Doug Levey
Doug Levey became hooked on nature at an early age and thinks it’s amazing he could make a living learning and teaching about birds. He earned a PhD from the University Wisconsin, studying the annual cycle of Costa Rican birds and plants, then enjoyed being a professor at the University of Florida for more than 20 years. His lab there focused on seed dispersal by birds, why chili peppers are “hot,” and migration of South American birds, which often behave in unexpected ways based on what we think we know about migration in North America.
In 2011, Doug’s family moved to northern Virginia, where he started a new career at the National Science Foundation. He went from writing proposals to support ecological research to overseeing the review process and funding decisions of similar proposals.
Although he’s an ornithologist and has birded lots of places for many years, he doesn’t keep a life list. (If you don’t know whether you’ve previously seen a species, you can enjoy it as new all over again!) He is, however, very much into citizen science and public engagement.
He retired in 2024 and lives in McLean with his spouse and a rescued dog from Puerto Rico.
Get in touch with Doug using the form below.