The Field Guides

Fishers (Pekania pennanti) are a predator species reclaiming much of its former range in the northeastern US, but, as sightings become more common, so do stories of what fishers (AKA fisher cats) are up to. Are they eating young turkeys and housecats? Are they the animal you hear screaming from the woods at night? Why did one study find fisher toes and feet in the stomachs of other fishers?! This episode, the guys are on the trail - both literally and figuratively - tracking down the life history of this elusive member of the weasel family. This episode was recorded on April 24, 2024 at Hunters Creek County Park in East Aurora, NY. Episode Notes Are skunks weasels? The guys debated whether or not skunks are members of the weasel family, with Daniel saying that they were not. Turns out he was correct. The Canadian Encyclopedia states: Skunks were previously considered as part of the weasel family (Mustelidae) but DNA research has placed them in their own family, Mephitidae. What do you call a genus that contains only a single species? Bill asked Steve this question, and Steve responded that he thought the term was monotypic. He was right! Visit thefieldguidespodcast.com for full episdoe notes and works cited

Who doesn’t love an eclipse? Apparently, wildlife has very mixed feelings about the whole affair. This month, the guys prepare for the upcoming 2024 total eclipse by looking into the research around how animals react to the moon photobombing the sun for a few minutes. The reactions are not universal, but they are varied. And trying to figure out what the animals are up to makes for a fascinating listen. This episode was recorded on March 20, 2024 at Reinstein Woods Nature Preserve in Cheektowaga, NY. Episode Notes Bill mentioned that “wind is air moving between temperature differences.” When listening back to the episode during editing, he worried that maybe he was wrong on that. Looking it up, he did find some websites claiming that wind is due to differences in air pressure and that temperature has little to do with it, but it turns out that’s not quite true either. According to the good people at NOAA (The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the organization referred to in this episode), the answer is both. Their short answer to “what makes wind?” is that it’s the movement of gases from high-pressure areas to low-pressure areas. BUT, they go on to say that the main cause of wind is actually temperature. More specifically, it’s differences in temperature that lead to different air pressures. It all starts because as the sun warms up the air on the Earth, it does so unevenly. Because the sun hits different parts of the Earth at different angles, and because Earth has oceans, mountains, and other features, some places are warmer than others. Because of this, we get pockets of warm air and cold air. Since gases behave differently at different temperatures, that means you also get pockets with high pressure and pockets with low pressure. Generally speaking (and notice we said generally), in areas of high pressure, the gases in the air are colder and more crowded. In low pressure zones, the gases are warmer and a little more spread out. And this is why wind happens. Gases move from high-pressure areas to low-pressure areas. And the bigger the difference between the pressures, the faster the air will move from the high to the low pressure. That rush of air is the wind we experience. Bill stated that perigee when the moon is farthest from the Earth. WRONG! The point in the moon's orbit where it is farthest from the earth is called apogee, while it's closest approach is known as perigee. Steve mentioned he though an eclipse viewer was like a camera obscura, and he was correct! A camera obscura is a darkened room with a small hole or lens at one side through which an image is projected onto a wall or table opposite the hole. The camera obscura was used to study eclipses without the risk of damaging the eyes by looking directly into the Sun. From Wikpedia Links Ways to get involved recording weather and/or animal behaviors during the eclipse: The Eclipse Soundscapes Project is a NASA Citizen Science project that's studying how eclipses affect life on Earth Solar Eclipse Safari is another Citizen Science option that invites you to collect data on animals and their behaviors during the eclipse. This project looks at domestic and well as wild animals. https://www.greatamericaneclipse.com/ - a great website for general info about eclipses What Do Birds Do During a Total Eclipse? - an article compiling eBird sightings and descriptions of bird behavior during the 2017 eclipse, including an animation of radar data that shows bird activity during totality Sponsors and Ways to Support Us Gumleaf Boots, USA (free shipping for patrons) Thank you to Always Wandering Art (Website and Etsy Shop) for providing the artwork for many of our episodes! Support us on Patreon! Check out the Field Guides merch at our Teespring store. It’s really a great deal: you get to pay us to turn your body into a billboard for the podcast! Works Cited Buckley, E.M.B., Caven, A.J., Gottesman, B.L., Harner, M.J., Pijanowski, B.C. and...

