Shows
Wild With NatureBridging the distance: two countries and a Cassin's kingbirdIn July, a Cassin’s kingbird (Tyrannus vociferans) calls from the edge between grassland and pine in Montana, USA. Three months later, I’m among Cassin’s kingbirds again but 2000 miles farther south, in their winter range in Oaxaca, Mexico. Over the past year, my life has traced the path of these migratory Cassin’s kingbirds—a journey that, for me, has involved falling in love and spending months far away from the Montana landscape I know and love. This is a story of migration, of the memories that birdsongs carry, and of finding a connection to the earth that spans...2024-12-0123 min
Wild With NatureAtravesando la distancia: dos países y un tirano chibiúEn julio, un tirano chibiú (Tyrannus vociferans) llama desde el borde entre la pradera y el bosque de pino en Montana, EU. Tres meses después, estoy entre los tiranos chibiú de nuevo pero 3500 kilómetros al sur, en su hábitat invernal en Oaxaca, México. Durante el último año, mi vida ha trazado las rutas de estos tiranos chibiú migratorios—un viaje que, para mí, ha incluido enamorarme y pasar varios meses muy lejos de las tierras de Montana que conozco y amo. Ésta es una historia de la migración, de las memorias que llevan los cantos de...2024-12-0129 min
Immersed In Nature: Nature Sounds for Sleep and RelaxationAmong the redcedars - 10 hours of morning songs of varied thrush and Townsend’s warbler - los cantos del mirlo cinchado y del chipe de Townsend en bosque de tuya gigante[EN/ES] 10 hours of the hauntingly beautiful song of a varied thrush (Ixoreus naevius) and the comforting refrain of a Townsend’s warbler (Setophaga townsendi) from a late May morning after a rainstorm in a western redcedar (Thuja plicata) forest in northwestern Montana, USA, as raindrops drip from the canopy. This ambient sound track accompanies Wild With Nature Episode 100: Among the Redcedars: Finding Stillness in the Rain-drenched Forest (https://open.spotify.com/episode/6VUoLPDHwrblzkJnTrbk2T?si=16-xTDjuRBCKMHRnnKI9ig). Sounds recorded by me, Shane Sater. If you enjoyed this episode, I invite you to check out my community of supporters on...2024-11-0110h 00
Immersed In Nature: Nature Sounds for Sleep and RelaxationWaiting for rain (sonidos de la lluvia) - 10 hours of September rain in western Montana - la lluvia de septiembre en Montana[EN/ES] 10 hours of September rain falling on grape leaves in a garden in western Montana, with a soft introductory quack from a hen mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) in the background. This ambient sound track accompanies Wild With Nature Episode 98: Waiting for Rain: Making it through Climate Change (https://open.spotify.com/episode/3UOJaH481fQscIturevbVh?si=6X7oUtN-QwqKVau3dZpLIw). Sounds recorded by me, Shane Sater. If you enjoyed this episode, I invite you to check out my community of supporters on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/wildwithnature.
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10 horas de sonidos de la naturaleza para dormir...2024-10-0410h 00
Immersed In Nature: Nature Sounds for Sleep and RelaxationFall sandhill crane music (la música otoñal de las grullas grises) - 10 hours of rhythmic bugling from migrating sandhill cranes - las llamadas rítmicas de las grullas grises durante su migración[EN/ES] 10 hours of the powerful calls of sandhill cranes (Antigone canadensis) near sunrise in August while a group of over 90 departed from their migratory stopover site on a mudflat in Montana, USA to forage for the day. I recorded this soundscape in 2024 at the Lake Helena Regulating Reservoir, Helena, Montana. This ambient sound track accompanies Wild With Nature Episode 96: Sandhill Cranes and Baird’s Sandpipers: Lake Helena Part 3 (https://open.spotify.com/episode/6sswiXweHuRjqu5k7DyY7n?si=ntuDC19JQ4eAZpGqcjMSnA). Sounds recorded by me, Shane Sater. If you enjoyed this episode, I invite you to check out my...2024-09-2910h 00
Immersed In Nature: Nature Sounds for Sleep and RelaxationWilson’s snipes in the summer night (agachonas norteamericanas en la noche) - 10 hours of soothing nocturnal marsh sounds - los sonidos relajantes de la noche por un humedal[EN/ES] 10 hours of the unique sounds that Wilson’s snipes (Gallinago delicata) make in their summer flight displays over the marshes of northern North America, complemented by the low gulping sounds of an American bittern (Botaurus lentiginosus) from the cattails. I recorded this soundscape after sunset in June 2024 from a marsh along the Rocky Mountain Front of Montana, USA. This ambient sound track accompanies Wild With Nature Episode 94: Of Bitterns and Bank Swallows: Lake Helena Part 2 (https://open.spotify.com/episode/5LEgH3uV3xkIzNgZTjN3cJ?si=6d93e8b72b86417e). Sounds recorded by me, Shane Sater. If yo...2024-09-2610h 00
Immersed In Nature: Nature Sounds for Sleep and RelaxationSpring in the wetland (la primavera por el humedal) - 10 hours of birdsong in a Montana cattail marsh - los cantos de las aves por los tules de Montana[EN/ES] 10 hours of the rich May soundscape from the extensive cattail marshes of the Lake Helena Wildlife Management Area, Helena, Montana, USA. I recorded this soundscape on a May morning in 2024, full of the sounds of Virginia rails (Rallus limicola), marsh wrens (Cistothorus palustris), soras (Porzana carolina), red-winged blackbirds (Agelaius phoeniceus), Wilson’s snipes (Gallinago delicata), and more. This ambient sound track accompanies Wild With Nature Episode 92: Nature at Lake Helena, part 1: Shorebirds to the Arctic (https://open.spotify.com/episode/7ocL9yRUPyHs0i5JfGCT3o?si=FIlBhvjjRC2TQIWHJjucag)... an episode that also features the sounds and seasonal pa...2024-09-2610h 00
Immersed In Nature: Nature Sounds for Sleep and RelaxationTree swallows in nesting season (golondrinas bicolores anidando) - 10 hours of tree swallow calls from May in Montana[EN/ES] 10 hours of liquid trills from tree swallows (Tachycineta bicolor) occupying nest boxes along the Missouri River in Montana, May 2024. This ambient sound track accompanies Wild With Nature Episode 90: A Hopeful Sign for a Bird in Decline: Helping Montana’s Tree Swallows (https://open.spotify.com/episode/1p3Gl3xt04R1fUT4V2AMjb?si=XFiSECtxSDioflmHLK-miA). Sounds recorded by me, Shane Sater. If you enjoyed this episode, I invite you to check out my community of supporters on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/wildwithnature.
