Nature Guys

Greg and Bob are loving all the wonderful spring wildflowers. Greg takes us back in time to discover the history of wildflowers around the world before turning to the amazing story of the eastern forest in spring.

Related episodes: Spring Wildflowers, Seeds on the Move and Wild Ginger

Greg has done three excellent videos on spring wildflowers available via YouTube:

• Harbinger of Spring  
• Skunk Cabbage
• Spring Woodland Wildflowers

If you need a great wildflower book, check out Bob’s favorite guide:
Wildflowers of Tennessee the Ohio Valley and the Southern Appalachians by Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, and Duhl, published by Lone Pine Publishing

After a long winter Bob and Gia are excited to do a live show at California Woods Nature Preserve. They had a blast talking with kids and adults about the nature of spring.

Related episodes: Firefighting Beavers, Parachuting Beavers

I received an intriguing email from Tina at Red Oaks Forest School asking me if I knew about Zugunruhe. I did not and wanted to learn more so I invited Tina to come on the show to explain all about it. Tune in to hear Tina tell the inspiring story of how Red Oaks got started and of course all about Zugunruhe.

You can find out more about Tina and Red Oaks Forest School at redoaksforestschool.org

If you want to register for Zugunruhe 2022 go to: https:// evergreen.humanitru.com/web/campaigns/red-oaks-forest- school~zugunruhe-2022

All pictures are thanks to Tina, Co- Director of Red Oaks Forest School.

Related episode: Sit Spot

Nature Guys is proud to say that this is our 200th episode! Our first episode was released in October of 2016. If you are a long time listener you know that my dear friend Bill was my only co-host until August of 2020. If you are new to the show, you can listen to my tribute to Bill on the episode titled “Our Friend Bill” released on September 1, 2020. Nature Guys has not only survived Bill’s loss but thrives thanks to the contributions of many people both on air and off. Special thanks to Gia, Greg and Charles – top notch naturalists who have taken the time from their busy schedules to help me create multiple amazing new shows. On this 200th episode I wanted to play an old Bill and Bob show. I was debating which episode to use when I got an email from Eve Bishop. Eve has a wonderful new four part podcast called Deer Humans. Tune in to hear Eve explain this in her own words followed by the Nature Guys podcast on white tailed deer originally released on October 10, 2017.

You can find out more about Eve Bishop at: www.evebishop.net

Our sources for this episode include:

• Avoiding Deer Collisions
• The First Months Of A Whitetail Fawn
• Tarsal Glands: What We Know | QDMA
• Interesting facts about white-tailed deer

Deer in Bob’s yard:

Charles and Bob can’t wait to get out in the field in early spring to check out the woodcock sky dance. This is one crazy bird. It is a shorebird that lives in the forest and is nicknamed the timberdoodle.

The woodcock sound clip is thanks to Karen Hogan and the image below to Vicky McErlean both via the Macaulay Library at Cornell Lab of Ornithology.

Thanks to Christina Zorn for providing background research.

Our sources for this episode include:

• The Woodcock Management Plan
• Funky American Woodcock YouTube video
• A Sand County Almanac by Aldo Leopold
• Nature blog Gulo in Nature by Charles Van Rees

Gia and Bob discuss wolves a species that inspires a variety of emotions. Tune in to learn about the impacts wolves have on the Yellowstone ecosystem. Thanks to Christina Zorn for providing background research. Also special thanks to Lissa Malloy for creating a picture visualizing the tropic cascade concept.

Keystone Species series: All About Alligators, Firefighting Beavers, Acorn Woodpeckers

Our sources for this episode include:

• The Howling Wilderness an interview with Doug Smith
  January 2021 Issue 541 of The Sun Magazine
  Thanks to Doug Smith and The Sun for giving us permission to link to this incredible interview
• Max Waugh Photography – Gray Wolf vs Coyotes
• Tropic Cascade Picture on Nature Guys web site: Lissa Malloy offered to create a picture visualizing the tropic cascade concept we covered in the podcast. You can find more of her amazing work at: https://lissamalloy.crevado.com/about-cv

Charles and Bob kick off 2022 with a very unique bird. Hopefully we will inspire you to take a walk by your favorite stream or river to see a kingfisher.

Related episodes: What It’s Like to be a Bird with David Sibley

Our sources for this episode include:

• Fun Facts About Kingfishers
• Ten Things about the Belted Kingfisher
• Aerial Ramming, a Burrow Excavation Behavior by Belted Kingfishers, with a Review of its Occurrence among the Alcedinidae by Hendricks et al., 2013
• The Eastern Belted Kingfisher, Megaceryle Alcyon Alcyon (Linnaeus), in Relation to Fish Management by Salyer and Lagler, 1949
• Attempted predation of a diurnally active Spotted Bat (Euderma maculatum) by a Belted Kingfisher
• Predation of a Western Water Shrew (Sorex navigator) by a Belted Kingfisher (Megaceryle alcyon)
• North American River Otters Followed by Piscivorous Birds, and a River Otter Parental Distraction Display

Greg and Bob discuss a plant that everyone will probably recognize. Amaze your friends at holiday parties with the story of mistletoe.

Our sources for this episode include:

• The Golden Bough by James George Frazer (available via Project Gutenberg)
• Merry covid Christmas: Don’t kiss under the mistletoe, advises British minister
• 12 Things to know about Mistletoe

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Bob talks with Grace Lynch, the creator and host of an amazing new podcast on climate change from Wonder Media Network. The podcast brings together poems and stories from women throughout the US and territories that depict the effects of climate change on their homes and people.

The source for this interview is the new podcast As She Rises by Wonder Media Network.

Gia and Bob just cannot let go of the 17 year cicadas. They discuss a very cool bird the Yellow-Billed Cuckoo that has a special taste for cicadas.

Special thanks to photographer Richard Payne for allowing us to share this amazing yellow-billed cuckoo picture taken at Cincinnati Park’s Magrish Riverlands Preserve.

Check out this great YouTube video from our listener Deb of a common European cuckoo in Rhode Island (see the details in her comment):
https://youtu.be/vw5XeXrTci4

Related episodes: Cicadas, 17 Years to Awesome and The Nature of Oaks with Doug Tallamy

Our sources for this episode include:

• Cicada Safari App created by Dr. Gene Kritsky 
• Ohio Birds: A Folding Pocket Guide to Familiar Species published by Waterford Press
• Bird Note Podcast on the Yellow-billed Cuckoo