Engaging Journeys, Engaged Journalism

Author Archives: David Scofield Wilson

Birds of a Feather, and Not

To Feed or Not to Feed? Events make sense only in context. But understanding the context of a bird presents some challenges. Events make sense only in context. Sometimes the term context is used by naturalists to mean the environment or “field” in which a creature makes its living naturally. A caged parrot is out […]

Compassion Across Species

How do we share in the suffering of others? Can we? At seven in the morning hundreds of blackbirds and several dozen crows forage on the grass in the field I walk and jog around for exercise. I’ve gotten to know their ways, a bit. Glossy black male Brewer’s blackbirds hop, cock their tails up, […]

Names and True Names

Any place is more than just material objects, landscapes, and homescapes. Things carry names as part of the history of a region. Names give meaning to the raw data of dirt, streams, weeds, and animals in a particular place, and especially to the integration of things. Layers of namescapes cover any landscape. Common names like […]

Names and True Names

Bird watcher, naturalist, and busily retired American Studies professor from the University of California, Davis, David Wilson has been a solid citizen of Chico and environs for more than two decades now. He is currently at work on a collection of essays, poems, maps, and sketches that chronicle his journey from Minnesota boyhood to a […]