tales from the wild metropolis
Identifying songbirds by their calls is not my forte. Sure, I can distinguish most common backyard residents with distinctive voices, including mourning doves (Coo.... coo, coo), Carolina chickadees (Fee-bee-fee-bay or chickadee-dee-dee), American robins (Cheerily, cheer-up, cheer-up! Cheerily, cheer-up!!), red-winged blackbirds (Conk-la-ree!), and the northern cardinal (Birdie, birdie, birdie! Cheer, cheer, cheer! — no wonder the... Continue Reading →
African elephants (Loxodonta africana) aren't usually considered an urban wildlife species but I'd come a long way and wanted to see them while I was in South Africa. The built environment just doesn't have the amenities Earth's largest living terrestrial mammal needs to feel at home. Africa's elephants prefer dense forests, woodlands, deserts, and even... Continue Reading →
My flight into Cape Town landed early last night, just before 9p. That was fine by me since, by that point, I'd been on the plane about 11.5 hours, and in transit from Blacksburg, Virginia for about 31 hours. For the next 10 days I'll be co-leading an international field experience for some of my... Continue Reading →
Fifty years ago, Rachel Carson asked the world to consider a simple question: imagine springtime without birdsong. Silent Spring addressed an unlikely subject for what was to become a best-selling book—the effect of DDT and other pesticides that persist in body tissue, becoming more and more concentrated as they move up the food chain (a... Continue Reading →
My mole Tboy (that’s spy, not insectivore) tells me Valentine’s Day has had its intended effect on the wood frog population in southwestern Virginia. On February 18th the first early-bird male appeared at a nearby pond, floating patiently and quietly. Four days later, 50 guys had found their way to the gene pool and were... Continue Reading →
Wildlife habitat—what images come to mind when you hear those words? Sweeping vistas where windblown grasses ripple like ocean waves, steep slabs of snow and stone high up on a mountain, or perhaps the dappled shadow and light of a forest primeval? How about glass-and-concrete skyscraper canyons, emerald green fairways shimmering with sprinkler system generated... Continue Reading →
Next-Door Nature 