BY KIERAN LINDSEY, PhD [In honor of Halloween, a species dressed for the occasion!] Even though our cultural sings the praises of summer, it’s not my favorite season. I always welcome the crisp air, deeper blue (and, admittedly sometimes flat gray) skies, and red-orange-yellow leaf palette that arrives after the autumnal equinox. My appreciation of fall […]

BY KIERAN LINDSEY, PhD It seems to happen once each century. In 1775 the Redcoats showed up in Boston, the Beatles made a big splash about 200 years later in 1964, and in the sweet-spot in-between the House Sparrows (Passer domestics) arrived. It’s difficult to believe, given current controversies and political grandstanding, but for a long time […]

BY KIERAN LINDSEY, PhD Last Sunday morning I unexpectedly found myself sitting ringside for a brief but furious brawl. Two male red-bellied woodpeckers (Melanerpes carolinus) were having a boundary dispute that started with an argument over some shrubbery, then escalated into a full-on aerial assault. Colliding mid-air, they grasped one another by the feet and were […]

BY KIERAN LINDSEY, PhD My great-uncle Al was a creative man. A resourceful non-conformist.  That’s a euphemistic way of saying he was a hustler. Al never let logic or credentials stand between him and the chance to earn some cash. His resume, so to speak, read like a script from the popular movie and radio serials […]

BY KIERAN LINDSEY, PhD I was rather surprised to hear a soft, kittenish mewing as I walked through the park. Sure, I see free-roaming cats around the neighborhood from time to time but I can’t think of a single instance when I’ve spotted one in the park during daylight hours, and I’m in the park at […]