It was my birthday, Feb. 22, 2011, and I was in the Bahamas with my beautiful wife, Susan, relaxing on beach chairs on Great Stirrup Cay, a small coral island. This was as far south as I had been ...

Another black bird whose feathers shine with iridescence in the right light, this adult male magnificent frigatebird really lived up to his name. BILL DANIELSON / For the Gazette Sign up for the ...

Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. I write about biodiversity and the hidden quirks of the natural world. Frigatebirds can remain airborne for days at a time without ...

After last week's tropical dispatch, I'm back in central Wisconsin and picking up the detritus from where squirrels took apart my bird feeders during the cold snap last week. The same polar plunge and ...