Robb LoCurto
Leah Schwartz
Enviro Studies
12/10/08
Due to an intense motivation to do well on other certain Environmental Studies projects such as the second Lab Report, I was left with little time to complete a community event when I realized a walk through the city could provide me with ecological findings. My main focus was to take the opportunities that I had walking to and from class or where ever I was going to really take notice of what animal life the city has to offer. Sometimes I would devote my time looking up, trying to find different species of birds other than the indigenous pigeon. I’ve seen hawks, blue jays, cardinals, sparrows, and many other different types of birds, all in different trips. What did it teach me? Not a whole lot, considering they are birds and I’m not going to major in anything involving birds, or environmental studies for that matter! Anyway, here’s a picture of one of the bird species I saw flying up above the skyscrapers:

Also on my walks, I’ve noticed the different colors of squirrels that seem to enjoy getting in our way as we rush to our next destination. Being from Long Island, squirrels scurrying about is nothing new to me, however, back home they are much more afraid of people as opposed to here. When I tried to approach both black squirrels and grey squirrels, I’ve picked up on that fact that the black squirrels are much more enticed by human activity, whereas the grey squirrels portray themselves in a Long Island type fashion.

Above is a picture of a black squirrel, probably after a nice encounter with a human. It is very interesting to step back and take account of what other species may be thinking of us as humans. Are they thinking anything? Do they know that in most cases they are merely forms of entertainment for people with superior forms of knowledge? Do they view us as entertainment or as pure hunters? I believe the mindset of a specific species is dependent on which type of species it is. A small squirrel’s mind will be racing to the point of insanity of it feels threatened by a much larger species (a human for example), but may have a sense of clarity and vision when dealing with insects. It all depends on the mindset of a species whether or not it will be intimidated. One way or another, that process is what determines which squirrels or birds will find their way to me as I approach, and which ones will be threatened and intimidated and run away.
If this community event did one thing, it enhanced my interest in studying the mind and the different possibilities of how to control it. If we all learn how to control our minds and rid ourselves of unnecessary worry, maybe some day other species, like the timid squirrel, will emulate this action and our environment will be better for it. All that from a couple of hawks and squirrels, go figure.