by Debra Denker
As I open my garden gate on an uncharacteristically sultry Southwest summer afternoon, I hear a growl, a thump and then scrabbling in the Russian olive tree above me. I round the corner and come face to…
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by John Richardson
Many readers of Are We Smart Enough to Know How Smart Animals Are? written by renowned Dutch primatologist and ethologist Franz de Waal would be intrigued but perhaps not surprised to learn that chimpanzees…
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by Lysander Christo
In this unprincipled time of elephant carnage in the name of ivory, my wife, son and I have come to view elephants as being on equal footing, searching for them with a guide on conservation lands.
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by Erika Zambello
Established in 1999, the Grand Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve (GB NERR) now stretches across 18,000 acres. In addition to the estuary’s salt marshes, the reserve also covers rare pine savannas,…
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by Erika Zambello
Birders had their binoculars and checklists ready on May 13 for the annual Global Big Day, and I was one of them. Armed with my eBird phone app, which allows me to record when and where I see specific…
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by Erika Zambello
As part of an ongoing project, Erika Zambello is visiting all National Estuarine Research Reserves in the continental United States. Established by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),…
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by Jacqueline Gerson
“Dip your hand in the water!” I yelled over the crash of whitewater, and then a few seconds later, “Now try it again!”
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by Erika Zambello, Jennifer Calkins
When Dr. Jennifer Calkins visited Reserva Monte Mojino (ReMM), the landscape captured her attention. “A cactus flower blooming next to a lush fig tree, a desert tortoise resting beneath an elegant trogon…
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by Erika Zambello
Made up of over 6,000 acres along the coast of Alabama, the Weeks Bay National Estuarine Research is one of 28 sites around the country that are “protected for long-term research, water-quality monitoring,…
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by Zoe Krasney, Casey Johnson
The Last Unicorn taps into a primal human instinct — the search for pure and innocent beauty. This quest has captured our attention for hundreds of years, and is perhaps the reason unicorns are ubiquitous…
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by Elizabeth Forbes
First thing on Monday morning, I get into the driver’s side of the Land Cruiser, grasping the “holy sh*t” handle to hoist myself up into the seat. My field team clambers into the back; the other front…
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by Erika Zambello
For those who bird on the Emerald Coast, Snowy Plovers are a relatively common sight on Okaloosa Island – once you walk away from the more crowded beach access points. Less than seven inches long and lighter…
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