ZMild

I'm curious about how birds adapt to urban environments. I live in DC, which is densely-built but has a fair number of trees (mostly ornamental). Just wondering how the birds have adapted as the city's grown, where there are trees but no underbrush, lots of odd food and tons of noise?

Hey, thanks. I'm told we get migrating birds passing through, is a city more disruptive to them than other parts of their route?

Is it useful at all to wildlife to have small, busy parks in a city -- think Dupont Circle in DC, or Bryant Park in NYC - or does it make much difference?

We also have foxes pretty close in -- what other 'unexpected' animals adapt well to big urban areas?

• How come these things won't visit US ports? Just no West Coast port big enough to handle them? And if not, why not?

• I understand these ships are pretty brutal to the environment. Do you see any technology or practices on the horizon that might make them a little less harmful?

• I was surprised to read there's a shortage of qualified seamen. I would think that would be quickly filled by people from developing countries. Just sayin'.

• Is this size of ship going to be the new standard to stay competitive on those routes now?

• A lot of Europe-Asia air traffic is being flown through Middle Eastern airports (or Istanbul), a vast change from even a decade ago. Is there the same shift in sea cargo?

How do you find those really, really remote places? And how'd you get a train?

Hey man, the thing says you're still answering questions, so if this reaches you:

• Sounds like you left in a blaze of glory. How do you think your hall rep is today?
• Where do you get your news? What are the most accurate outlets for news on Syria and/or Afghanistan? Follow any particular reporters?
• For that matter, did you ever read anything in open-source about something you were involved with that you hadn't known before?
• I don't have the numbers nearby, but IEDs don't seem to have slowed down much. Do you think we ever had a chance to cut them dramatically?
• I'm curious about how people at the CIA perceive foreign agencies. Do any unexpected nations do super-badass intelligence work? Like, you'd expect the British or French to do well, but maybe not, I dunno, Ethiopians.