Florida Panthers (Puma concolor couguar) are a distinct population of pumas that live predominantly in southwest Florida. Pumas used to roam the entire United States, but habitat loss and overhunting in the 1800’s and early 1900’s caused them to disappear from much of their range. Every breeding population of pumas East of the Mississippi river vanished, except for one. South Florida, due to its wild and swampy nature, was able to thwart human development just enough for its inhabiting pumas to narrowly avoid oblivion. These surviving pumas, or Florida Panthers, represent the resiliency of wild south Florida. The decades since their near extinction have been filled with controversy, conservation, and politics. This iconic cat still has many challenges to face, and with only 200 or so remaining in the wild, their future is uncertain. Daniel was first introduced unofficially to this animal during his first trip to Everglades National Park in 2017. The Florida Panther and the swampy, remote areas in which they are found captivated Daniel’s imagination. Every subsequent trip to the Everglades and southwest Florida had at least some time dedicated to searching for this cat, all to no avail. In January 2024, after spending months preparing and researching, Daniel embarked on a five-day solo trip in the backcountry of the Big Cypress National Preserve, with the sole objective of finally crossing paths with a panther. But what exactly IS a Florida Panther? Are they only found in Florida? Are they black? What is the difference between a Florida Panther and a mountain lion? And of course… do they eat people?! Luckily, Bill was able to meet Daniel in south Florida to record an episode about the Florida Panther and tackle the questions and misconceptions that leave this cat shrouded in mystery. This episode was recorded on January 8th, 2024 at Everglades National Park in Homestead, FL. Episode Notes When Daniel was talking about Florida Panther size, they were described as smaller than other pumas out west. It should also be noted that while they do fall to the bottom of the size and weight scale of pumas in North America, the populations of pumas closer to the equatorial rain forests in South America are even smaller. This reinforces the notion discussed in the podcast that pumas in colder climates or higher elevation tend to be larger than pumas in warmer climates and lower elevation. Also, Bill asked Daniel what their life span was, and Daniel was not sure. Bill guessed 20-30 years. According to Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, “Panthers can live up to 20 years or more in the wild. Female kittens have a good chance of living 10 years or more. Males have a tougher time, but if they survive to five or six years old, they are likely to live even longer to 10 or more years.” Nicely done Bill! While discussing vehicular collisions as the number one cause of death of Florida Panther, Bill and Daniel discussed how in 2023, 13 Florida Panthers were killed by vehicular strikes. So far in 2024, there have been five. Bill and Daniel referred to the rule about animals being larger the farther you get from the equator, but they couldn’t remember the name of the rule. It’s Bergmann’s Rule, and it’s defined as: “one of the best-known generalizations in zoology. It is generally defined as a within-species tendency in homeothermic (warm-blooded) animals to have increasing body size with increasing latitude and decreasing ambient temperature. That is, Bergmann's rule states that among mammals and birds, individuals of a particular species in colder areas tend to have greater body mass than individuals in warmer areas. For instance, white-tailed deer are larger in Canada than in the Florida Keys, and the body size of wood rat populations are inversely correlated with ambient temperature. This principle is named after a nineteenth-century German biologist, Karl Bergmann, who published observations along these lines in 1847.” -...

