23 March 2024
This week non-native flowering bushes placed on a display within the town of Pittsburgh. At first from China and Japan their rising season is previous than our local bushes.
This month’s three-day spurts of highs within the 60s and 70s precipitated the purple maples to flower and get started generating seeds.
Final Saturday I visited Wolf Creek Narrows, nearly an hour north of Pittsburgh, the place the rising season is later than at house. There we discovered an enchanting jelly fungi known as witches butter (Tremella mesenterica) …
… and a decapitated skunk cabbage that allowed us to look the spadix inside of. The hood in most cases covers this construction however one thing ate the hood. What animal may just post with the scent to devour that hood? After which the animal would vomit since the plant is poisonous.
I promised you an owl.
Impressed via Steve Gosser‘s photograph of an American woodcock at North Park Higher Fields on 4 March, two people stood out within the chilly on Thursday night time looking forward to sundown and for American woodcocks to make their twittering courtship flights. The sky used to be transparent and the moon used to be so vibrant that we had moon shadows. It used to be additionally 5°F chillier than at house within the town and I introduced the improper gloves. Brrrr!
In spite of the chilly it used to be well worth the commute. Part an hour after sundown 3 American woodcocks placed on a display and two flew proper previous us on their strategy to the sky.
However the giant wonder of the night time got here sooner than the woodcocks. Karyn noticed a great-horned owl fly out of the pines and land on most sensible of a broom pile. The owl used to be looking whilst the voice of a young person begged for meals from pines.
In the meantime a 2d grownup owl flew to a naked tree on the different finish of the sphere the place shall we see its silhouette towards the sparkling sky. Despite the fact that my cell phone isn’t excellent at distance pictures, you’ll faintly see the ear tufts that end up that this 2d chicken of prey is a great-horned owl.
Spring is getting fascinating.
(credit are within the captions)