They walk, fly, crawl and slither among us. Some attack our gardens. Some attack us. Some make for great shows. Some go unseen. For better or for worse, critters share our world -- especially in the summer when we and they are out and about in greater numbers. Over the summer, The Journal will run a weekly series -- The Creature Chronicles -- bringing you stories ripped from the hedge line.

--- During the summer, upload your own photos and view others'

And don't forget to share your Creature Chronicles with us.

Hopkinton haven offers parrots a perch

Parrot rescue operations have sprouted up throughout the country as a byproduct of the growing popularity of pet parrot ownership.
Read the story . . .

A primer on the lives of bats

The most common bat species in Rhode Island, where there are seven kinds, are the little brown bat and the big brown bat. Bats mate in the fall, a no-nonsense affair that has none of the fancy courtship of butterflies and birds. Read the story . . .

Fisher cat returning in numbers to region

Often referred to as "fisher cats," the normally secretive animals had been absent from the state for 200 years. But two dog attacks in West Greenwich last month confirm what Rhode Island wildlife biologists have been noticing for the past few years: That fishers are back -- and thriving. Read the story . . .

Bagging mosquitoes: DEM hunts virus-bearing bugs

Throughout the summer, mosquitoes captured at more than 40 Rhode Island sites are tested for Eastern equine encephalitis and West Nile virus. Read the story . . .

Did you ever wonder about roadkill?

Once you get beyond the gross-out factor, roadkill has a story to tell about what’s happening in the natural world. Read the story . . .

Raptors, with an eye for rodents, find themselves in their element in urban areas

Each spring in recent years, a pair of red-tailed hawks have nested on an old cooling tower at Rhode Island Hospital in Providence, delighting onlookers as they shriek and soar and teach their fledglings to fly. Read the story . . .

Once facing extinction due to DDT, a
majestic ospreys making recovery

NARRAGANSETT -- An osprey nest is wonderfully untidy. The one on a utility pole next to the channel at Jerusalem is 5 or 6 feet across and 2 feet high, containing a tangled mess of sticks and other natural rubbish. Read the story . . .

Horseshoe’s luck is starting to turn

SOUTH KINGSTOWN -- Prentice K. Stout never forgot the first time he saw horseshoe crabs.

Read the story . . .

In their battle with growers,
the woodchucks are winning

SOUTH KINGSTOWN -- A few years ago, a sunny afternoon like this would find Rudi Hempe perched on the roof of his toolshed in Narragansett, a 5mm varmint rifle cradled in his lap and his eyes scanning his tended rows of beans and broccoli for summer marauders. Read the story . . .