Part 2 of our Timber Rattlesnake episode. If you haven’t listened to part 1, go and do that. We’ll wait right here for you. The episode was recorded on December 7, 2023 at Hunters Creek County Park in East Aurora, NY. Episode Notes When the guys discussed the different types of snake teeth, Steve wondered if the word solenoglyphous, which refers to snakes with two large, hinged fangs (like the Timber Rattlesnake), has any relation to nightshades, which are plants in the genus Solanum. Bill could have cleared it up right away if he had been sharp enough to notice the difference in spelling. Upon getting home and doing some research, he found that the root soleno is Greek, and it means a tube or pipe. This makes sense given that solenoglyphous snakes have large, hollow fangs. The second part of the word - glyphos – means to cut or carve, so solenoglyphous could be taken to mean “hollow fangs that cut or carve”. Incidentally, Bill also tried to look up what Solanum means. He found many circular references – sites that said Solanum means nightshade, and that nightshade means Solanum. The most promising reference he found said that Solanum possibly stems from the Latin word sol, meaning "sun", referring to the nightshades love of sun, maybe? Steve asked if proteroglyphous fangs (the smaller, unhinged fangs in species like the Coral Snake) are hollow. Bill thought they might be, and he was right. A little internet digging led to this blog post that had a handy-dandy cross-section of the different types of snake teeth. Can owls identify venomous snakes? While we couldn’t find any studies, or even any general articles, that covered this specific question, we did find an interesting study that looked at venom resistance in a variety of animals. The research “analyzed the molecular resistance against cobra venom and found considerable differences in resistance between animas groups.” It showed that several mammal species, such as the Honey Badger and the Asian Mongoose, independently evolved resistance to cobra venom, but the snake-eating bird species looked at showed no resistance. The study’s authors hypothesized that "…the resistance is redundant: There is no selection pressure for it. Birds have feathers, scaly legs, excellent vision, are very intelligent, and are very agile. The snakes don't stand a chance against all these adaptations, so birds just don't need to be resistant." So, while we don’t know if owls can ID venomous snakes, at least one team of researchers feels that snake-eating birds are such bad-ass hunters, with so many tools in their evolutionary toolbox, that they wouldn’t even need to tell the difference between venomous and nonvenomous snakes. And that answers another question the guys asked: Do Honey Badgers eat venomous critters? They do! And the story of how is shared in this great article from Slate. Our favorite quote: “Evolving to withstand snake venom [and so be able to eat a venomous snake] is like being the only person at a party who can eat the extra-hot salsa: You get it all to yourself. Plus…this means the honey badger gets to hunt fairly slow-moving prey with only one pointy end, rather than fast prey with one pointy end plus four sets of claws.” Steve was correct in calling our Bill for referring to the England as United Kingdom during the USA’s colonial period. The UK did not form until 1801, when the Kingdom of Ireland joined with Scotland, England, and Wales. Please comment below if you notice any mistakes or unanswered questions in the episode. Episode Links As the guys mentioned in the episode, you should check out Snoop Dogg’s delightful series of nature videos: Plizzanet Earth Here’s more info on The Rattlesnake Roundup in Sweetwater, Texas. Wild Snake Education and Discussion Group’s article about Timber Rattlesnakes. And here’s a link to their Facebook group, too. Visit the North American Snakebite Registry The paper describing the wiener dog bitten by a rattlesnake. If you...

Love ‘em or hate ‘em, we wager you’ll enjoy this dive into the shiny (not slimy) world of rattlesnakes. This episode, the guys take a close look (but not too close) at the Timber Rattlesnake (Crotalus horridus), trying to show how it’s not out to kill you and also finding out how it ended up on the “Don’t Tread On Me” flag. Plus, they introduce the newest field guide, Daniel! The episode was recorded on December 7, 2023 at Hunters Creek County Park in East Aurora, NY. Episode Notes One intriguing question that came up was, “If rattlesnakes that rattle call attention to themselves and get killed by humans, does this mean we’re inadvertently selecting for rattlesnakes that don’t rattle and creating populations of silent rattlers?” It’s an idea that sounds logical, but, as the guys have discovered on many other occasions, that doesn’t mean it’s true. After some digging through a variety of sources, the guys could find zero research-based evidence supporting the idea of this phenomenon. There are news stories that promote it, but all the ones that do seem to base their info on anecdotal accounts. The most interesting source - and the one the guys found to be the most skeptical (in the best sense of the word) - was from Rattlesnake Solutions LLC, an Arizona-based rattlesnake removal and consulting service. This is ironic because Bill went out of his way during the episode to caution listeners to be wary of such sites, but this one seems to genuinely want to not only share solid info about rattlesnakes but also to combat misinformation. In a post called, “Are rattlesnakes evolving to rattle less, or losing their rattles?”, they explained: Rattlesnakes don’t often rattle in the wild, even when there’s someone looking at them. This is a great example of confirmation bias. If you hear that rattlesnakes aren’t rattling any longer, and you then see a rattlesnake just sitting there and not rattling, this can serve as confirmation that the rumors are true. You then tell others this is