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10 horas de sonidos de la naturaleza para dormir, sin in...2024-09-1910h 00
Immersed In Nature: Nature Sounds for Sleep and RelaxationNiobrara River sleep sounds (sonidos de la naturaleza para dormir) - 10 hours of nighttime crickets, soothing river sounds, eastern screech owl song - sonidos de grillos, del río y de un tecolote[EN/ES] 10 hours of uninterrupted sleep sounds featuring the autumn Niobrara River landscape depicted in Wild With Nature Episode 76: A Portrait of Nature along the Niobrara River (https://open.spotify.com/episode/5S3fdUI86vwtvxP3czsHHB?si=d2FWJWscTz6faXNnSH3kpw). Soothing river noises blend with the voices of crickets and other nocturnal insects, and an eastern screech-owl (Megascops asio) gives its beautiful whinny. Sounds recorded by me, Shane Sater. This recording originally appeared as a bonus track on Wild With Nature. If you enjoyed this episode, I invite you to check out my community of supporters on Patreon...2024-09-1910h 00
Immersed In Nature: Nature Sounds for Sleep and RelaxationEarth Song - 10 hours of yellow warbler and least flycatcher song from May in Idaho - 10 horas de los cantos de chipe amarillo y papamoscas chico[EN/ES] A 10-hour track of midday May song from yellow warbler (Setophaga petechia), least flycatcher (Empidonax minimus), and song sparrow (Melospiza melodia) from riparian cottonwood forest at the Kootenai Wildlife Refuge, Boundary County, Idaho. This recording accompanies Wild With Nature Episode 65: Earth Song (https://open.spotify.com/episode/1SNB2VdvzkTxLnLLiVDLVY?si=HoBR23rNQUyVBDpme_Il0w). Sounds recorded by me, Shane Sater. If you enjoyed this episode, I invite you to check out my community of supporters on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/wildwithnature.
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10 horas de sonidos de la naturaleza para dormir, sin interrupción...2024-09-1810h 00
Wild With NatureMoscas para el almuerzo: adoptando la perspectiva de un aveEsta historia empezó con una pregunta simple: ¿a cuáles invertebrados están cazando las aves en los cerezos silvestres (Prunus virginiana)? Desde ahí, el asunto se puso muy complicado, y aún no sé la respuesta. Pero valió la pena buscar. Este episodio de mi podcast está basada en el estado de Montana, EU, pero la pregunta que nos pone—¿qué están comiendo las aves insectívoras?—es importante por todas partes. Las especies de aves en esta categoría también incluyen a varias que son altamente migratorias (y de cuyas migraciones hablo en varios episodios al comienzo de 2024...2024-04-1920 min
Wild With NatureAn explosion of voices: listening to the birds and the Huatulco RiverThe voice of every bird—of every creature—has a story. This episode focuses on these voices and these stories. We find ourselves along the Huatulco River where it emerges from the Sierra Sur of Oaxaca, Mexico, and the voices that we hear are a portrait and a celebration of this place: the sounds of water and stone, of the great kiskadee (Pitangus sulphuratus), the rufous-backed robin (Turdus rufopalliatus), the russet-crowned motmot (Momotus mexicanus), the happy wren (Pheugopedius felix), the cinnamon-bellied saltator (Saltator grandis), the social flycatcher (Myiozetetes similis), and the black-headed saltator (Saltator atriceps). But in addition it’s a st...2024-04-0123 min
Wild With NatureUna explosión de voces: escuchando a las aves y al Río HuatulcoLa voz de cada ave—de cada criatura—tiene una historia. Este episodio se enfoca en estas voces y estas historias. Estamos por el Río Huatulco donde emerge de la Sierra Sur de Oaxaca, México, y las voces que escuchamos son un retrato y una celebración de este lugar: los sonidos de agua y piedra, del luis bienteveo (Pitangus sulphuratus), del mirlo dorso canela (Turdus rufopalliatus), del momoto corona canela (Momotus mexicanus), del saltapared feliz (Pheugopedius felix), del saltador gris mesoamericano (Saltator grandis), del luisito común (Myiozetetes similis) y del saltador cabeza negra (Saltator atriceps). Pero ade...2024-04-0126 min
Wild With NatureConnection, wonder, and the birds that span a continentThis episode includes many threads: of the birds, of the diverse landscapes that their migrations connect, of a conversation with a Oaxacan biologist, Ana Rebeca Martínez Martínez, about the passion that we both share for nature. But in its essence, it’s a story about those moments in nature when time doesn’t exist, when you can feel the magic. It’s a celebration of the connection that we can have with nature wherever we live in the world and of the threads that connect our stories.
Many bird recordings illustrate this story. Special thanks to Kent...2024-03-0120 min
Wild With NatureLa conexión, el asombro y las aves que abarcan un continenteEste episodio contiene varios hilos—de las aves, de los diversos paisajes que sus migraciones vinculan, de una conversación con una bióloga oaxaqueña, Ana Rebeca Martínez Martínez, sobre la pasión que nosotros dos tenemos por la naturaleza. Pero en su esencia, es una historia de esos momentos en la naturaleza cuando el tiempo no existe, cuando la magia se siente. Es una celebración de la conexión que podemos tener con la naturaleza en cualquier parte del mundo, y de los hilos que vinculan nuestras historias.
Hay varios audios de aves que i...2024-03-0126 min
Wild With NatureCrossing the wall: from Montana to OaxacaMigratory birds connect us. I’ve been in the state of Oaxaca, in southern Mexico, for almost two months now. This is a story of exchange, of our interconnected planet, and of the birds that connect our lands, from Montana to Oaxaca. But in telling it I couldn’t ignore the difficult themes of gentrification: that although the birds don’t recognize the wall between our countries, it still greatly influences our human lives. I hope that this story stimulates interesting thoughts, conversations, and exchanges!
This podcast features the voices of many birds: yellow-rumped warblers (Setophaga coronata) singing and callin...2024-02-0116 min
Wild With NatureCruzando el muro: desde Montana hasta OaxacaLas aves migratorias nos conectan. He estado casi dos meses ya en el estado de Oaxaca, en el sur de México. Ésta es una historia de intercambio, de nuestro planeta interconectado y de las aves que vinculan nuestras tierras, desde Montana hasta Oaxaca. Pero al contarla no pude ignorar los temas difíciles de la gentrificación: que aunque las aves no reconocen el muro entre nuestros países, aún influye mucho en nuestras vidas humanas. ¡Espero que esta historia estimule pensamientos, conversaciones e intercambios interesantes!
