendy Jo Shemansky, Neil (August 2008), Tammy Colt (April 2010), Jean Iron (April 2012), Nodelman, Ian Haigh, and Sheree Daugherty—who have served as Kimberly Kaufman (December 2012), Tammy Colt and Beth Fife program directors for their diligence in securing such interesting (April 2013), and Cris Hamilton (October 2013). speakers. All of us anticipate exciting future presentations that The vast majority of programs have covered avian topics will take us to new lands, increase our knowledge, stretch our within the United States. Foreign areas include New Zealand imaginations, and provide us with more “Aah!” and “Wow!” (Pat and Sherron Lynch, 2003), Panama (Tom Pawlesh and moments. Scott Shalaway, 2004), Australia (Connie Toops, 2007, and Ross Gallardy, 2009), Ecuador (Sheila Thorpe, 2008), Papua New Guinea (Andrew Mack, 2009), and Iceland (Geoff Malosh, 2014). PSO Can Boost Cris Hamilton included British Columbia and Costa Rica among other areas in 2013. Your Birding Fun Live birds as special guests have enlivened programs on three occasions. Legendary Earl Schriver displayed his Golden Want to know what’s happening in Pennsylvania birding? Join Eagle, Red-tailed Hawk, and Peregrine Falcon. Elvis, the African the Pennsylvania Society for Ornithology. Penguin, was a hit in Scott Sorro’s presentation on “Penguins You’ll get the respected state journal Pennsylvania Birds in Peril.” The audience’s attention was riveted to the American edited by Pittsburgh’s own expert Geoff Malosh. You’ll get the Kestrel, Harris’s Hawk, and Northern Goshawk during Jeff Finch’s PSO Pileated, the society’s newsletter edited by 3RBC member talk. Margaret Higbee. You’ll get a birding quiz and an article about Some speakers have endeavored to make us better birders ornithological research in the state by 3RBC’s Paul Hess. by emphasizing ID techniques. Others have urged the audiences See www.pabirds.org for information about the society. Its to help monitor certain species, to buy shade-grown coffee, and activities include seasonal outings plus the annual meeting − a big to be concerned about bird collisions with wind turbines and weekend of educational programs, a banquet, and opportunities to windows. We learned that maintaining habitat for migratory birds visit new areas of the state where you haven’t birded before.

10 The Peregrine Birds in the Three Rivers Area Nelson’s Sparrow Was Best in Oct.-Nov. 2014 By Mike Fialkovich, Bird Reports Editor A white morph Snow Goose was at Hampton Twp. Community Park 11/17 (DN, BSh). An interesting goose was found in North Park 11/22-23 (DN, GM et al.). It was first identified as a Ross’s Goose; however, the bird showed characters that suggested it may have been a Ross’s Goose X Snow Goose hybrid. It was seen and photographed by several observers. It was also seen at a Trader Horn store parking lot in McCandless Twp. 11/24 (DN, KP). As of this writing, the jury was still out on this bird’s identification. (See Geoff Malosh’s photos and discussion at BEAUTIFUL DUO –Rarely have two beautiful male Hooded www.flickr.com/photos/geoffmalosh/15863511955.) Mergansers been photographed so stunningly as these two by November brought Tundra Swans to the county as usual. Tom Moeller at Duck Hollow along the Monongahela River on A flock was heard after dark flying over Sewickley Heights Park November 21, 2014. 11/12 (BMu), and the following day a flock was heard over Plum were at Dashields Dam 11/22 to at least 11/25 (MV et al.), Borough (AH, PM). A flock of 145 flew over Shaler Twp. 11/14 Scoters and one was at Duck Hollow 11/22-27 (JHa, MK, DWe et al.). (JH), a flock of unknown number flew over Pine Twp. that day These were the eighth and ninth county records. A (SL), and one was on the Allegheny River at the Highland Park Long-tailed was at Duck Hollow 11/27 (JS, SS). were Bridge 11/22 (MJ). Duck Buffleheads present in singles and pairs in November. A female Common There were two Gadwall reports: 12 at the Moody Road was at McKees Rocks 11/21 (MJ). A great count of 40 ponds in Findlay Twp. 11/7 (MV) and 2 on the Allegheny River Goldeneye Hooded Mergansers were at McKees Rocks 11/21 (MJ) and 53 at Dam No. 3 in Harmar Twp. 11/22 (MJ). An American Black were there 11/22 (GM). A few Common Mergansers remained Duck was at Wingfield Pines 10/25-30 (DN, JF, LF).Blue-winged at Duck Hollow during the period (v.o.), and 22 were at McKees Teal lingered into early October with 3 at Wingfield Pines 10/3 Rocks 10/4 (MV). Ruddy Ducks were present 10/8-11/22 with a (ST et al.) and 2 at Deer Lakes Park 10/4 (MJ). Up to 5 Green- maximum of 8 at Duck Hollow 10/8 (MF). winged Teal were present at