Dispatches from the Forest

Halloween is right around the corner - so how do those Halloween staples, spiders and bats prepare for the season?  Find out on this episode of the Dispatches from the Forest Podcast! Support the podcast! Become a patron: www.patreon.com/dispatchesfromtheforest Donate via the Cash App using $ForestNerd Donate via Venmo, PayPal or send me an email!  Dispatchesfromtheforest@gmail.com Check out the m...

How effective are highway wildlife crossings?  Let's take a look at the data from the largest such crossing in North America that opened 9 months ago.  And a quick peak at an endangered jumping mouse that could be hopping over that crossing too! Support the podcast! Become a patron: www.patreon.com/dispatchesfromtheforest Donate via the Cash App using $ForestNerd Donate via Venmo, PayPal or send m...

Elephants are the largest living land mammal on Earth.  We've all heard the saying "An elephant never forgets" but is that really true?  How smart are elephants?  Find out on this episode of the Dispatches from the Forest Podcast! Support the podcast! Become a patron: www.patreon.com/dispatchesfromtheforest Donate via the Cash App using $ForestNerd Donate via Venmo, PayPal or send me an email!  Di...

Karma and Cats.  On this episode we take a look at some "Nature in the News".  Rhino poachers get served up a piping hot bowl of Karma, and a new species of wild cat has been discovered in Boliva.  Learn more on this Dirt Dispatch! Support the podcast! Become a patron: www.patreon.com/dispatchesfromtheforest Donate via the Cash App using $ForestNerd Donate via Venmo, PayPal or send me an email!  D...

European, or Common Starlings may not be native to North America, but they are one of the most abundant songbirds on the continent, and not only that, but they're interesting and have a fascinating story about how they got here.  Learn more on this episode of the podcast! Support the podcast! Become a patron: www.patreon.com/dispatchesfromtheforest Donate via the Cash App using $ForestNerd Donate...

Over this past weekend there was a bear running around not far from Dispatches HQ.  This seems to be a pattern recently - not just here in Cheyenne, but in several places not far away.  Hear my thoughts on why that might be and just what the Michigan DNR had to say about black bears in 1972 on this Dirt Dispatch episode. Support the podcast! Become a patron: www.patreon.com/dispatchesfromtheforest...

Here in North America we have otters: River otters and Sea otters.  So how do they match up to the King of the Otters - the Giant otter?  Find out on this episode of the podcast! Support the podcast! Become a patron: www.patreon.com/dispatchesfromtheforest Donate via the Cash App using $ForestNerd Donate via Venmo, PayPal or send me an email!  Dispatchesfromtheforest@gmail.com Check out the merch...

Let's go back to Michigan Wildlife Sketches and see what the Michigan DNR had to say about Wolves and Coyotes in 1972.  You don't have to live in Michigan to appreciate it, and what they say just might surprise you!  Check it out!   Support the podcast! Become a patron: www.patreon.com/dispatchesfromtheforest Donate via the Cash App using $ForestNerd Donate via Venmo, PayPal or send me an email! ...

Praying mantises are remarkable insects - learn more about these ambush predators on this episode of the Dispatches from the Forest Podcast! Support the podcast! Become a patron: www.patreon.com/dispatchesfromtheforest Donate via the Cash App using $ForestNerd Donate via Venmo, PayPal or send me an email!  Dispatchesfromtheforest@gmail.com Check out the merch store: www.cafepress.com/shop/dispatch...

Eastern massasauga rattlesnakes and greenback cutthroat trout in the news, and a weird rumor about groundhogs - find out what's been on my mind in this episode of Dirt Dispatches!   Support the podcast! Become a patron: www.patreon.com/dispatchesfromtheforest Donate via the Cash App using $ForestNerd Donate via Venmo, PayPal or send me an email!  Dispatchesfromtheforest@gmail.com Check out the mer...

For being the smallest members of the  weasel family, Least weasels are heavy metal bad-asses!  Even ancient people thought so - some of the myths around them lean into their reputation for punching above their weight class.  Learn more about these intense little mustelids on this episode of the podcast!   Support the podcast! Become a patron: www.patreon.com/dispatchesfromtheforest Donate via the...

Swainson's hawks have been described as "a classic species of the open country of the Great Plains and the West".  But this is no ordinary raptor - Swainson's hawks are amazing and unique among hawks.  Learn more on this Dirt Dispatch!   Support the podcast! Become a patron: www.patreon.com/dispatchesfromtheforest Donate via the Cash App using $ForestNerd Donate via Venmo, PayPal or send me an ema...

Dragonflies and damselflies are one of my favorite insects, but I think that we don't really give them too much thought.  But I think they deserve more love.  I mean first of all, they eat a lot of insects like mosquitos - both as adults and as larvae - but secondly, the adult form that we see flying around is the end of their life cycle.  By the time we see them, they're on a short timer.  Learn...