the case, having first-hand experience on the matter, comment on Facebook, etc. Just like that, you’ve become the latest node in the spread of nonsense without realizing it. This can be even more confusing for long-term hikers with a lot of experience, who report seeing this phenomenon over time (decades even), where rattlesnakes used to rattle but now most of the rattlesnakes they see don’t: therefore the myth is true. What these anecdotes really look like is something much more simple to explain. Over the years, these people have simply become better at seeing rattlesnakes, and peaceful sightings of rattlesnakes just sitting silent, as they usually do, become more frequent. Check out their full post for more information. Do any snake species have eyelids? As far as we could find, no. Instead, snakes have a brille; a transparent, disc-shaped, immobile scale that covers the eye. Is Pennsylvania one of the “biggest hunting states”? During the episode, Steve asked if he was right thinking that Pennsylvania was one of the biggest hunting states, and Bill confirmed it, pretending that he had some knowledge of whether this was true or not. He looked into it after recording and found this listing of states, ranked according to the number of hunters. Turns out Pennsylvania is #23 (Wyoming is number 1), so Bill was just straight-up wrong. At what point does inactivity cross the line and become brumation? This was a question to which we could not find a definitive answer. From reading several articles, the best explanation the guys could cobble together was that brumation is typically long-term, seasonal, and is something animals prepare for by eating more food, while inactivity is short-term and sporadic. But take that last sentence with a grain of salt; like with hibernation, brumation seems to occur on a spectrum that can vary with species and conditions. More info here. Does the Timber Rattlesnake breeding season differ from north to south? The guys...

This month, Bill and Steve visit Floating Fen, although some might call it a bog, or is it a swamp? Thankfully, they’re joined by Erik Danielson, Stewardship Coordinator of the Western NY Land Conservancy (WNYLC), who schools them on the difference between these wetlands. Erik and the WNYLC are trying to preserve Floating Fen, a property home to a unique wetland, extraordinary life, and a diverse forest. Erik guides Bill and Steve through the fen, discussing just what makes a bog a bog and a fen a fen, as well as what makes these peatlands such amazing habitats. The episode was recorded on June 17, 2023 at the Floating Fen near Fredonia, NY. Episode Notes Please comment below if you notice any mistakes or unanswered questions in the episode. Links to the Western NY Land Conservancy Visit the website of the Western New York Land Conservancy to find out more about their vital conservation efforts. Find out more about the Floating Fen, including the efforts to preserve it. Explore the WNY Land Conservancy’s Western New York Wildway, their ambitious new initiative to create an extensive series of protected lands that connect the vast forests of northern Pennsylvania to the Great Lakes, central NY, the Adirondacks, and beyond. Other Episode-related Links A one-page primer on Conservation Easements The book that Erik mentioned was A Focus on Peatlands and Peat Mosses by Howard (not Viktor) Crum. The Wildlands Network - the group responsible for initially identifying the four “Continental Wildways” traversing the Pacific and Atlantic coastlines, the Canadian Boreal Forest region, and the “Spine of the Continent” between Alaska and Mexico. Bill’s article about Mike Radomski, Outside Chronicles, and the WNY Hiking Challenge Sponsors and Ways to Support Us Gumleaf Boots, USA (free shipping for patrons) Thank you to Always Wandering Art (Website and Etsy Shop) for providing the artwork for many of our episodes! Support us on Patreon! Check out the Field Guides merch at our Teespring store. It’s really a great deal: you get to pay us to turn your body into a billboard for the podcast! References / Works Cited Benyus, Janine 1989, A Field Guide to Wildlife Habitats of the Eastern United States, Touchstone Books, Chicago. The Conversation – Peatlands keep a lout of carbon out of Earth’s Atmosphere, but that could end with warming and development Wetland types: https://www.epa.gov/sites/default/files/2021-01/documents/types_of_wetlands.pdf

The Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) is a rare example of a species humans managed to pull back from the brink of extinction by getting off our collective asses and doing some stuff. Already decimated by hunting and habitat loss, the post WWII enthusiasm for spraying the chemical DDT on just about everything sent Bald Eagle populations into freefall. That is, until Rachel Carson published Silent Spring in 1962 and sensibly said, “Hey, maybe we shouldn’t go through pesticides like beer at a frat party. Maybe let’s use as little as needed?” We’re paraphrasing, of course, but, eventually, DDT was banned in the US, the Bald Eagle was placed on the Endangered Species list, and our national bird was on the road to recovery. This is the story told about Bald Eagles and DDT. But a few out there question this narrative, claiming that DDT wasn’t a big problem for eagles and that banning it caused billions of unnecessary deaths because it prevented DDT’s continued use in the fight against malaria. These claims are mostly nonsense, drudged up by folks who hate regulations, but looking into them makes for an interesting ride. Join the guys as they find out…DUN DUN DUN…what THEY don’t want you to know about Bald Eagles. This episode was recorded on May 16, 2023 at the Hampton Brook Woods Wildlife Management Area in Hamburg, NY. Visit http://www.thefieldguidespodcast.com/new-blog/2023/5/15/ep-60-bald-eagles-and-ddt-and-some-folks-that-hate-regulations for works cited and a full run down of our episode notes.

