Natural Wonders https://www.wdrt.org/series/natural-wonders/ In the summer of 1972, I wandered out of a newly rented farm house, looked up, and saw 2 red-tailed hawks soaring over woods and pasture. They were so beautiful, so other-worldly, I was overcome with a desire to know everything about them. Years later I became a wildlife rehabilitator and a falconer and was able to have close hands-on experience with them. Today that desire to learn about the natural world has only broadened and intensified. I'll read some of my favorite biologists' writings and occasionally include my own thoughts. Thu, 12 Nov 2026 08:54:00 +0000 en-US © 2022 WDRT In the summer of 1972, I wandered out of a newly rented farm house, looked up, and saw 2 red-tailed hawks soaring over woods and pasture. They were so beautiful, so other-worldly, I was overcome with a desire to know everything about them. Years later I became a wildlife rehabilitator and a falconer and was able to have close hands-on experience with them. Today that desire to learn about the natural world has only broadened and intensified. I'll read some of my favorite biologists' writings and occasionally include my own thoughts. WDRT episodic In the summer of 1972, I wandered out of a newly rented farm house, looked up, and saw 2 red-tailed hawks soaring over woods and pasture. They were so beautiful, so other-worldly, I was overcome with a desire to know everything about them. Years later I became a wildlife rehabilitator and a falconer and was able to have close hands-on experience with them. Today that desire to learn about the natural world has only broadened and intensified. I'll read some of my favorite biologists' writings and occasionally include my own thoughts. WDRT toconnor@wdrt.org false https://www.wdrt.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/natural-wonders-logo.png Natural Wonders https://www.wdrt.org/series/natural-wonders/ toconnor@wdrt.org In the summer of 1972, I wandered out of a newly rented farm house, looked up, and saw 2 red-tailed hawks soaring over woods and pasture. They were so beautiful, so other-worldly, I was overcome with a desire to know everything about them. Years later I became a wildlife rehabilitator and a falconer and was able to have close hands-on experience with them. Today that desire to learn about the natural world has only broadened and intensified. I'll read some of my favorite biologists' writings and occasionally include my own thoughts. No yes 4e7bd223-83fe-50e2-80b3-76dffb25bd52 https://wordpress.org/?v=7.1.4 59922426 November 10th, 2026 https://www.wdrt.org/2026/11/10/november-10th-2026/ Tue, 10 Nov 2026 15:15:57 +0000 5055b763-08be-59ba-bb08-73862ddbd846 I'm reading again from Carl Safina's The View from Lazy Point, A Natural Year in an Unnatural World; published in 2011 by Picador. The spare, beautiful Antarctic islands of South Shetland Islands are breeding home to adelie, chinstrap and gentoo penguins. Wayne and Sue Trivelpiece have been researching the lives of these birds for decades. The birds rely on krill. They have found that fewer chicks are surviving their first years at sea; from "up to the 1980s,  about 4 out of 10; Since 1990 it has been more like 1 out of 10. Something about the penguins food is changing..."

]]> I'm reading again from Carl Safina's The View from Lazy Point, A Natural Year in an Unnatural World; published in 2011 by Picador. The spare, beautiful Antarctic islands of South Shetland Islands are breeding home to adelie, chinstrap and gentoo penguins. Wayne and Sue Trivelpiece have been researching the lives of these birds for decades. The birds rely on krill. They have found that fewer chicks are surviving their first years at sea; from "up to the 1980s,  about 4 out of 10; Since 1990 it has been more like 1 out of 10. Something about the penguins food is changing..."

]]> false no 00:20:10 No no November 3rd, 2026 https://www.wdrt.org/2026/11/03/november-3rd-2026/ Tue, 03 Nov 2026 12:55:42 +0000 d43c485a-bcee-5106-abb7-3dbd592acd6e A surprising partnership benefitting native insects is discussed in this essay, between The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation and General Mills, (yes that General Mills,  Cheerios origins are now better than you might think). 

