The Field Guides

It's not a skunk... and it's not a cabbage... This month, Steve and Bill discuss Skunk Cabbage. The guys go over the spathe, spadix, contractile roots, and thermogenesis, among other things. We also …

*it doesn't actually fly.

Steve and Bill wrap up 2017 with an episode about Flying Squirrels. They talk about their adaptations for gliding, evolutionary history, and baculum morphology. They also tal…

We hope you're ready to learn all about Cooper's Hawks in cities. Steve leads the discussion on cooper's hawk biology, hunting strategies, and nest predation habits. Also, keep your cats indoors.

We t…

Eastern Hemlocks are a staple of northeastern US forests. During this bonus episode, Steve and Bill make some tea and dive into what makes this tree so special. Historically, Hemlock has experienced …

This episode is nuts! Like peanut butter and jelly, Blue Jays and oak trees go together - they have a fascinating relationship that plays out in our forests every fall. Jays (and many of their corvid…

What's better than a regular episode about ticks? That's right, a bonus episode featuring someone who actually spent their career as an entomologist specifically studying ticks. Enter entomologist, D…

Grasslands birds and the habitats they depend on are some of the most threatened components of our North American landscape. But take heart! Because people like this month's guest co-host, Kyle Webst…

So, how do you feel about deer? Over the past 100 years, populations of the White-tailed Deer (Odocoileus virginianus) have gone from scarce to ubiquitous. There’s a significant body of research poin…

This episode is all about ticks! Bill and Steve describe the difference between Ixodidae (hard ticks), Argasidae (soft ticks), and Nuttalliellidae (a single extant African species with ancestral tick…

During this episode, Steve talks about EVERY SINGLE extant non-human animal that drinks xylem or phloem sap. Join the guys as they explore the paradox of phloem sap, the barriers to eating it, how sq…

During this episode, Bill and Steve talk about nature's junk food - sap! Join the guys as they cover how sap moves through Maple trees, as well as how climate change will affect Maples and the sap co…

Our 2nd bonus episode has arrived! This episode, Steve is joined by Matt from ‘In Defense of Plants’ & Sara from ‘Midwest Explorer’ for a hike at Hunter’s Creek Park. We talk about tree bark, bird po…

Episode Notes:
This episode, Bill and Steve discuss whether or not we should be feeding birds. Do filled feeders stop birds from migrating? Do they help birds survive the winter? Do they contribute to…

1! 1 bird!
2! 2 birds!
3! 3 birds! Ha! Ha! Ha!
...
You get the picture.

For this bonus episode, Bill, Steve, Chris, and Dave participate in the Christmas Bird Count. They count birds, talk about the histo…

Winter is often perceived as a time of dormancy and inactivity, but underneath the snow, in the subnivean zone, a complex and fascinating world of plant and animal interactions exists. Weasels hunt t…