Wingfield Pines in October (v.o.). A was at Dashields Dam 11/21-28 (MV et The only other locations with reports include singles at North Park Common Loon al.). A nice count of 11 Horned Grebes were at Duck Hollow 10/6 (MJ) and Imperial 10/18 (GM). A Northern Pintail was at 11/27 (JS, SS). were present during Wingfield Pines 11/5 (DW), 2 were there through the month (MJ, Double-crested Cormorants the entire reporting period with a maximum of 15 at Brunots BP, ST), and 3 were there 11/28 (CP, JP, MGr). Island on the Ohio River 10/19 (MJ). Ring-necked Duck reports include 5 at the Moody Road A late was at Duck Hollow 10/23 (MJ). Tardy ponds in Findlay Twp. 10/26 (MV), one at Duck Hollow 11/13 Great Egret were at North Park (JC) and Wingfield Pines (RM) (TM, NM), 6 at Imperial 11/15 (MV), and 3 there 11/28 (CP, JP, Green Herons 10/11. MGr). Single Lesser Scaup were at Dashields Dam on the Ohio Ospreys lingered to October with the last report 10/23 at River 11/22 (MV) and Tarentum 11/23 (AH, PM). Two Black Duck Hollow (JS, SS). Red-shouldered Hawks were once again reported in good numbers. One was photographed at Wingfield Pines 10/18 (MGa), one was photographed in Natrona Heights 11/13 (KK), one was in Harmar Twp. 11/14 (JV), and one posed for a photograph in Moon Twp. 11/16 (GM). A Merlin was at Duck Hollow 10/31, 11/16 and 11/22 (TM, NM, JS, SS, KSJ, DWe, JHa). One was at Mt. Royal Cemetery in Shaler Twp. 11/16 (JH) and one was at Schenley Park 11/27 (ST). Soras continued from the last reporting period at Wingfield Pines, where 3 were found 10/2 (DW) and one 10/3 (ST et al.). A flock ofSandhill Cranes was heard flying over after dark at Sewickley Heights Park 11/21 (BMu). An American Golden-Plover was at Imperial 10/2 (MV), which is the only location in the county where this species has been reported. This was the 12th report there. Killdeer were present in a few locations through November. A Greater Yellowlegs was at Wingfield Pines 10/18 (ST) and 4 were at RESTING IN MIGRATION – Black Scoters are rare migrants in Janoski’s Farm in Findlay Twp. 11/1 (MV). Single Lesser southwestern Pennsylvania, but several were found on our three Yellowlegs were at Imperial 10/6 (JHa) and 10/16 (GM). A rivers in autumn 2014. Michelle Kienholz photographed this one Pectoral Sandpiper was at Imperial 10/9 (MV), the only report from a long distance at Duck Hollow along the Monongahela this season. A Dunlin was at Imperial 11/2 (MV). Wilson’s River at Pittsburgh on November 23, 2014. Snipe reports were all in October. Singles were at North Park continued on page 12 11 The Peregrine reports from eight locations (v.o.). Lincoln’s Sparrow reports Birds in the Three Rivers Area ran from 10/3-10/24 from five locations (v.o.). Up to 4Swamp continued from page 11 Sparrows remained at Wingfield Pines through November (v.o.). 10/6 (MJ), Hampton Twp. Community Park 10/10 (DN), Imperial White-crowned Sparrows were reported from 10/8-11/16 from 10/31 (MV), and 2 were at Imperial 11/9 (MV). An American five locations (v.o.). Woodcock was found at Wingfield Pines 10/6 (JHa). Red-winged Blackbirds remained to the end of the season Bonaparte’s Gull is more common in spring, but there were in unusually good numbers. Highest counts were 350 at Wingfield several reports this fall: 3 at Imperial 10/31 (MV), 8 at McKees Pines 10/26 (JHa) and 250 at Imperial 11/16 (GM). Smaller Rocks 11/20 with one lingering 11/21 (MJ), and one at Duck numbers remained at Wingfield Pines through November (ST). Hollow 11/21 (TM, NM). Eastern Meadowlarks lingered at Imperial until 11/9 (GM, MJ, Barred Owl is resident in the county, but reports are few. MV, JHa). A Rusty Blackbird was at Wingfield Pines 10/26 (JHa), One was calling in Churchill 10/7 (TSh, JSh), an unusual location. one was in Schenley Park in Pittsburgh 10/30 followed by 4 at the The banding operation of Northern Saw-whet Owls at Sewickley park 11/20 (KSJ). Park restoration projects include establishing Heights Park continued for the second year. As of this writing 15 native plants and habitats to attract wildlife and provide runoff birds were captured (BMu). control (even on the park’s golf course where areas are allowed to At least 100 Chimney Swifts were counted at Wingfield Pines grow wild). Perhaps the appearance of Rusty Blackbirds is a sign 10/5 (AP) and McKees Rocks 10/6 (MJ), the season’s maximum of birds responding to these habitat improvements. Late Common counts. A Northern Shrike was at Imperial 11/15 (MV) and was Grackles include 40 at Schenley Park 11/20 (KSJ) and one in Pine relocated there 11/16 (JHa, GM). Twp. 11/23 (PL, SL). The first observation ofAmerican Crows gathering to roost A pair of Purple Finches were in Pine Twp. during the entire came from Turtle Creek 11/11 where 716 were counted heading reporting period (PL, SL), one was at North Park 10/21 (DN), to the roost in Pittsburgh (DaK). Common Ravens were reported 2 visited a feeder in Harmar Twp. 10/26-11/18 (JV), one was in in October at various locations, and a Fish Crow was at Duck Natrona Heights 11/7 (PH, DH), and one visited a feeder in Plum Hollow 11/27 (JS, SS). 