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SPARKS

SPARKS

by | Jul 22, 2021 | Invertebrates, Wildlife

BY KIERAN LINDSEY, PhD Walking through the park at dusk the other night, I saw a single spark. Then another. Soon there were too many to count, hovering in the airspace between my chin and my ankles, lighting my way past the lake, the band stand, and the Park House....
BLUE PERIOD

BLUE PERIOD

by | Jul 8, 2021 | Reptiles, Wildlife

BY KIERAN LINDSEY, PhD Picasso was feeling low. Following the suicide of his friend and occasional roommate, the painter Carles Casagemas, Pablo plunged into a rock-bottom depression that lasted more than 3 years. During this time (1901 to 1904), the vividly...
TANGLED UP IN BLUE

TANGLED UP IN BLUE

by | Jun 10, 2021 | Birds, Wildlife

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...
ENDEMIC IMMIGRANTS

ENDEMIC IMMIGRANTS

by | Oct 14, 2020 | Birds, Wildlife

A prominent German-American publisher in St. Louis at that time, sponsored the Transatlantic voyage of a dozen Eurasian Tree Sparrows (Passer montanus, aka German sparrows) and representatives of 5 other species from his fatherland. Hoping to establish colonies in the Missouri Rhineland, shortly after their arrival the itinerant avians were released into the park.

FISH, OUT OF WATER

FISH, OUT OF WATER

by | Sep 16, 2020 | Birds, Wildlife

BY KIERAN LINDSEY, PhD Sometimes, what may appear as indolence, indecision, or timid reluctance is, in fact, a strategic decision to bide one’s time until the moment is right. Consider, if you will, the Belted Kingfisher (Megaceryle alcyon). These stocky...