Great news for Philly's Migrant Birds!

It's Toribird here, bringing great news for Philadelphia's birds and bird lovers! Philly has finally joined over 30 other cities in a Lights Out program to give migrant birds safer passage. Many major Center City skyscrapers have voluntarily agreed to turn off all outside lights. This will be done from midnight to 6am during peak migration season, April 1 - May 31st and August 15 - November 15.

Congratulations, Philly, on joining Lights Out! Photo by Toribird.

Though it may seem surprising, many birds, including most songbirds, travel at night, as this has the benefit of helping them avoid predators and stay cool. These nocturnal migrants likely use cues from stars to help them navigate, so city lights disorient and distract them, often resulting in fatal collisions with windows. Lights Out will save thousands of bird lives each year, help save money, and reduce the city's carbon footprint - all in one neat package!

This male House Finch was a window strike victim. Found this past Saturday, March 13th.

This accomplishment was made possible by Bird Safe Philly, a recently-formed partnership that works to mitigate bird-window collisions in the city. The catalyst for this partnership was a tragic event last October when over 1,000 migrating birds collided with Philadelphia buildings and perished in a single night. Situated along the East Coast Flyway, Philadelphia is an important stop for migrants coming from all across the Americas. Birds like the Blackpoll Warbler and Gray-cheeked Thrush flying from the boreal forest in Canada and Alaska to South American tropics stopover here, often feeding and resting right in our backyards.

You can help gather data to further focus actions to prevent window strikes! If you happen to find a dead bird in the Philadelphia area, particularly if it appears the bird hit a window, I urge you to snap a few pictures and submit your observation to the Bird Safe Philly Bird Strikes Project through iNaturalist. This iNaturalist project allows local scientists and bird advocates to collect vital information about where the most window-caused bird deaths occur, which will hopefully help persuade the owners of those particularly problematic buildings to take steps to diminish bird fatalities.

Also, I encourage you to take simple actions in your own home to help ensure that Philadelphia is a safe and welcoming place for migrant birds. You can participate in Lights Out by turning off your own outdoor lights at night, or using downward-directed lights if turning them off is not possible, as well as pulling the shades if using indoor lights late into the night. Take part from April 1 to May 31st and from August 15 to November 15 between midnight and 6am. Please join me in taking the Lights Out Philly Residential Pledge!

Participating in Lights Out protects birds like this male Blackpoll Warbler when they stop in your neighborhood on their way north from the tropics. This picture was taken around the corner from my home in West Philly. Photo by Toribird.

Written by:
Toribird

William Hamilton's Roses

William Hamilton was famous for his voracious plant collecting, and was passionate about rare plants. His greenhouse at The Woodlands held over 10,000 plant specimens and was one of the most important horticultural sites in the country in the 18th century. In celebration of Valentine’s Day Weekend, we are sharing the story of how the first red roses were introduced to America by our own William Hamilton at The Woodlands.

In November, 1785 William Hamilton wrote to his private secretary in Philadelphia of the “red monthly rose” and in February, 1788 he wrote again of “the two or three cuttings of the china rose, which I planted in pots.” The rose Hamilton was referring to was known commonly as ‘Slater’s Crimson China’ and was one of the first four “stud roses” to come from China.

Before the last decades of the 18th century, the only roses with which Westerners were familiar were fragrant, pink flowered, coarse shrubs that bloomed once a year in late spring. These flowers were popular but were mostly admired for their medicinal value. The arrival of the China roses created both excitement and lust among European and American gardeners. The flowers of the China rose themselves were small and scentless, borne on twiggy, somewhat shapeless plants. What was revolutionary about these roses was the color of the flowers, which opened true red, yellow, and blush, depending on the variety. 

Roses planted by a Grave Gardener in the Jayne Family Plot at The Woodlands.

