Get Your Binoculars Ready ...

By Margaret Lyons in News on Oct 24, 2007 9:00PM

Our public parks and forest reserves are being overrun by a nuisance population: Bird-watchers. Wait! No, not bird-watchers, gay cruisers. Yes, it's that old story again — bird-watchers continue to complain that their favorite woodsy areas are also popular cruising destinations.

According to the Trib, "[i]n cruiser communities, birding areas are known to be prime hook-up spots," though the source of that information isn't mentioned. How do you know if someone's cruising? Look for "deliberate gaits and searching eyes." Birders say it's creepy. Cruisers had no comment. Luis Munoz, a Chicago police officer and avid bird-watcher, tells the Trib that the situation is "real bad, dude" because he's "seen a few things happening. Like guys in the middle of some things."

Just how big a problem is this? Cook County Forest Preserve Police say they make between 50 and 60 arrests for public indecency each year on forest preserve properties, and the CPD arrests and tickets people all the time. But it looks to us that way more people are arrested for indecency not in parks, and that a much bigger issue for officers patrolling parks would be battery or drug-dealing, which account for most of the in-park crime.

Finally, this might make us, oh, 12 years old, but for some reason, a place called the "Magic Hedge" just sounds like a fabulous sex forest.

Cardinal by runjenrun.