Indian Hill

Indian Hill in Boyce Park was planted with a huge wildflower meadow in 2016. Very quickly it became spectacularly beautiful. I visited on this July 15 and spent several happy hours investigating.

Indian Hill used to be best known as a decent sledding hill in winter, but the rest of the year it wasn't used very much. Stormwater runoff was a problem as well. This project helps the park by trapping rainwater and drastically reducing the need to mow. And it's a magnet for pollinators as well as seed eating birds. On my visit, I discovered butterflies everywhere, especially tiger swallowtails. Black-eyed Susans are the dominant flower, resplendent in their Pittsburgh colors. 

To find the meadow, enter Boyce Park at its main entrance off Center Rd., turn right onto Centerview Drive, and you will see the meadow on the right after only about a quarter mile. There is ample parking on both sides of the road and a port-a-pot is available. It would be a glorious spot for a picnic on a summer evening.

Hummingbird clearwing moth and wild bergamot. These strange little animals mimic hummingbirds pretty effectively. This works for them because their main predators are birds that eat insects but will leave other birds alone. There are tons of hummingbird moths at Indian Hill.

Hummingbird clearwing moth. You can see the spots on its wings where the scales have flaked off. That happens because the moth beats its wings at a top speed of 85 times per second, faster than a real hummingbird (60-80 times per second).

Hummingbird clearwing moth. They even buzz a little when they fly, and they are fast. So it's very easy to mistake them for a real hummingbird.

Silver spotted skipper butterfly.

Silver spotted skipper butterfly, reeling in its proboscis. 

Silver spotted skipper.

Silver spotted skipper. 

Monarch butterfly and purple coneflower. The wild bergamot is very popular with most butterflies, but the monarchs seem to prefer purple coneflower. 

Eastern tiger swallowtail.

Eastern tiger swallowtail.

Eastern tiger swallowtail.

Whitetail skimmer dragonfly.

Butterfly weed.

Bumble bee diving into wild bergamot.

Red admiral butterfly.

Red admiral butterfly.

Female scarlet tanager. These birds like to eat insects, and the meadow gives them a buffet of tasty bugs.

Spicebush swallowtail butterfly.

Spicebush swallowtail butterfly.

Spicebush swallowtail butterfly.

Cabbage white butterfly.

Black eyed Susan.

Large-flowered tickseed.

Black eyed Susan.

Eastern tiger swallowtail.

Ohio spiderwort.

Blazing star.

Eastern tiger swallowtail.