They’re hard-working, tail-slapping, tree-cutting machines, and they’re one of the greatest wildlife recovery stories in North America: Castor canadensis, the North American beaver. And, as if all that weren’t enough, apparently their rear ends produce an oil that’s vanilla-scented. Join the guys as they keep their puns and innuendos in check and dive into beavers! This episode was recorded on January 28, 2023 at the Beaver Meadow Audubon Center in North Java, NY. Episode Notes Beaver anal glands – which gland is used for which? There was some confusion over the beaver’s anal glands and the oils they produce. Some sources stated that beavers have two anal glands that produce oil for waterproofing - the oil that smells like motor oil in male beavers and rancid cheese in females) and two more glands that produce oil (castoreum) for marking their scent mounds. Some sources, however, said the waterproofing oil was also used for scent marking. So, what gives? With a little more research, Bill discovered that he misspoke during the episode. Beavers have two anal glands that produce the waterproofing oil, and two castor sacs (not glands, although they’re often referred to as such) that produce castoreum, the oil used for scent-marking. All four structures are located near each other, between the pelvis and the base of the tail. Here’s a paper that explains it all. Click the “pdf viewer” tab for a format that is easier to read. Steve recalled hearing how parts of whales were used in perfume production. He was right! “Ambergris [is] a solid waxy substance originating in the intestine of the sperm whale (Physeter catodon). In Eastern cultures ambergris is used for medicines and potions and as a spice; in the West it was used to stabilize the scent of fine perfumes.” From Britannica.com When discussing the study that looked at how beaver dams fare during floods, Bill cited that, in one study, 70% of beaver dams remained intact during a flood event. Steve then pointed out that 30% of the dams failing seemed to lend at least some credence to the anecdotal records of beaver dams being unreliable at mitigating flood impacts. If Bill was a quicker thinker, he would have realized that he had JUST SAID that even though 30% of the dams in the study did not remain completely intact, the researchers found that many of them still helped reduce flood impacts downstream. Do wetlands have lower biomass? Steve mentioned he thought this was true, but, after the episode, Bill did a search of general and academic sources and could not find a definitive answer. He was, however, rushing a bit, trying to get this episode released. If you find a source with a concrete answer to this question and send it in (thefieldguides@gmail.com), the guys would definitely give you a shout-out on a future episode! Links The Conversation: This is the website Bill mentioned that publishes science articles for the general public, written by academics and researchers. The world’s largest beaver dam - 58.2722° N, 112.2521° W A collection of Gerry Rising’s nature columns from the Buffalo News (1991-2015). More recently, he wrote for Buffalo Spree, and those articles can be found here. Check out the Outside Chronicles website. You can also follow them on Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram. Support The Field Guides Patreon Make a onetime Paypal donation. The Field Guides Merch Shop Our Sponsors Gumleaf Boots, USA Always Wandering Art - Thank you to Always Wandering Art for this month’s episode artwork! Works Cited Aleksiuk, M., 1970. The function of the tail as a fat storage depot in the beaver (Castor canadensis). Journal of Mammalogy, 51(1), pp.145-148. Lancia, R.A., Dodge, W.E. and Larson, J.S., 1982. Winter activity patterns of two radio-marked beaver colonies. Journal of Mammalogy, 63(4), pp.598-606. Larsen, A., Larsen, J.R. and Lane, S.N., 2021. Dam builders and their works: Beaver influences on the structure and function of river corridor hydrology,...

