VICE SQUAD

VICE SQUAD

BY KIERAN LINDSEY, PhD I was just trying to help, I swear.  In fact, the primary directive in wildlife rehabilitation is: First, do no harm. But the indignant male Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis) I had just lifted out of a shoe box clearly...
THE HAWK WHO MISTOOK HER MATE FOR A MEAL

THE HAWK WHO MISTOOK HER MATE FOR A MEAL

BY KIERAN LINDSEY, PhD Seriously, it could happen to anyone. Well, any working mom operating on instinct and snap-judgements who needs to snag some groceries before she flies back home to those perpetually ravenous kiddos. Okay… maybe it couldn’t happen to anyone. But...
NOCTURNE

NOCTURNE

BY KIERAN LINDSEY, PhD The melody seeped into my REM cycle, making me just lucid enough to believe someone was singing a cappella outside my window. But my sleep-clouded brain couldn’t make out the words and I didn’t recognize the voice either. Besides, who would want...
THE JET SET

THE JET SET

BY KIERAN LINDSEY, PhD Everyone has their own personal markers of summer—the flash of a firefly, the pulsing hum of cicadas, the aroma of freshly cut grass… I’m sure you have a favorite.  To my mind, nothing says summer quite as definitively as the sight...
HELICOPTER PARENT

HELICOPTER PARENT

BY KIERAN LINDSEY, PhD As the most literal of helicopter parents, a ruby-throated hummingbird mom (RTH, Archilochus colubris) takes hovering to a whole new competitive level. In the case of this feathered sprite (2.8 – 3.5″ long, including bill, and just over 1/10 of...