This essay is by Anna Murray, a senior pollinator habitat specialist and Food Systems and Living Farms Project lead with the Xerces Society. I'm reading from the Fall 2025 issue of Wings, a quarterly publication of the Xerces Society. (check out xerces.org)

]]> A surprising partnership benefitting native insects is discussed in this essay, between The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation and General Mills, (yes that General Mills,  Cheerios origins are now better than you might think). 

This essay is by Anna Murray, a senior pollinator habitat specialist and Food Systems and Living Farms Project lead with the Xerces Society. I'm reading from the Fall 2025 issue of Wings, a quarterly publication of the Xerces Society. (check out xerces.org)

]]> false no 00:18:12 No no October 27th, 2026 https://www.wdrt.org/2026/10/27/october-27th-2026/ Tue, 27 Oct 2026 14:05:30 +0000 df762c5c-6d52-57ab-8504-89c97a1aea33 Fire is vital for maintaining biodiverse healthy prairies, oak woodlands, wetlands and savannahs. Let's hear what the experts have to say. This is a season where you might see white smoke in the distance and if you follow to it, you'll find a dedicated crew, trained to have a safe, well prepared, prescribed burn.

]]> Fire is vital for maintaining biodiverse healthy prairies, oak woodlands, wetlands and savannahs. Let's hear what the experts have to say. This is a season where you might see white smoke in the distance and if you follow to it, you'll find a dedicated crew, trained to have a safe, well prepared, prescribed burn.

]]> false no 00:17:57 No no October 20th, 2026 https://www.wdrt.org/2026/10/20/october-20th-2026/ Tue, 20 Oct 2026 13:22:04 +0000 a77c0047-7c46-546c-9a4b-4f38cc43e509 Today essays on the life of Wendell Berry who died August 31 2026. I read the obituary from the NY Times by Robert McFadden and a reflection,, by Barbara Kingsolver about her friend and mentor.

]]> Today essays on the life of Wendell Berry who died August 31 2026. I read the obituary from the NY Times by Robert McFadden and a reflection,, by Barbara Kingsolver about her friend and mentor.

]]> false no 00:25:04 No no October 13th, 2026 https://www.wdrt.org/2026/10/13/october-13th-2026/ Tue, 13 Oct 2026 11:49:33 +0000 206cf31f-bb18-5dd7-9869-16095c0a10c0 Wolves and coyotes and livestock predation, as seen from researchers point of view that reveals that killing of both these animals does not lessen the killing of livestock, and may increase livestock predation by unknowlingly killing wolves and coyotes that are living in harmony with livestock producers, disrupting the social structure of the families, and many other reasons. We so often cause significant problems by our incomplete understanding of the natural world.

]]> Wolves and coyotes and livestock predation, as seen from researchers point of view that reveals that killing of both these animals does not lessen the killing of livestock, and may increase livestock predation by unknowlingly killing wolves and coyotes that are living in harmony with livestock producers, disrupting the social structure of the families, and many other reasons. We so often cause significant problems by our incomplete understanding of the natural world.

]]> false no 00:17:58 No no October 6th, 2026 https://www.wdrt.org/2026/10/06/october-6th-2026/ Tue, 06 Oct 2026 13:01:01 +0000 b4b4d431-d1b4-5af5-a2c3-86e420227c5d Reading for the 8th time from Carl Safina's classic book The View From Lazy Point, A Natural Year in an Unnatural World, 

today parts of the October Chapter. We experience through his words, the thrills of watching peregrine falcons, and his work with them; and then tuna fishing off Long Island and watching migrating birds in the ocean storm.

"Having received great gifts from the ages and the ancestors, we act as though we are a wall against which time suddenly stops."

]]> Reading for the 8th time from Carl Safina's classic book The View From Lazy Point, A Natural Year in an Unnatural World, 

today parts of the October Chapter. We experience through his words, the thrills of watching peregrine falcons, and his work with them; and then tuna fishing off Long Island and watching migrating birds in the ocean storm.

"Having received great gifts from the ages and the ancestors, we act as though we are a wall against which time suddenly stops."

