Outside My Window

Eastern Marsh wren doing a split, October 2023 (photo by Steve Gosser) 28 October 2026 eBird’s 2026 taxonomy update is currently in progress for perhaps a couple of weeks.

Ginkgo survivor of the 1945 atomic bomb in Hiroshima, registry number E13a25-01 (photo from Wikimedia) 27 October 2026 In less than two weeks Pittsburgh’s ginkgo trees will turn brilliant yellow and start dropping their leaves.

Red sweetgum leaves in Oakland neighborhood, 20 October 2026 (photo by Kate St.

Crows in flight (photo by Mary Bailey via Creative Commons license on Flickr) 25 October 2026 Pittsburgh’s winter crow flock is back in town and they’re hanging out in my neighborhood.

Aerial view of Iguazu Falls (Foz de Iguaçu), normal flow, Nov 2005 (photo from Wikimedia) 25 October 2026 El Niño, a spate of very warm sea surface temperature in the Pacific, routinely triggers extreme weather events, droughts and floods.

Strong inversion in the Mon Valley at Clairton Coke Works, 23 Oct 2026, 7:09am (screenshot from BreatheCam Project) 23 October 2026 If you live in Pittsburgh’s Monongahela Valley and have smelled a rotten egg smell this week or you’re finding it hard to b…

Northern saw-whet owl banded at Sewickley Heights Park, 17 Oct 2026 (photo from Bob Mulvihill on Facebook) 22 October 2026 When Bob Mulvihill announced the start of this year’s Project Owlnet to band northern saw-whet owls, he was not optimistic about the…

House collapsed in the ocean at Rodanthe, May 2024 (photo from Wikimedia) 21 October 2026: Part 2 of The Ocean is Unforgiving When You Build Your House on Sand When I was a teenager my family used to vacation on the beach at Nags Head, North Carolina in c…

Ecco visits the nest at 6:30pm 19 Oct 2026 (photo from the National Aviary snapshot camera at Univ of Pittsburgh) 20 October 2026 Three weeks into October the Pitt peregrines, Ecco and Carla, have an established pattern to their days.

Woolly alder aphids (photo by Bob Lepak, Bugwood.org) 19 October 2026 Until the first killing frost woolly alder aphids (Prociphilus tessellatus) actively coat alder branches like fluffy white socks.

88 butterfly ventral view, Santa Rosa, Veracruz, MX, 5 Oct 2026 (photo by Kate St.

American beech leaves turning golden yellow, 10 Oct 2026 (photo by Kate St.

Niagara River at U.S. side of Niagara Falls, as seen from Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada (photo from Wikimedia) 16 October 2026 When we think of the Niagara River most of us think of Niagara Falls without realizing that the river is a whole lot more.

School of striped mullet in Pacific waters of Mexico 15 October 2026 Striped mullet, also called flathead grey mullet, (Mugil cephalus) are coastal fish with a worldwide distribution.

Bare-throated bellbird, calling (photo from Wikimedia) 14 October 2026 Which birds are the loudest on Earth?

Asian longhorned tick dorsal (top), from Wikimedia 13 October 2026 This morning the Post-Gazette highlighted a story by Mary Ann Thomas about a new tick in town whose method of reproduction explodes like a bomb.

Leaf cutter ants with leaves (photo from Wikimedia) 12 October 2026 Next to humans, leaf cutter ants form some of the largest and most complex animal societies on Earth. — Wikipedia Last week on the WINGS birding tour in Veracruz, Mexico we encountered a…

Morning glory or perhaps sweet potato in the Veracruz lowlands, 30 Sep 2026 (photo by Kate St.

Ruby-throated hummingbird hovering (photo from Wikimedia) 9 October 2026 One of the easiest hummingbirds to see on our birding tour in Veracruz, Mexico were our own ruby-throats.

“Sky island” in Puebla as seen from Veracruz, probably Volcán La Malinche, 4 October 2026 (photo by Kate St.

Aerial view of Pico de Orizaba = Citlaltépetl volcano at western border of Veracruz state (photo from Wikimedia) 7 October 2026 Today I leave Veracruz and Mexico to fly home to Pittsburgh.

Rufous-capped warbler (photo from Wikimedia) 6 October 2026, WINGS Veracruz: Migration is a Moving Experience: Day 7, traveling from Xalapa to Veracruz (city) Today we travel from the highlands at Xalapa to sea level at Veracruz.

Red warbler near Tepoztlán, Mexico (photo from Wikimedia) 5 October 2026, WINGS Veracruz: Migration is a Moving Experience: Day 6, the highlands around Xalapa and Cofre de Perote In the lowlands we saw many familiar northern-breeding birds within the migr…

Green-breasted mango Rivoli's hummingbird Amethyst-throated mountain-gem Blue-throated hummingbird Garnet-throated hummingbird Mexican sheartail with pollen on his head Bumblebee hummingbird Lucifer hummingbird Ruby-throated hummingbird Calliope hummingbi…

Anna’s 88 (Diaethria anna), ventral view (from Wikimedia) 3 October 2026, WINGS Veracruz: Migration is a Moving Experience: Day 5, the highlands near Xalapa “88” is not the count of butterflies we’ve seen on our birding tour.