Pictured here is a red China rose planted in one of two grave gardens in the Jayne Family Plot in Section D, not far from the Hamilton Mansion. Dr. David Jayne was a 19th century doctor who operated a pharmacy in Philadelphia and exported medicines worldwide. The rose planted here represents both the history and value of early roses, and the new possibilities the China Red Rose offered the gardening world.

Hamilton was one of the first-if not the very first- persons in America to acquire the China rose. There would be no red roses in your Valentine bouquet if not for the introduction of China rose, and for the accomplishments over the next two centuries of many horticultural careers devoted to its hybridization. Crossed with the old European varieties, it is the ancestor of nearly all the modern roses we love today.

Promenades and English Gardens

On a surprisingly sunny day for England in September 2019, over 500 people in Regency style dress strolled from Sydney Garden through the streets of Bath, led by the 33rd Regiment of Foot, red-coat reenactment soldiers and the town crier. This was the world-famous and record-breaking event known as the Grand Regency Costumed Promenade, the official opening to the annual Jane Austen Festival in the beautiful Georgian city of Bath, England. The Promenade is the largest of all festival events and is a nod to the social and cultural phenomenon that was walking in public during the Regency era. Jane Austen also used the act of walking as a tool in character and plot development in her novels. After all, many important plot elements are revealed during walks in the country or by the sea in Persuasion and Mr. Knightly often opts for country walks instead of using his carriage in Emma.

Walking for exercise, fashion, and as a social event was an important part of Regency life, especially those of the upper class privileged to using promenading and strolling as a recreational event to see and be seen. For the ladies and gentlemen of the upper class, walks were never undertaken as a means of travel (they had a carriage for that), but rather for enjoyment and display through public places. Women especially took advantage of these public social outings as an opportunity to publicly promenade with other stylish people in the latest fashions. Walking or promenade dresses featured unique design details and were subject to their own fast-changing trends in color and fabrics. Adorning your hair with feathers and ribbon was also popular, and it’s easy to make your own Jane Austen style headband at home.

William Groombridge, The Woodlands, the Seat of William Hamilton, Esq., 1793, oil on canvas, 45 5/8 x 58 1/8 in. (115.8 x 147.6 cm). Santa Barbara Museum of Art, Gift of Mrs. Sterling Morton for the Preston Morton Collection.

Those especially fortunate to promenade often walked in the delightful and picturesque paths of English landscape gardens like Stowe in Buckinghamshire, and Stourhead in and Wiltshire. Also known more simply as the “English garden,” landscapes such as Stowe and Stourhead are examples of the style that emerged in England in the18th century as the predominant gardening style of Europe. Much more informal than previous styles of symmetry and order, these gardens drew inspiration from idealized pastoral landscapes and idyllic paintings, often with groves of trees, paths to reveal specific views, and interspersed examples of classical architecture. Sound familiar? This is the world William Hamilton was accustomed to and the aesthetic theories that greatly influenced the building and landscape design of The Woodlands.*

James Peller Malcolm, The Woodlands From the Bridge at Gray’s Ferry, c. 1792–94, in Beth C. Wees and Medill H. Harvey, Early American Silver in the Metropolitan Museum of Art (2013), 259. [2]

Hamilton entertained guests at The Woodlands during the Philadelphia social season, like many Philadelphians with similar means and prestige. It is quite exciting to think of visitors promenading around the site and experiencing the winding paths and surprising vistas in the garden of the mansion overlooking the Schuylkill River. In a letter from L.G. to her sister Eliza after a visit to The Woodlands in 1788 she describes a walk with Hamilton around the landscape:

“Mr. Hamilton was remarkably polite - he took us round his walks which are planted on each side with the most beautiful & curious flowers & shrubs they are in some parts enclosed with the Lombardy poplar except here & there openings are left to give you a view of some fine trees or beautiful prospect beyond...when you arrive at the bottom of the lawn along the borders of the river you find quite a natural walk which takes the form of the grounds entirely shaded with trees...