El podcast también incluye las voces de varias aves: chipes rabadill...2024-02-0120 min
Wild With NatureHidden world in the aspens: getting to know voles and moreVoles, mice, and other small mammals are around us all the time—but we rarely see them and often forget to appreciate them. This story takes a dive into the hidden world of the small mammals around us: abundant creatures, highly important to the functioning of ecosystems, that many of us ignore. Set in a recently-burned aspen grove in Wyoming, this episode shares a small mammal study being conducted by Cody Lane and the Ricketts Conservation Foundation. We take a look at the diversity of life present in aspen groves, learn about small mammal research techniques, and explore vole id...2024-01-0116 min
Wild With NatureLos roedores entre los álamos temblonesLos topillos, ratones y otros mamíferos pequeños siempre están alrededor de nosotros—pero pocas veces los vemos, y a menudo se nos olvida apreciarlos. Esta historia te da la oportunidad de sumergirte en el escondido mundo de los mamíferos pequeños: criaturas abundantes y altamente importantes para el funcionamiento de los ecosistemas, las que la mayoría de nosotros ignora. Este episodio, contado en un bosquecillo recién quemado de álamos temblones en Wyoming, EU, comparte un estudio de mamíferos pequeños que Cody Lane y el Ricketts Conservation Foundation están llevando a cabo. Vemos l...2024-01-0123 min
Wild With NatureA naturalist journey through Kokanee Glacier Provincial ParkThis is a story of nature in fall, high in the Rocky Mountains in British Columbia’s Kokanee Glacier Provincial Park. It’s a vast landscape where the wind sighs over rock and heather. The trees struggle up the steep ridges and end in mats and twisted bonsais. The fingerprint of the glaciers is fresh, and life grows slowly in patient forms over the glacial rubble. This story sketches the natural landscape of this park. We get to know American dippers in the mossy streams, pikas and weasels among the talus slopes, migrating eagles and hawks along the ridges, pine...2023-12-0114 min
Wild With NatureUn viaje naturalístico por el Parque Provincial Kokanee GlacierÉsta es una historia de la naturaleza otoñal, alto en las Montañas Rocosas del Parque Provincial Kokanee Glacier en la Columbia Británica de Canadá. Este parque es parte de un paisaje vasto donde el viento suspira por piedras y brezos. Los árboles se esfuerzan para alcanzar las cimas y terminan en cojines y bonsáis torcidos. Las huellas de los glaciares son recientes. La vida crece en formas pacientes sobre los escombros glaciares. Esta historia retrata la naturaleza y el paisaje de este parque. Conocemos a un mirlo acuático norteamericano (Cinclus mexicanus) en un riachuelo musgoso...2023-12-0120 min
Wild With NatureA portrait of nature along the Niobrara RiverThis episode celebrates the sounds, sights, and happenings of nature along Nebraska’s Niobrara River. A young great horned owl screeches in the night and coyotes howl from the pine-covered hillsides, as if Halloween has come early to this September forest. We hear an eastern screech-owl, learn about the abundant plant and bird life of riparian habitats, and listen to a diverse and mostly unknown (to me) chorus of nighttime insects.
This podcast is rich in the natural sounds of the Niobrara River night. In the year ahead, I’m excited to continue producing more place-based portraits feat...2023-10-3112 min
Wild With NatureUn relato de la naturaleza cerca del Río NiobraraEste episodio celebra los sonidos, las vistas y los acontecimientos de la naturaleza a lo largo del Río Niobrara de Nebraska, Estados Unidos. Un joven búho cornudo chilla por la noche y los coyotes aúllan desde las laderas cubiertas en pinos, como si Halloween hubiera llegado temprano a este bosque de septiembre. Escuchamos un tecolote del este, aprendemos sobre la abundancia de plantas y aves en los hábitats ribereños, y oímos un coro diverso de insectos nocturnos, la mayoría de los que no reconozco.
Este podcast es repleto de los sonidos n...2023-10-3116 min
Wild With NatureBonus: Niobrara River sleep sounds (sonidos de la naturaleza para dormir) - 10 hours of ambient nighttime audio with crickets, soothing water sounds, eastern screech-owl song - grillos y un tecolote[EN/ES] 10 hours of uninterrupted sleep sounds featuring the autumn Niobrara River landscape depicted in Episode 76: A Portrait of Nature along the Niobrara River. Soothing river noises blend with the voices of crickets and other nocturnal insects, and an eastern screech-owl (Megascops asio) gives its beautiful whinny. Sounds recorded by me, Shane Sater.
10 horas de sonidos de la naturaleza para dormir, sin interrupción. Se presentan algunos sonidos del paisaje otoñal del Río Niobrara retratados en Episodio 75: Un Relato de la Naturaleza cerca del Río Niobrara. Los sonidos relajantes del río se mezclan con l...2023-10-3110h 00
Wild With NatureGlimpsing the life of a songbirdSongbirds are amazing. I’ve spent a number of years getting to know the birds of the region of the U.S. where I live, and it’s something that’s given me lots of joy, as well as fresh perspectives on life and how we’re all connected. But I’ll never really manage to comprehend the life of a migratory bird (and many songbirds are migratory). Crossing mountain ranges and forests, the borders between countries, and even oceans in their amazing journeys—it’s truly something beyond words.
Bird banding is a research techn...2023-10-0220 min
Wild With NatureEntreviendo la vida de un ave cantoraLas aves cantoras son increíbles. Llevo varios años conociendo las de la región de Estados Unidos donde vivo, algo que me ha dado mucho placer y frescas perspectivas sobre nuestro planeta y cómo las aves nos conectamos. Sin embargo, nunca lograré entender cómo es la vida de un ave migratoria (y muchas de las aves cantoras son migratorias): atravesando cordilleras y bosques, los límites entre países y hasta océanos en sus viajes alucinantes. Es algo realmente sin palabras.
El anillamiento de las aves es un proyecto científic...2023-10-0227 min
Wild With NatureGetting to know Washington’s spidersThere are at least 970 species of spiders in Washington State. How the heck do so many spiders—generalist predators—manage to share the space? Join me and Rod Crawford, a spider expert at the University of Washington’s Burke Museum, on this foray into spider diversity. In April of this year, we spent a day getting to know spiders, their microhabitats, and the surrounding community in a western Washington conifer forest.
Although this story is focused on spiders in Washington, it has helped open my eyes to these complex, ecologically important creatures wherever I find m...2023-09-0114 min
Wild With NatureConociendo las arañas del Estado de WashingtonHay por lo menos 970 especies de arañas en el Estado de Washington. ¿Cómo entonces logran tantas arañas—depredadoras generalizadas—compartir el espacio? Reúnete conmigo y con Rod Crawford, un experto en arañas del Museo Burke de la Universidad de Washington, en este viaje para entender la diversidad de arañas. En abril de este año, pasamos un día conociendo arañas, sus microhábitats y la comunidad circundante en un bosque conífero en la parte oeste de Washington.
Aunque esta historia está enfocada en las arañas de Washington...2023-09-0118 min
Wild With NatureSolstice wanderings and the dance of the swallowsI came to Spokane Bay on the summer solstice with no intention of writing something new. Paddling up central Montana’s Hauser Lake from my friend Margaret’s house, my idea had been, if anything, to escape my home office and my many writing projects, perhaps to find inspiration for yet another magazine pitch among the wild creatures.
But as my kayak and I reached the bay under an unsettled gray sky, with cliff swallows and white-throated swifts foraging low under the brooding cloud bank, something about the day and the place and its diversity of life made...2023-08-0113 min
Wild With NatureEl baile de las golondrinas al solsticioVine a Spokane Bay al solsticio de verano sin ninguna intención de escribir algo nuevo. Remando por Hauser Lake, en la parte oeste de Montana, desde la casa de mi amiga Margaret, mi idea había sido, más bien al contrario, escapar de mi oficina en la casa y mis varios proyectos de escribir. Pensé que tal vez encontraría inspiración entre los seres silvestres para presentar aún otro artículo a una revista para publicación.
