Category: "Birds"
MEOW MIX-UP

MEOW MIX-UP

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...

GRASSROOTS

GRASSROOTS

BY KIERAN LINDSEY, PhD Sometimes the grass really is greener on the other side of the fence, especially if your yard-care ethic is benign neglect, and your neighbor is a wannabe greenskeeper. Generally speaking, though, the sentiment behind that familiar grassy idiom...

HEADBANGER

HEADBANGER

BY KIERAN LINDSEY, PhD Rushing out the door, I went over the list in my head: Shorts and a breathable tee—check. Running shoes—check. Baseball cap, sunglasses, and sunblock—check. Keys and ID—check.  Workout playlist queued up on the smartphone in my...

BROKEN RECORD

BROKEN RECORD

BY KIERAN LINDSEY, PhD Arrrggghhh!  I can NOT get that song out of my head!!  I don't know where I heard it, maybe on the grocery store's Music to Inspire Endcap Impulse Purchases station. It's familiar but definitely not a favorite. I have eclectic musical tastes...

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...

FLIGHT SCHOOL

FLIGHT SCHOOL

BY KIERAN LINDSEY, PhD This year's class of Canada geese (Branta canadensis) naval aviators have started flight school! I’ve been watching these youngsters on daily dog-walks in the park since early May. When they first showed up I noticed their resemblance, in size...

BAREFOOT IN THE PARK

BAREFOOT IN THE PARK

BY KIERAN LINDSEY, PhD Walking with my terrier-boy in Lafayette Park, I often happen upon the beginning of a late-afternoon performance by the American Robin Ballet Company. The dancers scatter across the lawn, their dark charcoal cloaks and garnet waistcoats vivid...

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 of chimney...

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...