Nature Note: A Naturalist's Travels Through Nature

Today when I came home from work, I rescued a squirrel from our dumpster. It likely had jumped in through the chewed hole on the double plastic lids that protected our trash until it was ready to be hauled to another patch of earth further away. I wasn't surprised to see the squirrel in there at all. After all, they were the ones that chewed the hole. It's amazing to think that in a few, short generations, these wild animals have adapted to our ordered way of life. Now, even those of us that live within a small town can find evidence of our wild neighbors daily. Just the other evening, I came upon a sorry sight. There was a dead nestling on the grass next to the house. Even after nudging it with my toe, it didn't budge. It was likely one of the young starlings that jeered for their parents return to the eaves and tressels of the house, mouths stuffed with insects and worms. All except this one. It might have taken a step too far and fallen from its home on high. Or maybe ...

So for the past few weeks here in Syracuse, it has been interesting seeing just how much nature permeates our surroundings and our daily lives. Syracuse is a lot greener in places than I ever expected an urban environment to be. The first thing one notices is all the concrete and stonework and cars and other industrial creations that fill the air and surroundings with their noise and looming presence. I've read about urban sprawls and jungles in books and magazines and seen it described in glowering tones on environmental documentaries, but seeing it up close and living in it, makes you realize that things aren't always as they seem. Sure the typical urban wildlife can be found in droves. Squirrels bound from tree to tree, while ants crawl between cracks in the sidewalk. The big birdy three consisting of Rock Pigeons ( Columba livia ), European Starlings ( Sturnus vulgaris ), and House Sparrows ( Passer domesticus ) swoop through the streets and trees, filling most pockets wi...

They're hard to miss at this time of year. They stream in like blackened snowflakes from the skies above, their forms resembling the sleekest of fighter jets, while remaining in a tight, undulating flock with a flight path about as predictable as the course of water over new ground. I am, of course, referring to the European Starling ( Sturnus vulgaris ) that flock together when the winter months beckon and swear to freeze every single bird to their perch! I see them a lot these days when I'm sitting at work and on the way to and from many a town nearby, but their ubiquitous nature and presence in our modern America doesn't mean they were always here or should have been in the first place. Thanks to a man named Eugene Schieffelin and several other members of a band of European Shakespeare aficionados, the dream of bringing a bird mentioned once in King Henry IV, Pt. 1 as well as all the other birds associated with his exemplary works. As such we, the people, have to suffe...