Pero cuando mi kayak y yo llegamos a la bahía bajo un inquieto cielo gris, con las go...2023-08-0117 min
Wild With NatureYellow-rumped WanderersMy newest podcast is about yellow-rumped warblers—but it’s not just for birders. It’s for your neighbor or friend who raises their eyebrows whenever you start talking about nature. And, of course, it’s also for those of us who are already amazed by the natural world around us.
Yellow-rumped Wanderers is a special production in collaboration with Will Valentine, of the Will’s Birdbrain podcast. Our joint podcast explores the fascinating lives of these 12-gram migrants—as well as the similarities between their lives and our own. On the way, we get to hear about spring...2023-07-121h 18
Wild With NatureEarth SongFor most of us, song is something that permeates our lives on a daily basis. We find it on the radio, in concerts, in ads, and from music services. But song has much deeper roots than the modern commercial age. We humans have been singing for as long as we've been living on this planet—and so have the birds, the wolves, and the wind. They still are, if we listen. Earth Song, a podcast I helped produce for the Idaho Mythweaver's Voices of the Wild Earth series, is an invitation into this vast world of song in nature.
Fi...2023-06-1220 min
Wild With NatureFinding healing in the midst of climate chaosI woke up this morning with a gnawing sense of depression, the wildfire smoke blurring the mountains into gray shapes and biting at my nose. Wildfire season in May. This is so messed up, I kept thinking. The cottonwoods have fresh green leaves and the birds are returning. The streams in the Helena Valley are bank full with raging, muddy snowmelt; the landscape is bursting with spring flowers. But north of us, in Alberta and British Columbia, spring has come hot and dry. The forests are burning up, and strong southbound winds are carrying the smoke to central Montana. 2023-05-1805 min
Wild With NatureEncontrando sanación en medio del caos climáticoMe desperté esta mañana con un sentido persistente de depresión, el humo de los incendios forestales mordiendo mi nariz y desdibujando las montañas hasta sólo parecerse a formas grises. Incendios forestales en mayo. Qué lío esta situación, seguía pensando. Los álamos tienen nuevas hojas verdes y las aves están regresando. Los arroyos en el Valle de Helena están completamente llenos del furioso deshielo embarrado; el paisaje está repleto con las flores de la primavera. Pero al norte, en Alberta y la Columbia Británica, la primavera ha llegado calurosa y árida. Los bosqu...2023-05-1806 min
Wild With NatureUnusual chickens: the dance of the sharp-tailed grouseThe bird display begins as the sun is nothing but a faint bluish glow on the eastern prairie horizon. Upland sandpipers give their raucous whistles over the short grasses. The musical tinkling of horned larks fills the air. As we walk across the native prairie towards the sharp-tailed grouse blind at Benton Lake National Wildlife Refuge, long-billed curlews and chestnut-collared longspurs join the morning chorus. And then we arrive at the grouse lek and all of that is forgotten. Speechless, we watch the age-old spectacle before us: 28 male sharp-tailed grouse gulping, burbling, and dancing in the faint light of...2023-05-1809 min
Wild With NatureGallinas extrañas: el baile de los gallos de la pradera rabudosLa exhibición empieza mientras que el sol aún se ve sólo en la débil luminosidad azul al horizonte este de la pradera. Los zarapitos ganga (Bartramia longicauda) silban estridentemente sobre los céspedes cortos. El tintineo melódico de las alondras cornudas (Eremophila alpestris) llena el aire. Mientras andamos por la pradera hacia el observatorio de los gallos en Benton Lake National Wildlife Refuge, los zarapitos pico largo (Numenius americanus) y los escribanos collar castaño (Calcarius ornatus) se unen al coro matutino de aves. Y entonces llegamos a la tarima de los gallos y todo lo...2023-05-1813 min
Wild With NatureBizarre and vibrant: getting to know Montana's cuckoo waspsThe tiny wasp shimmered between my fingertips, its hard exoskeleton glittering green and blue under the strong June sun. Nearby, along the base of the shaly orange slope, was the patch of leafy spurge where I had captured it as it had gathered nectar from the showy yellow spurge blooms. I had started seeing cuckoo wasps several weeks ago near this western Montana grassland stream, crawling across the ground and visiting flowers among the busy profusion of early-summer vegetation.
The cuckoo wasps I was seeing, roughly the size of rice grains, varied somewhat in their appearance. But all of...2023-05-0213 min
Wild With NatureExtraños y brillantes: conociendo a las avispas cuco de MontanaLa avispa minúscula brilló entre las puntas de mis dedos, su exoesqueleto duro reluciendo con verde y azul bajo el fuerte sol de junio. Cerca, en la base de una vertiente anaranjada de esquisto, estaba el parche de lechetrezna (Euphorbia esula) donde la había atrapado mientras que ella cosechaba néctar de las llamativas flores amarillas. Hace unas semanas que había empezado a ver las avispas cuco cerca de este arroyo bordeado por praderas en el occidente de Montana, EE.UU., arrastrándose por el suelo y visitando flores entre la profusión concurrida de la vegetac...2023-05-0218 min
Wild With NatureFrigid survival: how American white pelicans overwinter in the coldThey’re like a flurry of snow in the Montana summer. American white pelicans breed among the prairies, deserts, and forests of the western North American interior, from California and Colorado to Alberta and Manitoba. Across this diverse geographical expanse, they nest in dense colonies, choosing islands within certain marshes or lakes that provide some protection from predators. The nests, often spaced just a few feet apart, can number a thousand or more in a colony.
None of this is out of the ordinary. It’s just the wonderful, striking yearly rhythm of our American white pelicans, these flamboyant fishe...2023-04-2014 min
Wild With NatureSobreviviendo: los pelícanos blancos americanos en el fríoSon como una ráfaga de nieve en el verano de Montana, EE.UU. Los pelícanos blancos americanos (Pelecanus erythrorhynchos) pasan la estación reproductiva entre las praderas, los desiertos, y los bosques del interior oeste de Norteamérica, desde California y Colorado hasta Alberta y Manitoba. En varios lugares dentro de esta gran extensión geográfica, anidan en colonias densas. Escogen islas dentro de ciertos humedales o lagos que provean algún nivel de protección de los depredadores. Los nidos, a menudo separados por sólo unos pies, pueden ascender a mil o más en una col...2023-04-2018 min
Wild With NatureSpring in Seattle and an Anna's hummingbird mysteryI’m with a few other birders, walking slowly, when we see an Anna’s hummingbird doing something that surprises me. She’s hovering near a sprawling tangle of Himalayan blackberries along the water’s edge. As we watch, she moves methodically from one blackberry leaf to the next, probing the edges of the undersides with her slender beak.
Hummingbirds are well-known for feeding on flower nectar… but the blackberries are nowhere near flowering yet. What is she doing?
2023-04-0718 min
Wild With NatureLa primavera en Seattle y el misterio de un colibrí cabeza rojaEstoy con algunas personas, andando despacio, cuando vemos un colibrí cabeza roja haciendo algo que me sorprende. Ella se cierne en el aire cerca de un extendido parche enredado de zarzas himalayanas cerca del borde del agua. Mientras la miramos, ella se mueve metódicamente de una hoja a la siguiente, sondando los bordes de las partes inferiores con su pico delgado.