I was recently gifted a book from the Michigan Depart of Natural Resources that was published in 1972.  Tune in to hear what the Michigan Department of Natural Resources had to say about Opossums 50+ years ago - you won't be disappointed!   Support the podcast! Become a patron: www.patreon.com/dispatchesfromtheforest Donate via the Cash App using $ForestNerd Donate via Venmo, PayPal or send me an...

Giraffes are the tallest terrestrial animal and largest ruminant on the planet.  But what the heck are ossicones?  And what does "necking" mean when it comes to giraffes?  Find out all this and more on this episode of the Dispatches from the Forest Podcast! Support the podcast! Become a patron: www.patreon.com/dispatchesfromtheforest Donate via the Cash App using $ForestNerd Donate via Venmo, PayP...

Prairie dogs are a keystone species - as a source of denning and nesting sites, regenerating soil, and as food.  And when plague comes to town, it can wipe out 98% of a colony in a matter of weeks.   And there's no species more dependent on Prairie dogs than the critically endangered Black-footed ferret.  Tune in to learn how scientists are using drone technology to combat plague in Prairie dogs i...

A bird that was born to run, the Greater Roadrunner is faster than a human, eats scorpions and rattlesnakes and survives in the harsh desert landscapes of the southwest United States and Mexico.  Learn more about this bas-ass avian on this episode of the Dispatches from the Forest Podcast! Support the podcast! Become a patron: www.patreon.com/dispatchesfromtheforest Donate via the Cash App using $...

The other day a saw a bird here near Dispatches HQ that I didn't recognize - and that's always a chance to learn something new!  Meet the Lark Bunting, a species of New World Sparrow, on this Dirt Dispatch! Support the podcast! Become a patron: www.patreon.com/dispatchesfromtheforest Donate via the Cash App using $ForestNerd Donate via Venmo, PayPal or send me an email!  Dispatchesfromtheforest@gm...

In this episode I want to tell you about couple groups of marine gastropods - sea slugs - which have some amazing abilities that just might blow your mind!  Nudibranchs and Sacoglassans.  Tune in to learn more! Support the podcast! Become a patron: www.patreon.com/dispatchesfromtheforest Donate via the Cash App using $ForestNerd Donate via Venmo, PayPal or send me an email!  Dispatchesfromthefores...

Are racoons and coyotes becoming domesticated?  Are rattlesnakes losing their rattles?  And a couple of questions involving native wildlife.  Tune in to hear my thoughts!   Support the podcast! Become a patron: www.patreon.com/dispatchesfromtheforest Donate via the Cash App using $ForestNerd Donate via Venmo, PayPal or send me an email!  Dispatchesfromtheforest@gmail.com Check out the merch store:...

We're going back Puerto Rico to take a look at the Monk parakeet, the Sally lightfoot crab and then down a fascinating rabbit hole to learn about the conehead termite.  Trust me, you don't want to miss it! Support the podcast! Become a patron: www.patreon.com/dispatchesfromtheforest Donate via the Cash App using $ForestNerd Donate via Venmo, PayPal or send me an email!  Dispatchesfromtheforest@gma...

During our recent visit to Puerto Rico there was an animal that we didn't see, but we did hear - Coquis.  Coqui is the common name for at least 17 species of small frog that are native to Puerto Rico - and they're an unofficial national symbol for the island.  Learn more about these small but mighty loud little frogs on this episode of Dirt Dispatches! Support the podcast! Become a patron: www.pat...

I recently had the chance to visit Puerto Rico, where I saw some "new to me" birds including my new favorite, the Greater Antillean grackle along with a bird that is a literal pirate of the Caribbean, the Venezuelan troupial.  Learn about these two amazing birds on this episode of the Dispatches from the Forest Podcast! Support the podcast! Become a patron: www.patreon.com/dispatchesfromtheforest...

I talked about Beaver a long time ago - back in Episode 11 - but I've learned a few things about them since then, so let's re-visit the busy, busy beaver!  Tune in! Support the podcast! Become a patron: www.patreon.com/dispatchesfromtheforest Donate via the Cash App using $ForestNerd Donate via Venmo, PayPal or send me an email!  Dispatchesfromtheforest@gmail.com Check out the merch store: www.caf...

On the last Dirt Dispatch I talked about bumblebees and the importance of early spring flowers.  Meet 3 more early spring pollinators, including one that is the most "Game of Thrones" bee in the pollinating world.  "Pollen is coming...." Support the podcast! Become a patron: www.patreon.com/dispatchesfromtheforest Donate via the Cash App using $ForestNerd Donate via Venmo, PayPal or send me an ema...