BY KIERAN LINDSEY, PhD All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players. An astute observation by the Bard, but a bit misleading. Had Will but ventured beyond the Globe Theater’s door he may have realized that humans aren’t the only animals who have acting chops. I’m not talking about critters who […]

BY KIERAN LINDSEY, PhD Just in case readers assume the title of this post is a typo, let me assure you it is not. I’m fully aware that the photos featured here are of mute swans (Cygnus olor) but, like any wordsmith worth her salt, I can’t resist indulging in a little harmless wordplay. As you’ll […]

BY KIERAN LINDSEY, PhD A scientists’ work is never done. That’s because there’s always another layer to peel away, another stone to turn, another angle from which to view the situation. Case in point — about 200 years ago, Charles Darwin made the connection between the size and shape of a finch’s beak and the availability […]

BY KIERAN LINDSEY, PhD   Like Water Off a Duck’s Back — That tried and true adaptability adage is an apt observation for just about any species of waterfowl, thanks to their liquid-resistant outer contour feathers, but in the case of Mallards (Anas platyrhynchos) it’s also metaphorically germane… because this is one plucky duck. I won’t […]

BY KIERAN LINDSEY, PhD How often do you come across a bird so dee-lightful, so dee-lectable that it captured the attention of characters as disparate as W.C. Fields and Cole Porter? Quite often, actually, because chickadees (Poecile spp) are far from rare in North America. In my own little corner of the world, a historic neighborhood […]

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 Watching a white-breasted nuthatch (Sitta carolinensis) cascade along the steep slope of a tree brought to mind the playground at Oakville Elementary, and made me wonder if the species’ iconic bottoms-up foraging style is the result of a dare. The far corner of our grade school property was the site of many […]

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 [In honor of Halloween, a species dressed for the occasion!] Even though our cultural sings the praises of summer, it’s not my favorite season. I always welcome the crisp air, deeper blue (and, admittedly sometimes flat gray) skies, and red-orange-yellow leaf palette that arrives after the autumnal equinox. My appreciation of fall […]

BY KIERAN LINDSEY, PhD Last Sunday morning I unexpectedly found myself sitting ringside for a brief but furious brawl. Two male red-bellied woodpeckers (Melanerpes carolinus) were having a boundary dispute that started with an argument over some shrubbery, then escalated into a full-on aerial assault. Colliding mid-air, they grasped one another by the feet and were […]