Los colibríes son bien conocidos por alimentarse con néctar de las flores... pero las zarzas aún no están cerca de florecer. Entonces ¿qué hace ella?2023-04-0725 min
Wild With NatureHow to grow a bird-friendly garden in western MontanaWhen you compare the birds of a manicured lawn with those that inhabit a grove of chokecherries, the difference is stark. The lawn might support a few starlings and robins. Perhaps, late in spring migration, a handful of desperate Swainson’s thrushes might stop by. The chokecherries, on the other hand, support an intricate community of life, from two-tailed swallowtail butterflies to dozens of species of songbirds. When the fruits ripen in late summer to a deep, juicy black, they attract cedar waxwings, Townsend’s solitaires, western tanagers, American robins, and house finches. Meanwhile, throughout the growing season, the foli...2023-03-2821 min
Wild With NatureCómo cultivar un jardín para las aves en el occidente de MontanaCuando comparas las aves de un césped cortado con las que viven en un parche de capulines (Prunus virginiana), la diferencia es fuerte. Talvez el césped mantendría a unos estorninos pintos (Sturnus vulgaris) y mirlos primavera (Turdus migratorius). Es posible que, al final de la migración primaveral, unos desesperados zorzales de anteojos (Catharus ustulatus) pudieran pasar por ahí.
Los capulines, al otro lado, mantienen una intrincada comunidad de vida, desde la mariposa cometa xochiquetzal (Papilio multicaudata) hasta docenas de especies de aves. Cuando las frutas maduran a ser jugosas y de color negro profundo al final...2023-03-2830 min
Wild With NatureThe surprising lives of western Montana's Lewis's woodpeckersIt’s hard to deny that Lewis’s woodpeckers (Melanerpes lewis) are stunning birds. Seen in good light, their glossy green backs contrast with their pinkish bellies. An ashy gray collar separates the red-tinged head from the iridescent back. But the story of Lewis’s woodpeckers isn’t just a tale of a beautiful, relatively uncommon bird of the Rocky Mountains. There’s much more going on here than meets the eye.2023-03-1712 min
Wild With NatureLa vida inesperada de los carpinteros de Lewis en MontanaEs difícil negar que los carpinteros de Lewis (Melanerpes lewis) son aves espectaculares. Cuando se los ve en buena iluminación, sus espaldas verdes lustrosas contrastan con sus vientres rosados. Un collar de gris pálido separa la cabeza teñida de rojo de la espalda iridiscente. Pero la historia de los carpinteros de Lewis no se trata solamente de un cuento de un ave hermosa y relativamente rara de las Montañas Rocosas. Mucho más está pasando acá que se ve a primera vista.
2023-03-1716 min
Wild With NatureWhere have all of the hawks gone?Pastures, hayfields, and streams: the area around Drummond, MT looks like a great place for winter hawks. But few of them are here. Why?2023-03-0908 min
Wild With Nature¿Dónde están las aguilillas?Pasturas, campos y arroyos: el entorno de Drummond, MT, EU parece un buen lugar para aguilillas invernales. Pero sólo hay pocas acá. ¿Por qué?2023-03-0911 min
Wild With NatureA porcupine wandering through the frozen-dessert section"If you see a porcupine, it's like finding a unicorn," biologist Jessy Coltrane told me. She was referring to the part of Montana west of the Continental Divide, where these once-common rodents have nearly disappeared.
This week's story is all about Montana's porcupines. Four winters ago, I had a series of remarkable experiences with one particular porcupine near Helena. Read about this one gnawing on ice, eating snow and Russian-olive fruits, and denning in an abandoned culvert. Then I get into the biology of these long-lived rodents and the bigger questions about porcupine disappearances.2023-03-0113 min
Wild With NatureUn puercoespín deambulando por la sección de postres congelados"Si ves un puercoespín, es como encontrar un unicornio," me dijo la bióloga Jessy Coltrane. Se refería a la parte de Montana al oeste de la Divisoria Continental, donde estos roedores previamente comunes casi han desaparecido.
Esta historia trata sobre los puercoespines de Montana. Hace cuatro inviernos, tuve una serie de experiencias extraordinarias con cierto puercoespín cerca de Helena. Lee sobre éste royendo hielo, haciendo una guarida en un conducto abandonado, comiendo nieve y las frutas del árbol del paraíso. Luego exploro la biología de estos roedores longevos y enfrento las cuestion...2023-03-0118 min
Wild With NatureChasing rumors of spring in the Mission ValleyThe prairie falcon perches on a power pole in the light rain drizzle, tearing apart a vole. Its talons glow faintly, a rich yellow against the gray sky. The electrical lines hiss faintly in the rain. Today I’m with avid birder and acclaimed children’s book author Sneed Collard. We’re driving slowly through western Montana’s Mission Valley, looking for birds in the snow-covered fields.
Nineteen thousand years ago, a glacier crept down from the north where Flathead Lake exists now, a slow but powerful conveyor belt of ice, reshaping the landscape. Where we are today, t...2023-02-2209 min
Wild With NaturePersiguiendo rumores de la primavera en el Valle MisiónEl halcón mexicano (Falco mexicanus) se posa en un poste de electricidad en la llovizna ligera, desgarrando un topillo. Sus garras brillan débilmente, un amarillo vivo contra el cielo gris. Los cables de luz sisean suavemente con la lluvia. Hoy estoy con Sneed Collard, un pajarero ávido y escritor alabado de libros para niños. Estamos manejando despacio por el Valle Misión del occidente de Montana, EE.UU., buscando aves entre los campos cubiertos en nieve.
Hace diecinueve mil años que un glaciar deslizó desde el norte, donde el Lago Flathead ya existe. Era una...2023-02-2213 min
Wild With NatureWell-hidden wanderers: searching for Montana's long-eared owls“They make it their profession to blend in,” says Beth Mendelsohn.
She’s talking about long-eared owls – and specifically, the male long-eared owl who is peering down from the Russian-olive behind us. His posture is upright, his earlike feather tufts partially raised. Beth is a research biologist with the Owl Research Institute (ORI), a nonprofit based in Charlo, Montana. This morning we’re out with her and Denver Holt, ORI’s founder. And as you might suspect, given the name of this nonprofit, we’re researching owls.2023-02-1514 min
Wild With NatureNómadas bien escondidos: los búhos cara canela de Montana“Lo hacen su profesión camuflarse,” dice Beth Mendelsohn.
Está hablando de los búhos cara canela (Asio otus) – y en concreto, el búho cara canela varón quien está mirándonos desde un árbol del paraíso detrás de nosotros. Tiene una postura erguida. Sus penachos, que se parecen a ojos (pero realmente no los son), son parcialmente levantados. Beth es bióloga investigativa quien trabaja para el Instituto de Investigación de Búhos (ORI, por sus siglas ingleses), una organización sin fines de lucro basada en Charlo, Montana. Esta mañana estamos en el campo c...2023-02-1520 min
Wild With NatureAn abundance of overwintering raptorsHow do you count up overwintering hawks and eagles? And, just as importantly, who cares?
