Pittsburgh Park Rangers

Highland Rangers spotted this Eastern Cottontail Rabbit after it was scared from its home by a nearby w**d wacker.
Rabbits rarely make their own den, instead they typically use depressions in earth and line them with fur. This little guy had three siblings that were nestled against a stump.

Rabbit Facts:
-Do NOT hibernate
-Two different “droppings”
-Hard pellets
-Soft pellets; they re-eat to get all the nutrients
-Crepuscular (active dawn and dusk)
-Produce up to 4 litters each year (5 young per litter)
-Short lives. 2 years average

Ranger Marya found this Elm Sphinx moth resting on a park office doorframe yesterday. It is an unusual but convenient spot for a species that typically relies on tree bark for camouflage.

Fun facts for fellow nature nerds (and the curious):

• Elm Sphinx adults don’t feed; all their energy comes from what they stored as caterpillars.
• Their streamlined bodies and long, narrow wings are engineered for fast, sustained flight. Some sphinx moth relatives can reach 30 mph.
• The caterpillars specialize on elm and birch, playing a quiet role in local forest ecology.
• Adults are mostly nocturnal, so seeing one inactive in daylight like this usually means it’s conserving energy or warming up its flight muscles.
• Those wing patterns aren’t just pretty, they break up the outline of the moth, helping it vanish into bark textures.

A good reminder that even a doorframe can double as a field site if you’re paying attention.

This weather has us dreaming of colder days 😅☀️

It’s hot aht there yinz. Stay safe and take caution outdoors!

Highland Park Rangers often see the Red-Eared Slider near Lake Carnegie. As much as we love turtles, this one is an invasive species. Threatening our native painted turtles by outcompeting them for food, basking areas and nesting sites. Almost exclusively populating our area by people illegally releasing their unwanted pet. Help our painted turtles out by properly rehoming your pets and not releasing them into our parks!

Happy Friday!

Last week your Frick Rangers received a report of a bat stuck on the trail. It turned out to be a tired mom with 3 babies hanging on! Rangers (carefully!) recovered the bats and transported them to a wildlife rehabilitation center. 🦇

Thank you Humane Animal Rescue of Pittsburgh Wildlife Rehabilition Center !

A tiny bee with a tremendous impact 🐝🌸

This honey bee may look like it’s simply enjoying a cozy moment with a clover blossom, but it’s actually carrying out one of the most important jobs in agriculture. In one photo, you can even see its tongue (called a proboscis) reaching towards the flower to collect nectar.

According to the USDA, honey bees are among the most important pollinators in the United States. Their work helps pollinate many of the crops we rely on for food, including fruits, vegetables, nuts, and seeds. By moving pollen from flower to flower, honey bees help plants produce the foods that support our communities and our agricultural economy.

Honey bees don’t just make honey, they help sustain our food system. Every visit to a clover blossom, orchard, or garden flower is part of a much bigger story: millions of tiny pollination journeys that keep American agriculture growing.

The next time you see a honey bee buzzing by, remember that this little worker is helping make our meals possible. 🐝🍀

🦆🐥🐥🐥🐥🐥🩷

Good afternoon and happy Tuesday from the Allegheny Commons!

Get your ducks in a row and come check out some upcoming Ranger programming in the Northside🦆:

* The Ranger table at this week’s Northside Farmers Market on Friday the 26th 🧑‍🌾

* Beginner tree ID hike on Saturday July 11th at 10:30 am in Allegheny Commons🌳

* Mushroom ID hike on Saturday July 18th at 1:00 pm in Riverview Park 🍄

Check out our eventbrite by clicking on the link in our bio where you can find out more information and register for these hikes. We hope to see you soon!

Is this weather bugging anyone else?!? ☔️ 🐛 🐝

Who the heck is the ohio haircap?

Mosses are maybe our most overlooked plants here in the Pittsburgh parks. Only about 12 percent of the 12,000 known species even have common names. Yet these humble little plants have ancient origins, and are vital to recolonizing disturbed areas. Take this haircap moss, which was growing happily on a shale pile in Hays Woods. Maybe you’ve seen them on bare rock or brick, or evening growing on trees.

Mosses were the first type of plant to colonize land, emerging from the oceans millions of years before the first animals. Having mastered the most rugged terrain early, they have evolved very little since then. They still lack roots, vascular system and flowers to reproduce. Like ferns they spread via spores. Their simple durable design has allowed them to persist millions of years in some of the most harsh conditions on the planet.

Next time you’re out, take a look at the forest floor and see if you can spot any of these living fossils!