 It would take several days to be perfectly acquainted with the various beauties of this charming place."[1]

This year, we are bringing the tradition of promenading and strolling through English gardens and the spirit of Austen’s writing to the Woodlands with the first ever Jane Austen Promenade on February 13, 2021 from 3:00-5:00PM! In celebration of the things that make The Woodland’s landscape so special (and to give us a reason to step away from our screens and enjoy the simple pleasures of the outdoors!) we invite you to promenade with us. You can learn more about the event here.

* Did you know: The reputation of The Woodlands and Hamilton’s expertise in botany and landscape design earned him an invitation from Thomas Jefferson in 1806 to help him lay out the gardens in Monticello? Richard J. Betts writes in his article “The Woodlands” and book Jefferson's Garden Book (322-24) that Jefferson sent a letter to Hamilton, but it is unknown how Hamilton responded and unlikely he visited Monticello. Still, pretty cool!

Written by:
Nicole Felicetti

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References:
[1] Betts, Richard J. “The Woodlands.” Winterthur Portfolio, vol. 14, no. 3, 1979, pp. 213–234. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/1180658. Accessed 4 Feb. 2021.
[2] William Hamilton - History of Early American Landscape Design. https://heald.nga.gov/mediawiki/index.php/William_Hamilton#Images. Accessed 4 Feb. 2021.

Birding at The Woodlands: Attracting Birds in the Snow

Snow is hopefully right around the corner! When snow seems to blanket everything in sight, ground-foraging birds can have some trouble finding food. So with wintery weather predicted this week, I invite you to try a neat new way of attracting birds to your yard. Read on to see how you can use something as simple as a tarp to create a winter songbird buffet!

Dark-eyed Juncos are cute winter sparrows, and colloquially known as Snowbirds. Photo taken at The Woodlands by Toribird.

Just before the flakes begin to fall, spread a tarp across an open patch of ground in your yard. If you can, set it up in a place where seeds may have fallen, such as under bird feeders or near tall native grasses. If that's not possible for you, no worries - just toss a couple cups of birdseed across the area. When the snowstorm is over, lift up the tarp to uncover the bare ground underneath. This patch becomes a sort of oasis in the snowy landscape, and can funnel in birds who are looking for a meal. It's a good way to try to get a species to visit that you've never seen in your yard before!

A bright male cardinal like this one may visit your yard, and bring a welcome splash of color! Photo taken at The Woodlands by Toribird.

There are also natural places that provide food for birds when it snows. Wide, dense bushes, particularly evergreens, can keep ground bare and have an effect similar to that of the tarp, as well as provide some shelter from the cold. Check out some of the Yew bushes near Center Circle to see this phenomenon in action. Also, taller plants such as goldenrod or purpletop grass have seeds that are high enough to remain uncovered and accessible to birds. The small meadow near the mansion at The Woodlands is chock-full of these sorts of plants and thus very popular with birds on a snowy day!

The most frequent visitors to a snow-day cafe, whether natural or man-made, are likely to be sparrows. From the handsome slate-and-white Dark-eyed Junco, to the White-throated Sparrow sporting racing stripes on the head, these active little birds keep the scene full of lively flutter and chatter. If you live in a particularly urban area, the non-native House Sparrow from the Old World may dominate the scene. Other species, such as the classic Northern Cardinal and portly yet elegant Mourning Dove may also come. And you never know what additional surprises might drop in!

If we get snow this week, we will be setting up a tarp of our own at The Woodlands! It will be by the meadow, to the west of the mansion. I hope you get a chance to swing by and check out the songbirds stopping by to dine!

A video of White-throated Sparrows and cardinals enjoying an exposed and well-seeded patch at The Woodlands on the evening of December 21. Video by Toribird.

Written by:
Toribird

Birding at The Woodlands: Migration and a Call to Action

There truly is no other event on the birding calendar quite like migration! The southward movement of birds is in full swing, and there are lots of fascinating feathered friends taking a pit stop here in Philly. Some of my favorite avian travelers are the diminutive warblers. Like many other birds, they migrate at night and pause to feed and rest when dawn comes. To spot warblers, search out trees lit by the soft fall morning sunlight, and you will likely be rewarded with the royal pattern of a male Black-throated Blue Warbler, or the flickering color in an American Redstart's tail. 

