Flyover Critters (and a bald eagle death match)

Irish hares dig Belfast’s airport and rare El Segundo blue butterflies persist on dunes protected by the the airplane noise of LAX. Dr. Neil Reid of Queen’s University Belfast talks to us about the hares, and we hear from Dr. Travis Longcore of USC and the Urban Wildlands Group about butterfly conservation. Mike McGraw, podcast buddy, biologist with Applied Ecological Services, and airport wildlife hazard expert, joins us as guest host.

We kick off the episode discussing why Tony was late – retrieving a dead bald eagle that lost a mid-air duel over Philadelphia’s Port Richmond neighborhood.

El Segundo blue butterfly

El Segundo Blue (Travis Longcore)