Raptors are hunters. Our smaller birds mostly feed on insects, seeds, and fruits: foods that are often abundant on a local scale. But raptors hunt animals. Depending on the species, their diets may include deer mice, voles, ground squirrels, jackrabbits, trout, suckers, sparrows, and ducks. And for this reason, raptors are relatively rare. Just as there are countless thousands or millions of seeds in the world for every sparrow that exists, there must be many sparrows for every sharp-shinned hawk. For every r...2023-02-1115 min
Wild With NatureUna abundancia de aves rapaces del inviernoUna rodaja fina de la luna menguante cuelga en un cielo parcialmente nublado esta mañana. La curva azul de montañas que nos rodea sigue en sombra. Estoy con Stephen Turner, un pajarero local. Estamos manejando despacio por el valle, haciendo un circuito de 71 millas entre álamos, pasturas, campos agrícolas y zonas residenciales. Nuestra meta es directa, pero de ninguna manera es fácil. Queremos contar las aves rapaces que están pasando el invierno en este valle.2023-02-1122 min
Wild With NatureDeath by eagle? The world that artificial intelligence can't touchA soft gray tuft of feathers, a spot of blood along the trail... a death has occurred near Hauser Dam. What happened here?2023-02-0409 min
Wild With Nature¿Muerte por águila? El mundo que las Inteligencias Artificiales no pueden tocarEncontramos una muerte misteriosa, un ave en la nieve cerca del Río Missouri. ¿Qué es? Y ¿qué nos pueda enseñar?2023-02-0313 min
Wild With NatureA mossy mystery nest in the hawthornThe nest sits in the middle of the hawthorn in front of us, silent and inscrutable. We contemplate it, tucked securely among thorny branches, at the edge of a frozen slough near the Bitterroot River. Perhaps it contemplates us, too. It’s a flat, mossy cup, larger than my two fists. Our question today is simple enough: whose nest is this? But if we hope to find an answer, we’ll have to use all our powers of observation and imagination.2023-01-2410 min
Wild With NatureCounting the birds of LaValle Creek in the fogMissoula, Montana's LaValle Creek is an area with a diverse mix of habitats, from grassland and hawthorn thickets to aspen groves and conifer forest. And for four years now, Steve Flood has been counting winter birds in this area as part of the Missoula Christmas Bird Count. This year, I went with him. This story is about the birds we found - and those we didn't find. And it's also about being part of something much larger: a continent-wide search, involving thousands of volunteers, to check up on the health of our mid-winter birds.2023-01-1319 min
Wild With NatureWinter chickadees and nuthatches on the Upper Swan Valley Christmas Bird CountWestern Montana's Swan Valley is wild and forested. It's also the location of one of over 2600 Christmas Bird Counts that take place across Canada, the United States, and Latin America each winter. This is the story of this wintry, forested Christmas Bird Count. It's a story of chickadees, golden-crowned kinglets, and red-breasted nuthatches: common winter birds in the conifer forest. But it's also a story of the birds we didn't see: the forest finches that were conspicuously missing on this day. Where are they this winter? And how can Christmas Bird Counts help us understand patterns like this over...2023-01-0616 min
Wild With NatureThe Fort Missoula Ponds: a hotspot for biodiversityOnce the site of a gravel quarry, Missoula, Montana's Fort Missoula Ponds have become a magnet for ducks, shorebirds, and many other creatures. In fact, birders have recorded a whopping 231 species of birds here over the past few years. In December, the bird activity is much quieter than it would be during the warm season. Nevertheless, it's a chance to see what’s out here in the cold and to remember all of the creatures that will be returning in the spring. Besides looking at birds, habitat, and the possible future of the Fort Missoula Ponds, this story also in...2022-12-3020 min
Wild With NatureMissoula's winter ducks in the teeth of the Hellgate windEven as the Hellgate wind blasts Missoula, MT with its icy breath, we spot goldeneyes & mergansers along the river on this winter walk with Five Valleys Audubon Society. This is part of the "town-bound birding series" - a set of short monthly walks aiming to make the wonder of our local birds accessible to all.2022-12-2309 min
Wild With NatureGroundwater - seeing into the underground riverIt turns out that a stream doesn't just end at its banks. It continues underground: a slow-moving world of water, percolating through the sands and gravels under our feet. This story is about groundwater and its intimate relationship with Rattlesnake Creek, an important stream near Missoula, MT. But these basic concepts about groundwater and its connection to streams apply just about anywhere.2022-12-1511 min
Wild With NatureDucks, raptors, and more at Lee Metcalf National Wildlife RefugeThe ponds and marshes at Lee Metcalf NWR, in Montana's Bitterroot Valley, were mostly frozen on this frigid day in late November. But nevertheless, we found a variety of waterfowl, raptors, and smaller birds around this extensive wetland complex. This is the story of another day in the field with the Montana Natural History Center. It's a story about habitat and the resilience of our winter birds.2022-12-0911 min
Wild With NatureFinding winter fruits, birds, and more in Greenough ParkMissoula, Montana's Greenough Park is an urban natural space near the edge of the city: an interesting mix of wild and domesticated, native plants and garden escapes. In mid-November, I joined a group of naturalists, led by Ser Anderson of the Montana Natural History Center, in a wintry "naturalist saunter" through the park. We found a variety of fall and winter fruits, checked out a rock outcrop that's over a thousand million years old, found some cedar and Bohemian waxwings, and saw signs of some more-elusive mammals. This is yet another story about the diversity of plants and wildlife...2022-12-0120 min
Wild With NatureA hidden community - mayflies and more in Rattlesnake CreekThe diversity and complexity of the life in a stream is mind-boggling. But it's also something all of us can see and learn about, kids or adults, whatever our level of knowledge. This story is all about the little creatures of Missoula's Rattlesnake Creek - from stoneflies and mayflies to riffle beetles and midges. This was all from just one wintry day in the field with the Watershed Education Network. What did we find? Listen to this story and find out - and then go outside and start getting to know a stream near you! Let me know what...2022-11-2513 min
Wild With NatureHope for a dammed stream - watching Rattlesnake Creek changeFor thousands of years, Missoula's Rattlesnake Creek supported important spawning populations of bull trout, which would move upstream from the Clark Fork River each fall. But in 1901, the Rattlesnake Creek Dam blocked the spawning fish. Over a century later, in 2020, the City of Missoula removed the now-obsolete dam. This story is about a stream coming back to life, its fish, and the Watershed Education Network - a Missoula-based nonprofit and its avid volunteers who are documenting the stream as it changes.2022-11-2013 min
Wild With NatureAttacked by pygmy nuthatches - unusual behavior in the ponderosasIt's common to see mixed-species flocks in the fall and winter in the ponderosa pine forest. Nuthatches, chickadees and woodpeckers travel together, helping each other watch for predators as they forage. But this was something different. On this late October day, we watched the pygmy nuthatches attacking a hairy woodpecker, driving him off. Why were they attacking their supposed flock collaborator? Listen to this episode to find out!2022-11-1211 min
Wild With NatureAtacado por bajopalos enanos: una sorpresa en los pinosUna interacción sorprendente dentro de una bandada mixta de aves—un grupo de bajopalos enanos atacando a un carpintero albinegro mayor—resalta las interacciones complejas e interesantes dentro de las parvadas mixtas, un fenómeno que se ve comúnmente en el bosque conífero.