]]> false no 00:27:07 No no September 29th, 2026 https://www.wdrt.org/2026/09/29/september-29th-2026/ Tue, 29 Sep 2026 12:19:42 +0000 11c281bd-5258-5959-9f93-786e385e005d Reading from Carl Safina's book, published in 2011,The View from Lazy Point; A Natural Year in an Unnatural World; we are in Palau in the western Pacific, meeting the people who have been there for many many generations, facing new problems in a world of rising sea water. 

"Through the silhouettes of mangroves and coconut palms, the moon rises full and lovely. But that moon pulls a pucker of sea around the world, and as the tide rises we watch Leonard's backyard disappear. Soon he and his neighbors are sloshing around in shin-deep saltwater that rises up the wheels of parked cars and laps at front doors."

]]> Reading from Carl Safina's book, published in 2011,The View from Lazy Point; A Natural Year in an Unnatural World; we are in Palau in the western Pacific, meeting the people who have been there for many many generations, facing new problems in a world of rising sea water. 

"Through the silhouettes of mangroves and coconut palms, the moon rises full and lovely. But that moon pulls a pucker of sea around the world, and as the tide rises we watch Leonard's backyard disappear. Soon he and his neighbors are sloshing around in shin-deep saltwater that rises up the wheels of parked cars and laps at front doors."

]]> false no 00:29:48 No no September 22nd, 2026 https://www.wdrt.org/2026/09/22/september-22nd-2026/ Tue, 22 Sep 2026 12:21:45 +0000 6cc92861-4647-52f6-bde7-02400933fdcc More from The View from Lazy Point; A Natural Year in an Un natural World, by Carl Safina, we are in the ocean around the islands of Palau, the abundance of life in the reefs at Palau are described beautifully, as only Safina can write, and we meet scientists who study this area.

"...Bob says, 'More kinds of corals live right here on this patch than in the entire Caribbean.' Van Woesik amplifies: 'actually there are more species of  hard corals growing on the concrete dock at the lab - I've actually counted - than in the whole Caribbean"  ~~why is abundance??

]]> More from The View from Lazy Point; A Natural Year in an Un natural World, by Carl Safina, we are in the ocean around the islands of Palau, the abundance of life in the reefs at Palau are described beautifully, as only Safina can write, and we meet scientists who study this area.

"...Bob says, 'More kinds of corals live right here on this patch than in the entire Caribbean.' Van Woesik amplifies: 'actually there are more species of  hard corals growing on the concrete dock at the lab - I've actually counted - than in the whole Caribbean"  ~~why is abundance??

]]> false no 00:19:25 No no September 15th, 2026 https://www.wdrt.org/2026/09/15/september-15th-2026/ Tue, 15 Sep 2026 13:38:46 +0000 6aae8dd8-b985-511d-a8ac-9f160a97cd59 Dave Krier speaks with Stanley Temple about the Endangered Species Act and Roadless Rule. How they were originally conceived and implemented, and are now being changed under the current administration.

]]> Dave Krier speaks with Stanley Temple about the Endangered Species Act and Roadless Rule. How they were originally conceived and implemented, and are now being changed under the current administration.

]]> false no 00:22:19 No no September 8th, 2026 https://www.wdrt.org/2026/09/08/september-8th-2026/ Tue, 08 Sep 2026 11:39:34 +0000 cf6362a0-735e-5bd0-b399-3bfe8338e52a A tropical fishes collecting trip for an aquarium, we travel not to the tropics, but on Long Island, (how could this be in a winter-cold temperate region?) and the icing on this reading is a trip to Palau and the vibrant fishes and reefs there, (and why they do so well).

I'm reading The View From Lazy Point by Carl Safina.

"...pure sensuous detail, seeing the natural world from a variety of angles..." Newsday

]]> A tropical fishes collecting trip for an aquarium, we travel not to the tropics, but on Long Island, (how could this be in a winter-cold temperate region?) and the icing on this reading is a trip to Palau and the vibrant fishes and reefs there, (and why they do so well).

I'm reading The View From Lazy Point by Carl Safina.

"...pure sensuous detail, seeing the natural world from a variety of angles..." Newsday

]]> false no 00:25:11 No no