Carnegie Museum of Natural History

One of the Four Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh

Blogs from Powdermill Nature Reserve

Powdermill Nature Reserve is Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s environmental research center. Located 55 miles southeast of Pittsburgh in Rector, Pennsylvania, Powdermill is a field station and laboratory where researchers do long-term studies of natural populations in western Pennsylvania. In addition to being positioned for Appalachian-specific studies in ornithology, ecology, invertebrate zoology, and botany, Powdermill is a great place to spend a fun-filled day outdoors with the family.

by

Hatching-year female and Cape May Warbler male

female and male warbler

At first glance, these two birds may seem unrelated, but they are actually male and female of the same type. Females can be tricky to identify when birding, but look for the heavily streaked breast on a drably plumaged warbler.

Powdermill Nature Reserve’s avian research center is part of Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s biological research station in Rector, Pennsylvania.  The research center operates a bird banding station, conducts bioacoustical research, and performs flight tunnel analysis with the goal of reducing window collisions.

 

by

Bird Banding

yellow and grey bird with blue eyes

Did you know that over the last 55 years, Carnegie Museum of Natural History staff have banded nearly three quarters of a million birds at Powdermill Nature Reserve, the museum’s environmental research center in Rector, Pennsylvania?

Powdermill’s banding program began in 1961 and is the longest continually running banding program in the United States. Data from the program has been used to show that birds are adapting to climate change by breeding a month earlier than they did in 1961.

Powdermill Nature Reserve’s avian research center is part of Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s biological research station in Rector, Pennsylvania.  The research center operates a bird banding station, conducts bioacoustical research, and performs flight tunnel analysis with the goal of reducing window collisions.

 

by

Cape May Warbler

Cape May Warbler

The common name of the species comes from Cape May, New Jersey, where Alexander Wilson first described it. After the initial recording, these birds were not recorded in the area for more than 100 years.

Powdermill Nature Reserve’s avian research center is part of Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s biological research station in Rector, Pennsylvania.  The research center operates a bird banding station, conducts bioacoustical research, and performs flight tunnel analysis with the goal of reducing window collisions.

 

by

Black-and-white Warbler

Black and White Warbler a black bird with white stripes

This is probably one of the easiest warblers to identify with it’s name being quite literal.

Powdermill Nature Reserve’s avian research center is part of Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s biological research station in Rector, Pennsylvania.  The research center operates a bird banding station, conducts bioacoustical research, and performs flight tunnel analysis with the goal of reducing window collisions.

 

by

After-hatching-year Mourning Warbler

warbler bird wtih a grey head and bright yellow breast

Both of these male and female bird types pretend to have broken wings to distract predators close to their nest.

Powdermill Nature Reserve’s avian research center is part of Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s biological research station in Rector, Pennsylvania.  The research center operates a bird banding station, conducts bioacoustical research, and performs flight tunnel analysis with the goal of reducing window collisions.

 

by

Hummingbird Bands

tiny hummingbird band similar in size to the point of a pencil

At Powdermilll Nature Reserve, researchers use different sized bands for different sized birds, which helps them track the movement and lifespan of populations.

The band pictured above is a hummingbird band. It is so small that the customary nine-digit band number is reduced to five digits with a letter prefix.

Powdermill Nature Reserve’s avian research center is part of Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s biological research station in Rector, Pennsylvania.  The research center operates a bird banding station, conducts bioacoustical research, and performs flight tunnel analysis with the goal of reducing window collisions.