The Pelican-- Wall Street Journal Gets Birdy!

Tina Nappe

​Remember Pale Male, the Red-Tailed Hawk that nested in a luxury apartment building above New York City’s Central Park?  When his nest was removed, outraged birders flocked to the site protesting the removal. Eventually, an accommodation was made and Pale Male was provided with a platform. Two dozen young were raised there in the following years. Author of 1998 book “Red-tails in Love: A Wildlife Drama in Central Park” Marie Winn died in 2024. Winn wrote a nature column for WSJ  beginning in 1989 and enjoyed her birding activities!

“Into Whooperland” author Michael Forsberg follows the journey of Whooping Cranes from their winter grounds to their summer grounds in Buffalo National Park. A photographic journey– some of it by airplane– documents not only the whooper landing  sites, but the land in between. There are only an estimated 700 Whoopers remaining today.

In a more domestic sphere, Sy Montgomery’s newest book, “What the Chicken Knows” describes her adventures with the chickens she raised. Montgomery seemingly became part of the flock, learning individual differences, the language of “clucking,” and their need for protection. The chickens’ outdoor roaming came to an end when the sun went down and they retired to safety.  Despite efforts to protect them, predation eventually won out. Montgomery is best known for “The Soul of an Octopus” (2015) and a more recent book, “Of Time and Turtles.”

(These snippets of book suggestions come from the Wall Street Journal, January 18-19, 2025 pages 6 and 12)

Happy Reading.

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