BY KIERAN LINDSEY, PhD Thanks to the photographers who granted permission to use their photos, and to those who made their work available through the Creative Commons license: Matt Ward, Richard Gibbons, Robert, Cletus Lee, Ashley Wahlbert (Tubbs), Don Faulkner, and Kieran Lindsey. © 2020 Next-Door Nature. Reprints welcomed with written permission from the author.

BY KIERAN LINDSEY, PhD Maybe Bobby McFerrin was a house wren (Troglodytes aedon) in a previous life. This thought popped into my mind when, after listening to On Being’s Krista Tippett interview the singer, I went out for a walk with my canine companion. We hadn’t made it too far down the sunny sidewalk when we […]

BY KIERAN LINDSEY, PhD [Thanks to Lafayette Square residents Jim and Carolyn Willmore for reporting a brown creeper sighting near the Cook Pavilion of Lafayette Park.] On frosty mornings, Mercury is uncharacteristically slow to leave that snug thermometer bulb… and I can’t say I blame him. I’ve been in no hurry to leave my own cozy […]

BY KIERAN LINDSEY, PhD [FYI… Feathered Feature is switching to a winter schedule of every-other-week posts. There are still plenty of birds in the park during the colder months but with everyone (that includes me) extra busy over the holidays, it seems like a reasonable time for semi-hibernation.]  . “Who cooks for you? Who cooks for […]

BY KIERAN LINDSEY, PhD Rushing out the door, I went over the list in my head: Shorts and a breathable tee—check. Running shoes—check. Baseball cap, sunglasses, and sunblock—check. Keys and ID—check.  Workout playlist queued up on the smartphone in my pocket—check. Everything was in order as I stepped out of my building. Or so I thought. […]

BY KIERAN LINDSEY, PhD Arrrggghhh!  I can NOT get that song out of my head!!  I don’t know where I heard it, maybe on the grocery store’s Music to Inspire Endcap Impulse Purchases station. It’s familiar but definitely not a favorite. I have eclectic musical tastes that span eras and genres, so why is it that […]

BY KIERAN LINDSEY, PhD I was just trying to help, I swear.  In fact, the primary directive in wildlife rehabilitation is: First, do no harm. But the indignant male Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis) I had just lifted out of a shoe box clearly interpreted my attempts to do a thorough but gentle intake exam as disrespectful. […]

BY KIERAN LINDSEY, PhD Seriously, it could happen to anyone. Well, any working mom operating on instinct and snap-judgements who needs to snag some groceries before she flies back home to those perpetually ravenous kiddos. Okay… maybe it couldn’t happen to anyone. But every now and then, once in a very blue moon, some harried female […]

BY KIERAN LINDSEY, PhD Walking with my terrier-boy in Lafayette Park, I often happen upon the beginning of a late-afternoon performance by the American Robin Ballet Company. The dancers scatter across the lawn, their dark charcoal cloaks and garnet waistcoats vivid against a verdant stage. They appeared frozen in place, waiting for the orchestra’s opening chords. […]

BY KIERAN LINDSEY, PhD Everyone has their own personal markers of summer—the flash of a firefly, the pulsing hum of cicadas, the aroma of freshly cut grass… I’m sure you have a favorite.  To my mind, nothing says summer quite as definitively as the sight of chimney swifts (Chaetura pelagic) foraging overhead. These small, sleek birds […]