This male American Redstart shows off his striking coal-and-fire plumage. Photo by Toribird.

Several Ospreys, presumably migrants, were seen flying over the Woodlands at the Bird Calls morning concert in late August. Photo by Toribird.

Birds much larger than warblers are also on the move. On a brisk day with winds out of the northwest (optimal for migration), you may see gulls, raptors, herons, and nighthawks pass by overhead. If you are lucky, you may even catch large flocks (called kettles) with double-digit numbers of Broad-winged Hawks circling high above! If you are interested in finding out when the most migrants will be coming through, check out BirdCast. It's a website that analyzes various factors, including wind direction and radar, to predict how strong bird flight will be over the next three days. It now even lets you easily look at migration alerts for your local area!  

And, on top of all the birds already mentioned, Red-breasted Nuthatches are already moving in! Like many boreal seedeaters, these nuthatches are an irruptive species (to read more about irruptive birds, I invite you to look at this previous blog post). Since the food source of these birds can fluctuate substantially, they must be able to adjust from year to year. Luckily for us Pennsylvania birders, this adjustment sometimes means that the birds come down to our area for the colder months of the year. 

Illustration of a Carolina Parakeet by Alexander Wilson, a prominent early American ornithologist. The other three birds in the picture are (from left to right) Wilson's Warbler, Canada Warbler, and Hooded Warbler. The warblers have escaped extinction, at least for now - a haunting echo of the one in four birds lost. Picture from Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History.

On a more solemn note, we just recently hit the one-year anniversary of the staggering finding that North America has lost three billion birds in the last 50 years. That's the equivalent of having lost 1 in 4 birds since 1970. Perhaps the most worrisome part of this finding is that it's not only endangered species that are declining, but even common birds like Chimney Swifts and Herring Gulls are having a hard time as well. 

I'd like to take a moment to reflect on the species that we have already lost. Last winter saw the premier of a remarkable choral piece focused on four extinct North American birds. Here, you can hear the movements dedicated to the Passenger Pigeon and the Carolina Parakeet. Both of these birds graced the Pennsylvania landscape in the time of William Hamilton. 

Luckily, there are things we can all do to prevent the birds that are still with us from meeting the same dark fate as the Passenger Pigeon and Carolina Parakeet.

Here are seven simple actions to help birds: 

1. Make windows safer - up to one billion birds die each year from colliding with windows. Applying decals, tempera paint, or stripe patterns spaced four inches apart horizontally to the outside surface of windows greatly reduces bird strikes. 

2. Keep cats indoors or on a leash - cats make wonderful pets, but pose a significant threat to wildlife when left to their own devices, and kill about 2 and a half billion birds a year. Having cats as indoor pets or trained to walk on leashes is more humane for both cats and birds.

3. Use native plants - native plants are an essential source of food for birds, both directly and by providing a food source for the insects that birds rely on. As increasingly large swaths of habitat are destroyed, it is all the more important that we give birds the resources they need. 

4. Avoid pesticides - these toxic chemicals can have deadly impact on birds if they are ingested, and have taken a severe toll on the insect population, which in turn also affects birds. Staying away from pesticides is much healthier for both people and birds. 

5. Drink shade-grown coffee - the majority of coffee is grown on sun plantations that offer about as many ecological resources as a parking lot. Shade-grown coffee, as the name implies, is grown under tall trees and largely preserves the habitat. 

6. Use less plastic - many birds, particularly those that live in or near the ocean, will frequently mistake plastic items for food. Stay away from single-use plastic as much as possible. 

7. Watch birds and share what you see - citizen science is a vital part of tracking bird population trends. With increased knowledge, it becomes easier to identify how to best help at-risk species. Consider submitting your bird observations to eBird, a global database.

Written by:
Toribird