Category Archives: Animalia
Badger Bother
Some years ago while following a wide trail through a Yorkshire wood I came across a bunch of roughnecks in muddy boots who were offloading shovels and pickaxes from the back of a rusty van. Terriers were barking furiously in … Continue reading
Posted in Animalia
Tagged badger, badger baiting, badger cull, badger sett, Badger state, bovine tuberculosis, The Badger Trust
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Candid about Cats
When a gray cat started prowling around our yard I assumed it was a new neighbor. I was wrong, she was a new resident! I stumbled on her nest by chance a few days later. It was sheltered against the … Continue reading
Posted in Animalia
Tagged animal rescue, animal soul, C.S. Lewis, cats, feral cats, kittens, stray cats, trap-neuter-return, wild bird mortality
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Snake Hole
A snake has taken up residence in one of our bluebird boxes. Every morning three feet of coiled and blackened steel hose sunbathe on its roof. Four species of snakes call our yard home. This one, the Eastern ratsnake, is … Continue reading
Maungatautari
There’s an Isle, a green Isle, set in the sea… If you guessed Jean Blewett wrote this poem for Ireland on St. Patrick’s Day you are right. But the first line is also a good fit to New Zealand’s green … Continue reading
Posted in Animalia
Tagged conservation, kakapo, kiwi, Maungatautari, naturalist, New Zealand
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Wings
This post is scheduled to go online while I am flying over the Pacific Ocean from New Zealand to Los Angeles. It is a journey of 10,500 kilometers (6,500 miles) and about 12 hours. That’s a long flight, although short … Continue reading
Posted in Animalia
Tagged bird migration, Boeing 747-400, fuel economy, godwit, whimbrel
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