DASHIELL HEARS A HOOT

DASHIELL HEARS A HOOT

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...
HEADFIRST

HEADFIRST

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...
ZIPPED

ZIPPED

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…...
RUNNER-UP

RUNNER-UP

BY KIERAN LINDSEY, PhD I don’t know what American grade school kids are being taught these days—my days at Oakville Elementary ended a couple of decades ago (okay, fine—several decades ago) so I don’t have direct access to 21st century homework assignments. But I’ll...
TELEPHONE

TELEPHONE

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...