11/22 (AH, PM). Single Horned Larks were at Imperial 10/3, 18 and 19 (GM, Surprisingly, Pine Siskins moved into the county this fall: MV) and 12 were there 11/16 (GM), but the maximum for the 50 were at South Park 10/20 (JHa), and singles were at Wingfield period was 50-75 at Janoski’s Farm in Findlay Twp. 11/28 (CP, JP, Pines 10/28 (JL), Gibsonia 10/29 (KP), Shadyside 11/5 (AP), and MGr). Single Red-breasted Nuthatches were at Imperial 10/19 Penn Hills 11/10 (MH). A flock of 16 were in Jefferson Hills 11/11 (GM), Wingfield Pines 10/26 (JHa), and Boyce-Mayview Park (JHa), 2 were in Moon Twp. 11/16 (GM), one flew over Dashields 11/16 (ST). Dam 11/23 (GM), and 2 visited a feeder in Squirrel Hill 11/28 Up to two Marsh Wrens continued at Wingfield Pines (DWe). through November (v.o.). Not only are Marsh Wrens uncommon migrants in Allegheny County but also they are not known to Observers: Jack Chaillet, Leslee Ferree, Mike Fialkovich, winter in our area—so these birds were very late or may have John Flannigan, Mark Gardner (MGa), Mike Gregory (MGr), Jim overwintered here. Hausman (JHa), Amy Henrici, Deb Hess, Paul Hess, Maureen Eastern Bluebird flocks were impressive for the county: 13 Hobma, Joyce Hoffmann, Matthew Juskowich, Michelle Kienholz, were at North Park 10/21 (DN) and 21 were in Findlay Twp. 10/26 Dave Kerr (DaK), Ken Kostka, Josh Lefever, Pat Lynch, Sherron (MV). There were two Hermit Thrush reports: one at Frick Park Lynch, Ryan McDermott, Pat McShea, Geoff Malosh, Nancy 10/16 (JS, SS) and one in Plum 10/23 (AH, PM). Moeller, Tom Moeller, Bob Mulvihill (BMu), Dick Nugent, Kevin Single American Pipits were at Imperial 10/2 (MV) and Parsons, Brad Peroney, Chris Phillips, Jim Phillips, Aidan Place, 11/16 (JHa, GM). A trip to Janoski’s Farm in Findlay Twp. 11/28 Kate St. John (KSJ), Judy Schryer (JSh), Tony Schryer (TSh), Brian yielded Lapland Longspurs (the number not reported) and a Shema (BSh), Jack Solomon, Sue Solomon, Steve Thomas (STh), single Snow Bunting (CP, JP, MGr). This location has become the Sue Thomas (SuT), Shannon Thompson, Jim Valimont, Mark Vass, most reliable place in the county to find these species. Dan Weeks (DWe), Dave Wilton, various observers (v.o.). A few late warbler reports were received after the main migration. Orange-crowned Warblers were reported at Frick Park 10/11 (JS, SS) and Beechwood Farms 11/2 (STh, SuT). A late Don’t Miss “Biggest Week” Yellow-throated Warbler report came from Wingfield Pines 10/5 (AP). Yellow-rumped Warblers were reported through October to The annual birding festival in northwestern Ohio near early November. The high count was 16 at Wingfield Pines 10/16 Toledo, aptly named “The Biggest Week in American Birding,” (ST). is scheduled for May 8-17. For details on the activities, see www. Late Chipping Sparrows include 2 at Harmar Twp. 11/17- biggestweekinamericanbirding.com. This is not a 3RBC outing, 20 (JV) and one in Pine Twp. 11/21 (PL, SL). A Clay-colored but about 60 members bird the area every May. Sparrow visited a yard in Pine Twp. 10/14 (PL, SL), a rarity in the Twenty warbler species a day are not unusual for the Magee county. The grassland sparrows at Imperial are still quite visible Marsh boardwalk. Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge and Oak in late summer. The trick is detecting them well into the fall, so Openings Preserve Metropark are other great areas for birding. the last dates are noteworthy. Four Vesper Sparrows were there The festival is coordinated by the Black Swamp Bird 10/3 (GM), one Savannah Sparrow was found 10/3 (GM) and a Observatory (www.bsbo.org) at the entrance to Magee Marsh. Henslow’s Sparrow was there that day (GM). The fourth county Jack Solomon ([email protected]) can answer general record of a Nelson’s Sparrow was an exciting find at Wingfield questions about the festival and birding in the area. Read about Pines 10/1 (ST). Despite followup searches, the bird was not club members’ experiences last year in the July/August 2014 issue relocated. Fox Sparrows moved through from 10/20-11/22 with of The Peregrine, page 9 (www.3rbc.org/newsarch/newsjul14.pdf).

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