Our six-legged celebration continues! In this second part, the guys wrap up their behind-the-scenes tour of the Cornell University Insect Collection with Jason Dombroskie, collection manager and director of the insect diagnostic lab, and THEN, Jason provides the guys with some eye protection and takes them out into the woods for some nighttime mothing! This episode was recorded on July 2-3, 2022 at the Cornell University Insect Collection in Comstock Hall at Cornell University and at Steege Hill Nature Preserve in Corning, NY. Links Check out Jason’s website to find out about his lab, research, publications, and more. The Cornell University Insect Collection Follow their social media feeds: Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, and Facebook And their annual October event Insectapalooza The Museum of the Earth’s Six-Legged Science exhibit Visit The Finger Lakes Land Trust to find out about their vital work conserving the Steege Hill Preserve and other wildlands in central NY State. Check out Walden Heights Nursery and Orchard, a certified organic farm specializing in cold-hardy, fruiting plants. Support The Field Guides Patreon Make a onetime Paypal donation. The Field Guides Merch Shop Our Sponsors Gumleaf Boots, USA Always Wandering Art

This month, Bill and Steve geek out over insects! And it’s because they were lucky enough to have an even bigger insect geek invite them on a field trip. Jason Dombroskie is the collection manager and director of the insect diagnostic lab at Cornell University. His invite to take the guys mothing in July of 2022 turned into a marvelous, day-long adventure: In part one, you’ll hear the guys meet up with Jason for a tour of his property and an interview delving into Jason’s background and what it’s like to be a professional entomologist (it involves studying lots of insect genitalia, among other things). We follow that up with a behind-the-scenes tour of the Cornell University Insect Collection - an assemblage spanning over 7 million insect specimens representing about 200,000 species, or roughly 20% of the world’s described insect fauna. So, strap in and prepare yourself for…Insectapalooza! This episode was recorded on July 2, 2022 at Jason’s property near Ithaca, NY and at the Cornell University Insect Collection in Comstock Hall at Cornell University. Links The Cornell University Insect Collection Also, check out their great Instagram feed And their annual October event Insectapalooza Support The Field Guides Patreon Make a onetime Paypal donation. The Field Guides Merch Shop Our Sponsors Gumleaf Boots, USA Always Wandering Art

Have you ever heard a mockingbird imitate a blue jay? How about a seal imitating a Maine fisherman? This month, the guys explore what happens when animals make sounds they’re not supposed to: the wild world of vocal mimicry. Birds imitate chainsaws and car alarms, elephants speak Korean; what’s going on? With a special focus on one of the bird world’s best known mimics - the northern mockingbird (Mimus polyglottos) - the guys delve into the research trying to explain why animals - especially birds - feel the need to engage in the wildlife equivalent of, “I know you are, but what am I?” Episode Notes Steve wondered about the similarity between the scientific names of the northern mockingbird (Mimus polyglottos) and monkeyflowers (in the genus Mimulus). Turns out that both refer to mimicking; the mockingbird (whose scientific name means ““many-tongued mimic”) imitates the sounds of other species, and the monkeyflowers have flowers that, at least to some, seem to have grinning faces resembling those of monkeys. Bill mentioned that the viceroy butterfly (Limenitis archippus) is often mistakenly cited as an example of Batesian mimicry. What’s up with that? Here’s what the University of Wisconsin has to say about it: “Ecologists have long preached that Viceroys have enjoyed a Batesian “Get-out-of-Jail-Free” card due to their resemblance to the toxic Monarch butterfly (Batesian mimicry—the harmless imitating the harmful). Monarchs are poisonous because their caterpillar host plant, milkweed, contains harmful cardiac glycosides. Recent research suggests that because willow leaves are very bitter, the Viceroy may be almost as distasteful as Monarchs. In that case, Monarchs and Viceroys are mimicking each other, each cashing in on the other’s bad reputation (Mullerian mimicry).” Check out episode 34: The Downy-Hairy Game for more info on Batesian and Mullerian mimicry The guys wondered, “Are there any large passerines (songbirds/perching birds)?” The largest seem to be in the raven family; “The heaviest and altogether largest passerines are the thick-billed raven and the larger races of common raven, each exceeding 1.5 kg (3.3 lb) and 70 cm (28 in). The superb lyrebird and some birds-of-paradise, due to very long tails or tail coverts, are longer overall.” (Source: Wikipedia) The guys briefly discussed mobbing behavior in birds, and Bill mentioned a