If you’re an American Black Vulture (or ABV, aka Coragyps atratus), feasting on freshly squished squirrel is all in a day’s work and part of your duties as a sanitation worker.
MIGHTY MITE
Big things come in small packages, we’re told… and if you’d like some evidence to support that theory, boy-howdy, have I got a potent little parcel for you — the Golden-Crowned Kinglet!
A FLURRY OF SNOWBIRDS
Wondering where all the snowbirds have gone? Look no further than your own backyard!
FISHING FOR THE RIGHT TOOL
BY KIERAN LINDSEY, PhD Strolling through Lafayette Park early one evening, I took note of the usual suspects distributed along the edge of the centerpiece man-made lake as they waited patiently for red-and-white bobbers to disappear below the surface. The...
POLE-SITTERS
BY KIERAN LINDSEY, PhD 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 resumé, so to speak, read like a...
NUTCRACKER SUITE
BY KIERAN LINDSEY, PhD Ever wonder why hens’ teeth (and any other kind of avian teeth for that matter) are rare? It’s because teeth are heavy. That’s a problem if you live life on the wing but can’t use a knife and fork to cut your meals up into easy-to-swallow...
RUNNER-UP (repost)
BY KIERAN LINDSEY, PhD I don’t know what American grade school kids are being taught these days—my days at Oakville Elementary ended a couple of decades ago (okay, fine—several decades ago) so I don’t have direct access to 21st century homework assignments. But I’ll...
TANGLED UP IN BLUE
BY KIERAN LINDSEY, PhD Happiness is a shy little bird. Hiding from sight in life’s nooks and crannies, impossible to find if you look but then it darts out and lands on your shoulder just when you least expect it. It sidles up beside you like a pickpocket on a crowded...
OASIS
The heat of summer can make any body feel dry as dust. But wild animals, especially those species who can tolerate living near people, usually have an easier time finding some moisture when the mercury rises than when it falls.
SILENT FLIGHT
BY KIERAN LINDSEY, PhD The natural world outside my Midwestern door is preparing for a long winter nap. Cozy quilts made of homespun leaves keep tree feet from getting too cold. Seeds and insect eggs, the harvest of the previous growing season, have slipped into...