FRUIT LOOPY

FRUIT LOOPY

BY KIERAN LINDSEY, PhD Whenever I see a Cedar Waxwing (Bombycilla cedrorum) at this time of year I’m reminded of  my days as Executive Director of the Texas Wildlife Rehabilitation Center, back in the late 1990s. For a few weeks every winter, the Waxwings would...
LEARNING CURVES

LEARNING CURVES

BY KIERAN LINDSEY, PhD Do you remember being 15 years old and walking out the door of your local DMV with a learner’s permit in your sweaty hand? Perched on the edge of your family-of-origin nest with wings outstretched, ready to fly into the unfettered sky of...
BORDER BATTLES

BORDER BATTLES

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...
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...