couple of suspected reasons behind the behavior. He regretted not mentioning what is accepted as the most likely reason: to drive away predators! Steve wondered, “Did mimicry evolve independently?” According to a 2018 study, “Vocal mimicry evolved independently at least 237 times and was lost at least 52 times.” Since brown headed cowbirds are nest parasites and don’t raise their own young, how do their young learn the brown headed cowbird song? Turns out that the good people at BirdNote did an episode on this very topic in 2021! Here’s the takeaway from the episode transcript” “Scientists think that when a young cowbird hears the “chatter call” of an adult cowbird, something is triggered in its brain, and it begins to learn the song of its own species. Like a kind of “password,” the chatter call guides the young bird in recognizing what species to identify with. Then, when the young cowbird is ready — probably when it’s two years old — and hears an adult male Brown-headed Cowbird sing, it will imprint on that song. It’s a remarkable adaptation, even more so when you consider that cowbirds are fostered by as many as 220 different species. And they still wind up learning their own song.” Links Find out more about Hoover, the talking seal. A clip of the superb lyrebird from the incomparable David Attenborough and his series Lives of Birds Head down a fascinating rabbithole and explore the world of mimicry Meet Koshik, the elephant that speaks Korean Support The Field Guides Patreon Make a onetime Paypal donation. The Field Guides Merch Shop Our Sponsors Gumleaf Boots,...

Black Walnut (Juglans nigra) is a tree well-known for its ability to negatively affect other plants growing nearby, a phenomenon known as allelopathy. But is Black Walnut really as allelopathic as the Internet would have you believe? In this episode, the guys go nuts: delving into this question and many other facets of the fascinating (and tasty?) Black Walnut, including an on-air tasting of Black Walnut syrup. Enjoy! This episode was recorded on May 11, 2022 at the Beaver Meadow Audubon Center in North Java, NY. Episode Notes Thank you to listener Mark Carroll for giving us the idea for this episode and providing the paper on which much of it was based. Is Black Walnut wind pollinated? Bill mentioned during the episode that he thought the flowers were insect pollinated. He was WRONG! According to Floral Biology And Pollination Of Eastern Black Walnut, a publication by the National Forest Service, “Walnut trees are wind-pollinated and classified as monoecious; male and female flowers are on the same tree, but separated from each other.” Bill stands by his assessment, however, that the distinctive, seldom-seen flowers are worth checking out. This page provides some nice pictures; scroll down to see both the male and female blossoms. The female flowers look like milkweed pods with a sea anemone stuck on top! What is the correct measurement of diameter at breast height (DBH)? Diameter at breast height, or DBH, is a standard method of expressing the diameter of the trunk or bole of a standing tree. Tree trunks are measured at the height of an adult's breast; in many countries, DBH is measured at approximately 1.3 m (4.3 ft) above ground, but in the US, DBH is typically measured at 4.5 ft (1.37 m) above ground. Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diameter_at_breast_height Does Steve know about honeysuckles? Steve claimed that honeysuckles (Lonicera sp.) with a hollow pith are not native to eastern North America and that the ones without a hollow pith are native. According to Iowa State University, “Twigs of all species can be hollow. However, the twigs of native species tend to be less hollow with a white pith whereas the exotic species are more obviously hollow with a brown pith.” Are there other plants with a chambered pith? Yes! Black Tupelo (Nyssa sylvatica) is another species, unrelated to walnuts, that has a chambered pith. What does microcarpa mean? During their discussion of other walnut species, Bill mentioned the Little Walnut (Juglans microcarpa) , and Steve wondered what “microcarpa” means. The answer? Small fruit. Links The Get Crackin' Nut Cracker Support The Field Guides Patreon Make a onetime Paypal donation. The Field Guides Merch Shop Our Sponsor Gumleaf Boots, USA Picture Credit Thank you to Always Wandering Art (Website and Etsy Shop) for providing this episode’s artwork, as well as the art for many of our previous episodes! Works Cited Chalker-Scott, L., 2019. Do Black Walnut Trees Have Allelopathic Effects on Other Plants?. Washington State University Extension. Marking, L.L., 1970. Juglone (5-hydroxy-1, 4-naphthoquinone) as a fish toxicant. Transactions of the American Fisheries Society, 99(3), pp.510-514. Willis, R.J., 2000. Juglans spp., juglone and allelopathy. Allelopathy J, 7(1), pp.1-55. Page, Teri. Homestead Honey, https://homestead-honey.com/beyond-maple-syrup-tapping-black-walnut-trees/. Accessed 5 Apr. 2009.

