Bob and Charles tackle one of the hardest subjects that Nature Guys has ever undertaken. In part 1 of Passenger Pigeon they go back in time to experience what this bird was like and how humans managed to wipe out this bird. Part 2 covers what we have learned and not learned from the Passenger Pigeon.

Related episodes: Passenger Pigeon Part 1, The Nature of Oaks with Doug Tallamy

For more information, we recommend these books:

• Wild New World The Epic Story of Animals and People in America by Dan Flores (Bob’s pick)
• Man and Nature by George Perkins Marsh (Charles’s pick)

Here are books Charles read; the links are to a non-profit website (www.bookshop.org). If you buy these books through the links below it gives Charles’s blog credit which does him a lot of good!

• Silent Wings: A Memorial to the Passenger Pigeon (Edited by Wlater Edwin Scott)
• The Passenger Pigeon by Errol Fuller
• The Passenger Pigeon: Its Natural History and Extinction by W.A. Schorger
• A Feathered River Across the Sky: The Passenger Pigeon’s Flight to Extinction By Joel Greenberg

Here are links to the relevant posts on Charles’s blog called Gulo in Nature:

• Why is it bad when species go extinct? 
• What is a keystone species? 

Bob and Charles tackle one of the hardest subjects that Nature Guys has ever undertaken. In part 1 of Passenger Pigeon they go back in time to experience what this bird was like. Thanks to naturalists in the past we have first hand accounts of what this bird was like. Find out how humans managed to wipe out this bird.

For more information, we recommend these books:

• Wild New World The Epic Story of Animals and People in America by Dan Flores (Bob’s pick)
• Man and Nature by George Perkins Marsh (Charles’s pick)

Here are books Charles read; the links are to a non-profit website (www.bookshop.org). If you buy these books through the links below it gives Charles’s blog credit which does him a lot of good!

• Silent Wings: A Memorial to the Passenger Pigeon (Edited by Wlater Edwin Scott)
• The Passenger Pigeon by Errol Fuller
• The Passenger Pigeon: Its Natural History and Extinction by W.A. Schorger
• A Feathered River Across the Sky: The Passenger Pigeon’s Flight to Extinction By Joel Greenberg

Here are links to the relevant posts on Charles’s blog called Gulo in Nature:

• Why is it bad when species go extinct? 
• What is a keystone species? 

Bob is joined by the astronomer Dean Regas. Our goal for this podcast is to inspire you to attend the total eclipse of the sun on April 8th, 2024.

Dean Regas Website: astrodean.com
NASA Science: 2024 Total Solar Eclipse

Bob and his wife Beth are invited to chat with Carol Mundy on her radio show Outdoor Life.

Our sources for this episode include:

• Outdoor Life with Carol Mundy
• Carol Mundy’s Website The Crow Knows

Bob chats with Vincent Stanley, the author of The Future of the Responsible Company: What We’ve Learned from Patagonia’s First 50 Years.

Our sources for this episode include:

• The Future of the Responsible Company by Vincent Stanley with Yvon Chouinard
• Earth is now our only shareholder by Yvon Chouinard

Bob meets Caroline from the Civic Garden Center and invites her to talk about a subject she is really tired of! Join us for the good the bad and the ugly about boxwood a plant that seems to be everywhere.

Our sources about boxwood include:

• Where they came from and why they became the universal standard
• Why we gotta get rid of them
• What we can replace them with/ What do we gotta do to get more American Yew

Boxwood pictures are from the Hauck Botanic Gardens at the Civic Garden Center

Bob’s ten year old grandson Drew was attacked by yellowjackets at summer camp this year. Drew joins Bob to tell the story and share what he has learned about this often aggressive wasp.

Our sources for this episode include:

• Yellowjackets are not Honey Bees
• Yellowjacket Fact Sheet
• Yellowjacket Facts for Kids

Join Bob and Gia as they delve into the fascinating world of fungi. Gia explains why she loves mushrooms and in particular Lion’s Mane Mushroom.

Related episode: Spring Fungi

Our sources for this episode include:

• Entangled Life by Merlin Sheldrake
• Hericium erinaceus: an edible mushroom with medicinal values

Thanks to Michael Kuo for the great picture! See more of his pictures on his website MushroomExpert.com.

Nature Guys recorded this in front of an audience at the Civic Garden Center’s Fall Native Plant Festival. Bob welcomes Greg Torres and Sam Settlemyre to discuss why and how we should reduce our lawns.

Related episode: The Nature of Oaks with Doug Tallamy

Resources:

• Homegrown National Park (Doug Tallamy)
• Civic Garden Center of Greater Cincinnati
• Garden centers with native plants in Greater Cincinnati
  • Civic Garden Center
  • Cincinnati Nature Center
  • Cincinnati Permaculture Institute
  • Great Parks’ Shaker Trace Nursery
  • Green Living by Design
  • Harvest and Habitat
  • Keystone Flora
  • Native Roots
  • Nature’s Ark
  • Nature’s Haven
  • Our Land Organics

Charles suggests we do the whirligig – one of over 350,000 species of beetles. Find out about the amazing characteristics of this amazing beetle.

Check out Charles’ nature blog at Gulo in Nature. 

Related episodes: Water Striders Walk on Water and Vernal Pools

Our sources for this episode include:

• Whirligig Beetle Facts and Information Guide 2023
• Whirligig Beetles are Skimmers
• Whirligig Beetles Missouri Department of Conservation
• Experimental Studies and Dynamics Modeling Analysis of the Swimming and Diving of Whirligig Beetles (Coleoptera: Gyrinidae)