Fall 2017 Summary

The Fall 2017 BirdSafe Pittsburgh monitoring season has come to an end. In this post we will summarize the season and look at how many birds of what species were found by volunteers. As always this project could not be done without the tireless dedication of our volunteers. Our thanks goes out to them as we look back on another season of BirdSafe Pittsburgh.

In general we had a different fall than usual. September started out cold but ended up unseasonably warm. This was the same throughout the Northeast United States. The longer lasting warmer weather allowed insects to stick around keeping birds around as well. The birds did eventually leave, but not en masse like we normally see. Instead we had birds trickling through over many weeks. This trickle was reflected in how many birds were found by volunteers throughout the fall, as shown in Figures 1-3 below.

Number of birds found in July and August of 2017

Off Season	# birds found
7/21/2017	0
7/25/2017	0
7/28/2017	0
8/1/2017	0
8/2/2017	0
8/3/2017	0
8/4/2017	0
8/7/2017	1
8/8/2017	0
8/10/2017	0
8/11/2017	0
8/15/2017	0
8/17/2017	1
8/18/2017	0
8/22/2017	1
8/24/2017	0
8/25/2017	0
8/28/2017	1
8/29/2017	1
8/31/2017	1
Grand Total	6

Figure 1. Number of birds found in July and August, 2017

Number of birds found in September 2017

September	# birds found
9/6/2017	3
9/7/2017	2
9/8/2017	11
9/9/2017	1
9/10/2017	0
9/12/2017	3
9/13/2017	1
9/14/2017	5
9/15/2017	0
9/16/2017	2
9/17/2017	3
9/18/2017	8
9/19/2017	4
9/20/2017	2
9/21/2017	2
9/22/2017	5
9/23/2017	5
9/24/2017	1
9/25/2017	0
9/26/2017	4
9/27/2017	1
9/28/2017	2
9/29/2017	0
9/30/2017	6
Grand Total	72

Figure 2. Number of birds found in September, 2017

Number of birds found in October 2017

October	# birds found
10/1/2017	5
10/2/2017	3
10/3/2017	11
10/4/2017	1
10/5/2017	1
10/6/2017	0
10/7/2017	1
10/8/2017	1
10/9/2017	0
10/10/2017	2
10/11/2017	1
10/12/2017	0
10/13/2017	1
10/14/2017	0
10/15/2017	1
10/16/2017	4
10/17/2017	2
10/18/2017	1
10/19/2017	0
10/20/2017	0
10/21/2017	1
10/22/2017	1
10/23/2017	0
10/24/2017	0
10/25/2017	0
10/26/2017	1
10/27/2017	4
10/28/2017	3
10/29/2017	2
10/30/2017	0
10/31/2017	3
Grand Total	50

Figure 3. Number of birds found in October, 2017

This fall we found a lower number of birds found than we have in past fall seasons. In total we found 128 birds, 104 dead and 24 alive. The live birds were transported to Humane Animal Rescue’s wildlife center in Verona where they were treated and released. Over the past two previous years we found remarkably similar number of birds in the fall. In 2015 we found 171 birds, 105 dead and 65 alive. Then in the fall of 2016 we found 173 birds, 124 dead, and 48 alive. So, similar to this past spring, we saw a decline in the number of birds found.

Number of live and dead birds found in Fall 2017

Live vs Dead	# of birds
Dead	104
Stunned	24
Grand Total	128

Figure 4. Number of live and dead birds found in the fall of 2017

Of the 128 birds we found this fall none were new to BirdSafe Pittsburgh. You can find some images of birds found during the fall season at the bottom of the page. Also visit the Volunteer page to learn how you can help BirdSafe Pittsburgh make Pittsburgh a safer place for birds.

Total birds found in Fall 2017

Species of Birds	# of birds
Acadian Flycatcher	1
American Goldfinch	1
American Redstart	2
American Robin	2
Bay-breasted warbler	4
Black-and-White Warbler	4
Blackpoll Warbler	1
Brown Creeper	1
Cape May Warbler	1
Cedar Waxwing	5
Chestnut-sided Warbler	1
Common Grackle	1
Common Yellowthroat	7
Connecticut Warbler	1
Dark-eyed Junco	1
Downy Woodpecker	1
Eastern wood-pewee	1
Eastern wood-pewee	3
European Starling	1
Gray Catbird	7
Gray-cheeked Thrush	3
Hermit Thrush	2
Hooded Warbler	1
House Finch	1
House Sparrow	3
Kentucky Warbler	1
Magnolia Warbler	6
Mourning Dove	2
Nashville Warbler	2
Northern Flicker	1
Ovenbird	11
Red-eyed Vireo	1
Rock Pigeon	6
Ruby-throated Hummingbird	3
Song Sparrow	2
Swainson’s Thrush	1
Tennessee Warbler	9
Unknown Sparrow	1
Unknown Species	5
Unknown Warbler Spp.	8
White-throated Sparrow	6
Wilson’s Warbler	1
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker	5
Yellow-billed Cuckoo	1
Grand Total	128

Figure 5. Number of birds found in the fall of 2017