Esta historia, originalmente publicada en inglés en noviembre de 2022, tiene que ver con las fascinantes dinámicas de las bandadas mixtas dentro del bosque de pino ponderosa (Pinus ponderosa) del oeste de Norteamérica. La traduje al español en noviembre y diciembre de 2023, gracias al apoyo generoso de Lynda Saul. (Despu...2022-11-1116 min
Wild With NatureKochia: what this despised weed does for fall sparrowsKochia (Kochia scoparia): it's a horrible weed for North American farmers. But for fall sparrows, it's a source of food and cover. This is a the story of a Montana kochia patch on a late October day. We found dozens of sparrows in it: four native species, each with their own stories of migration, brought together to gather seeds from this patch of maligned weeds. And where there are so many sparrows, their predators may appear at any time...2022-11-0712 min
Wild With NatureWelcome to Missoula: walking through fall at Kelly IslandI must look a bit absurd this afternoon as I wade across the Clark Fork River to Missoula, Montana's Kelly Island. I'm loaded down with sound recording equipment, waders, binoculars, and lots of warm clothing. What started out as a pleasant walk through the end of autumn quickly became an adventure in (trying to) record bird sounds.
Listen to learn what I found - and what Kelly Island looks like from a red-tailed hawk’s viewpoint!2022-11-0409 min
Wild With NatureLake Helena and its amazing ducks"Helena is very ducky," says Mark Mariano. The Butte-based ecologist has been watching fall duck migration on Lake Helena for two years now. In early October, I went along with Mark on one of his duck surveys. From Mark, I learned about Lake Helena and its importance to tens of thousands of coots, ducks, and snow geese. We talked about the problems common carp pose for duck habitat - and what we can do about it. This story is a little snapshot of the spectacular, continent-wide tide of fall waterfowl migration. Enjoy!2022-10-2713 min
Wild With NatureEl Lago Helena y sus patos increíblesLos humedales son increíbles. Y los del Lago Helena, en el Estado de Montana, EE.UU., no son ninguna excepción. Desde las grullas grises, los gansos canadienses y muchísimas aves cantoras que escucharás en la grabación al comienzo del podcast, hasta los patos y las otras aves acuáticas del otoño que son el enfoque de esta historia, es una diversidad compleja y maravillosa. Así que, ¡tomemos un rato para celebrar los humedales!
Esta historia presenta el trabajo de Mark Mariano, un biólogo que lleva años observando l...2022-10-2721 min
Wild With NatureStories to watch for - Helena's fall and winter birdsFall can be a bittersweet season, with so many goodbyes as the summer birds leave Montana. But the frigid months ahead are far from sterile. From October golden eagle migration to the American tree sparrows and bohemian waxwings of the winter, this episode is about the birds of late fall and early winter around Helena, Montana.2022-10-2013 min
Wild With NatureNature Park - a special place for birdsNature Park is one of Helena, Montana's "birding hotspots." Through the seasons, birders have found an incredible 147 species of birds in this small urban park. And besides the birds, this is a place for community, where it's common to run across other nature enthusiasts and hear the stories of their sightings through the seasons. This episode is an introduction to this place - and just a few of its many stories.2022-10-1409 min
Wild With NatureTo glimpse an ancient murreletOn September 22, a low-pressure system that had been hovering over the Pacific Ocean off of the California coast swept inland. Days after the storm passed through Sandpoint, Idaho, River Corcoran found an extremely rare bird - an ancient murrelet - on a local lake. How did this oceanic bird appear so far inland? This is the story of the murrelet and the wetland where it landed.2022-10-0809 min
Wild With NatureAmazed by insects: a day at the Rock Creek ConfluenceGiant water bugs, striped meadowhawks, lyre-tipped spreadwings, green carabid beetles, mud-dauber wasps, velvet ants, assassin bugs... even the names of these creatures are amazing. The stories of their lives are equally mind-blowing - and to spend a day with other avid naturalists, learning about that, is just plain fun!
This week's podcast is about just such a day, three weeks ago on Five Valleys Land Trust's Rock Creek Confluence property near Missoula. Thanks to Glenn Marangelo and the Missoula Butterfly House for organizing this field day!2022-10-0114 min
Wild With NatureMontana's mini wildlife in the Carroll College native plant gardenIt's a small, ten-year-old native plant garden on the campus of Carroll College in Helena, Montana - and it's full of Montana wildlife. Nothing as obvious as elk and grizzly bears, though: these wildlife are tiny, and very diverse. In this episode, meet the most conspicuous garden plants and a handful of the September mini-wildlife in this spot.2022-09-2412 min
Wild With NatureA flood of migration and a harassed peregrine falconIt's the sort of fall day when Spokane Bay (near Helena, Montana) is covered with migrating birds and anything seems possible. A great blue heron is wading in the marsh - the magpies are bothering a peregrine falcon - and a literal flood of Wilson's warblers and white-crowned sparrows has stopped over to forage here.2022-09-1607 min
Wild With NatureSpokane Bay - mats of algae and hints of migrationThis week's story from Spokane Bay is about bird migration and algae. The birds: yellow-rumped warblers in the willows, pelicans and mallards on the bay, American goldfinches in the marsh elder, and a merlin hunting overhead. The algae: it's a possible trap for a kayaker or an unwary duck, but it's also a habitat for damselflies and even-tinier insects. 2022-09-0908 min
Wild With NatureA silver shimmer on the water - the Gyrinus whirligig beetlesThey ripple over the water in a shimmery silver school... BEETLES! They're whirligig beetles in the genus Gyrinus, and hundreds upon hundreds of them are swimming on Hauser Lake, near Helena, Montana, at this very moment. This week I learned a lot about these beetles and the interesting puzzles of their lives. 2022-09-0910 min
Wild With NatureUncommonly noisy hoppers - the Great Basin crackler (Circotettix undulatus)The Great Basin crackler isn’t just any grasshopper: the males have an incredibly loud, aerial snapping song. Why do they make this noise - and how? In this episode, explore the puzzle of this grasshopper’s song and learn about the specialized habitats where it lives.2022-09-0407 min
Wild With NatureGetting to know western aster (Symphyotrichum ascendens)It’s a patch of pale purple among late summer’s dry crested wheatgrass. How can we recognize this native aster - and what pollinators does it support? This episode is about getting to know a plant through the identification process.2022-09-0409 min
Wild With NatureChanges in the air - confronting burnout, starting a podcastThis episode is about the writing process: why I write, how I hope this writing will serve you, and what to do when that isn't working. In late August 2022, I made some major changes to my process. I started writing shorter blog posts and reconnecting more intentionally with one place on the landscape. This is also when I started the podcast to make these stories more accessible.2022-09-0411 min