Cascada de Texolo, Veracruz, Mexico (photo from Wikimedia) 2 October 2026, WINGS Veracruz: Migration is a Moving Experience: Day 4, Travel from Veracruz to the highlands at Xalapa After birding in the lowlands this morning we travel from Veracruz city to…

Veracruz wren (photo from Wikimedia) 1 October 2026, WINGS at Veracruz: Day 3, quiet beach roads, lowland areas, and savannah hotspots Today and tomorrow morning we’re visiting hotspots in the lowlands near metro Veracruz.

Broad-winged Hawks & Turkey Vultures in flight (cropped) from The Crossley ID Guide Raptors via Wikimedia 30 September 2026, WINGS at Veracruz: Day 2, Veracruz River of Raptors hawk watch plus shore and marsh hotspots On migration from North to South Amer…

Broad-winged hawks on migration (photo by Gregory “Slobirdr” Smith via Wikimedia) 29 September 2026, WINGS Veracruz: Migration is a Moving Experience: Day 1, Fly to Veracruz, tour begins at dinner. ==> I’ll be too busy to blog while I’m away and mostly off

Spotted knapweed closed on a gray day, Frick Park, 26 Sep 2026 (photo by Kate St.

Elk bugling, 2013 (photo by Paul Staniszewski) 27 September 2026 In September and October elk (Cervus canadensis) are in the rut in Pennsylvania.

Crows in flight (photo from Wikimedia Commons) 26 September 2026 Even though it’s September Pittsburgh’s winter crow flock is building in the East End.

Debris from a house collapse into the ocean at Rodanthe, NC, May 2024 (photo from Wikimedia) 25 September 2026 The road to Rodanthe, North Carolina on the Outer Banks is closed today because storm waves have breached it near the Pea Island Visitors Center.

Great horned owl family in a hollow tree (photo from Wikimedia) 24 September 2026 While studying bat roosts in the eastern U.S., Joy O’Keefe found that natural roosting sites provide better protection from temperature extremes than artificial ones.

Mexican long-nosed armadillo loping across a field (photo from Wikimedia) 23 September 2026 Three years ago, in April 2023, I wrote that Armadillos Are On Their Way to Pennsylvania.

Saint Mary’s Glacier and glacial lake, Colorado, August 2017 (photo from Wikimedia) 22 September 2026 St.

Bobcat kittens in North Texas (photo from WIkimedia) 21 September 2026 Another rainy day in Pittsburgh with yesterday’s Flood Watch lasting until noon today(*).

Tickseed beggarticks at Sewickley Heights Park, 11 Sept 2026 (photo by Kate St.

I hold a newly banded ovenbird at Bird Lab’s Hays Woods banding station, 15 September 2026 (photo by Shaina Kenny).

Pitt Peregrine “Red” at Tamarack Wildlife Center, summer 2026 (photo courtesy Tamarack Wildlife Center) 18 September 2026 Unfortunately I have some bad news to share.

Arctic fox in Nunavut, Canada (photo from Wikimedia Commons) 17 September 2026 We think nothing of birds flying from one continent to another but the idea of a mammal walking from Europe to North America boggles the mind.

Ruby-throated hummingbirds August 2019, Alberta (photo by dfaulder via Flickr Creative Commons license) 14 September 2026 Ruby-throated hummingbirds (Archilochus colubris) are heading south now to their winter homes in Central America.

American Bird Conservancy campaign to save the ospreys in Chesapeake Bay 15 September 2026 Just over a year ago I wrote about the collapse of the osprey (Pandion haliaetus) population on the sea side of Virginia’s Eastern Shore.

Peregrine on board ship in the Labrador Sea off the coast of Canada (video by Mango Julee on YouTube) 14 September 2026 On Sunday Malcolm Kurtz alerted me to a most unusual eBird checklist of four peregrine falcons that joined a ship in the Atlantic at the

Inchworm walking in Schenley Park, 4 Sep 2026 (photo by Kate St.

Coyote in a backyard in California (photo from Wikimedia) 12 September 2026 Coyotes have been in the City of Pittsburgh for at least 10 years but we usually don’t see them until autumn when the youngsters disperse from their birthplace and travel as much…

Bubbling fountain bird bath at Wild Wings Backyard Nature Store @wildwingsla 11 September 2026 The number of hummingbirds is dwindling in Pittsburgh and soon all our ruby-throats will be gone for points south.

Harris’s hawk in flight, falconer’s bird in Malta (photo from Wikimedia) 10 September 2026 Most raptors are solo hunters though mated pairs of peregrines, aplomado falcons and golden eagles will sometimes hunt cooperatively when there are young in the nes…

Green stink bug nymph, Schenley Park, 26 August 2026 (photo by Kate St.

Bottle gentian flowers, 1 Sept 2026 (photo by Kate St.