Wild With NatureFive late-summer wildflowers and the complex world of their beesKate Wilburn's urban Missoula, Montana yard is an oasis of native plants and fruit trees in the middle of the city. Is this yard providing habitat for a diversity of insects, as we would hope? In this episode, I focus on the insects visiting five late-summer flowers in this yard: purple coneflower (Echinacea purpurea), smooth blue aster (Symphyotrichum laeve), Rocky Mountain beeplant (Cleome serrulata), Missouri goldenrod (Solidago missouriensis), and Maximilian sunflower (Helianthus maximiliani).2022-09-0421 min
Wild With NatureSevenmile Creek - restoring a stream and tracking its birdsThis episode is an in-depth look at a stream restoration project and the birds that this habitat supports in early August. From eastern kingbirds and a Cooper's hawk to a bobolink and a peregrine falcon, it's a story of bird diversity and behavior as the breeding season transitions into early fall migration. This episode also includes the songs or calls of 12 common bird species from this day: eastern kingbird, western meadowlark, sandhill crane, Bullock's oriole, Savannah sparrow, red-winged blackbird, common yellowthroat, house sparrow, horned lark, gray catbird, American goldfinch, and yellow warbler.2022-09-0338 min
Wild With NatureFly killer, bee lover - the secret life of Mentzelia decapetalaMentzelia decapetala, ten-petal blazingstar, is a mysterious plant. Covered in barbed hairs, it impales small, soft-bodied insects, holding them until they die. But for bumblebees, sphinx moths, and at least one syrphid fly, this plant's evening-blooming flowers are a luminous resource at sunset. This episode is a deep dive into the world of Helena, Montana's Mentzelia patches.2022-09-0332 min
Wild With NatureBumblebees of Helena - getting to know our fuzzy neighborsThis episode is a mid-summer dive into Helena, Montana's bumblebees and the flowers that they favor. During this day of bumblebee observation, we caught 35 bumblebees, identified 6 species, and found some interesting patterns about the flowers that attracted each bumblebee.2022-09-0329 min
Wild With NatureCreatures in the milkweed - searching for Montana's monarchsIn western Montana, monarch butterflies seem rare. But where there are patches of showy milkweed (Asclepias speciosa), it's still possible to get up-close with these endangered butterflies. I spent a late July morning looking closely at a large patch of showy milkweed in the Helena Valley. And I found monarchs! I also looked at this plant's weird pollination system, the hazards these flowers can pose for honeybees, and a few of the other specialized insects that inhabit our milkweed patches.2022-09-0226 min
Wild With NatureFull of life - a morning in the sagebrushIn July 2022, I spent a morning immersed in the life of a big sagebrush shrubland (Artemisia tridentata) near Silver City, Montana. This episode features the songs of vesper sparrows, Brewer's sparrows, and sage thrashers. A white-tailed jackrabbit shows up briefly. There are ladybugs of three species, spittlebugs, and investigations into the connections between these invertebrates and the sagebrush birds. So give it a listen - and then, next summer, I encourage you to spend a morning in the sagebrush, too! When the sun is rising and the Brewer's sparrows are singing, it's a magical place.2022-09-0223 min
Wild With NatureMigration and change in late August at western Montana's Spokane BayAt Spokane Bay, near Helena, Montana, fall songbird migration is beginning. Yellow-rumped warblers and Wilson's warblers are passing through, stocking up on insects. Many summer birds are still here: the last yellow warblers still sing occasionally, and the sandhill cranes are foraging in the marsh. Meanwhile, I spotted a small flock of pinyon jays on the hillside - the first sighting of these interesting birds at this spot in the last 22 years!2022-09-0208 min
Wild With NatureBuilding trust with prairie dogsIn July, I spent a morning getting to know a prairie dog town in the Helena Valley. This episode is an exploration of prairie dogs - along with the animals and plants that their towns support. 2022-08-3123 min
Wild With NatureInto the night on furry wingsThis is the story of a male Polyphemus moth (Antheraea polyphemus). I found him in October, hanging from a goldenrod stem near a stream. Over the winter, I learned about his life. I watched him hanging from the goldenrod through snow and subzero temperatures. In March, concerned that an animal would eat him, I brought him into a terrarium where I could watch more closely. On my dad’s birthday, June 25th, he emerged from his cocoon, and I released him into the night.2022-08-2913 min
Wild With NatureVolando por la noche en alas vellosasEncontré el capullo de la polilla de seda por primera vez en octubre, colgando de un tallo cerca de un arroyo pequeño. Lo observé a través del invierno amargo, hasta que en junio la polilla adulta emergió. Ésta es la historia de él: una historia de esperanza, transformación, luz y sombra.2022-08-2921 min
Wild With NatureHow to attract more bees - plant milkvetchTwo-groove milkvetch (Astragalus bisulcatus) is an enigma: a beautiful native plant, it's also a toxic selenium-accumulator. For Pollinator Week 2022, I took a close look at the bees visiting this plant, searched out other native flowers in the habitat surrounding it, and explored how we might encourage more biodiversity in our yards.2022-08-2821 min
Wild With NatureThis horrible weed feeds pollinatorsLeafy spurge (Euphorbia esula): it's a much-hated, non-native plant, listed as a noxious weed by the State of Montana. But surprisingly, it's also a haven for a diversity of pollinating insects, especially ichneumonid wasps. This is the story of a day in the field and all of the pollinators I found on a small patch of leafy spurge.2022-08-2820 min
Wild With NatureBack to Devil's Elbow: Life on the MarginsNesting Brewer’s sparrows are rare in the Helena Valley of west-central Montana. But five years ago, I found four of them singing from a small patch of sagebrush near Devil’s Elbow Campground, along the eastern edge of the Valley. In June 2022, I went back for another look.
I didn’t find any Brewer’s sparrows, which raises some great questions about what makes good-quality sagebrush habitat. I did find many other creatures, though: mountain bluebirds feeding young, a violet-green swallow building a nest, desert evening-primrose flowering on the slopes…
This podcast is the story of t...2022-08-2613 min
Wild With NatureLife at Plant Speed - a Close Look at One HilltopThe only way to understand a grassland is to get up close and personal with it. In June 2022, I did exactly that. Marisa Diaz-Waian invited me to take a look at a rocky hilltop near Marysville, Montana, where she hopes to boost native plant diversity and create excellent habitat for lots of insects and other critters. This is a story about the beginning phases of a restoration project - and learning from what's already there. It's a sketch of the plant community on a single hilltop, from the thrips on the woolly groundsel (Senecio canus) flowers to the mystery...2022-08-2618 min
Wild With NatureLunch on the Fly - A Bird's-eye View of ChokecherriesMany of our insect-eating birds love to forage in chokecherries. But what are they catching? In June of 2022, I took a close look and tried to find out. This is a story about the remarkable hunting abilities of birds, my own not-so-remarkable insect-hunting abilities, and some of the surprising diversity of insects that can be found on chokecherry bushes (Prunus virginiana). This outdoor adventure took place at Kennedy Park in East Helena, Montana, USA. 2022-08-2413 min