What’s dark and slimy and over two feet long? It’s an Eastern Hellbender! This aquatic giant salamander, endemic to the eastern and central US, is the largest amphibian in North America, often weighing in at over 4 lbs.! The hellbender (Cryptobranchus alleganiensis) is, not unlike Steve, secretive and slimy but also fascinating. Join the guys for one hell of an episode learning about this rare and disappearing denizen of fast-moving streams. This episode was recorded on January 22, 2022 at Chestnut Ridge County Park in Orchard Park, NY. Episode Notes Bill said that the Kinzua Bridge was about 300 feet long, but he was mistaken. The bridge was about 300 feet high. The length was 2,053 feet. When Bill was talking about the white tips on hellbender toes, he mistakenly said that hellbenders have “fingers”. D’oh! Bill understand that salamanders don’t have toes, but he wants everyone to know he was using the term in a cutesy way. Steve mentioned his friend Zachary Cava and Zack’s research into hellbenders. Bill was able to track down Zack’s study! Full citation below under “Works Cited”. Around the 20:50 mark, Steve wonders if there is an ecological concept or law stating that larger species tend to go extinct more quickly than small species. After recording, Bill did some searching but could not find any specific law. Anyone out there that knows of one? Please get in touch with us! Bill gave a quick and somewhat vague definition of siltation. Here’s a more complete definition: Siltation refers both to the increased concentration of suspended sediments and to the increased accumulation of fine sediments on [waterway] bottoms where they are undesirable. Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siltation Useful Links Check out Life Among the Milkweed, the new book from friend-of-the-podcast Melissa Borowicz Betrus Visit Kinzua Bridge State Park and Sky Walk in Pennsylvania Ellen Paquette’s WeeBeasties Etsy Shop (Paquette is the artist who created the plush hellbender Bill mentioned in this episode) Stuff You Should Know’s excellent episode on zoos: Are Zoos Good or Bad For Animals? Sponsors Gumleaf Boots, USA (free shipping for patrons) Thank you to Always Wandering Art (Website and Etsy Shop) for providing the artwork for many of our previous episodes! Support Us Support us on Patreon! Check out the Field Guides merch at our Teespring store. It’s really a great deal: you get to pay us to turn your body into a billboard for the podcast! Works Cited Bodinof, C.M., Briggler, J.T., Junge, R.E., Beringer, J., Wanner, M.D., Schuette, C.D., Ettling, J., Gitzen, R.A. and Millspaugh, J.J., 2012. Postrelease movements of captive-reared Ozark hellbenders (Cryptobranchus alleganiensis bishopi). Herpetologica, 68(2), pp.160-173. Cava, Z.A., McMillan, A.M., Pennuto, C.M. and Warren, R.J., 2018. Hellbender prey preference is superseded by native and nonnative prey behavior. Journal of Herpetology, 52(2), pp.162-170. Crowhurst, R.S., Faries, K.M., Collantes, J. et al. Genetic relationships of hellbenders in the Ozark highlands of Missouri and conservation implications for the Ozark subspecies (Cryptobranchus alleganiensis bishopi). Conserv Genet 12, 637–646 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10592-010-0170-0 Foster, R.L., 2018. Lessons From the Past: A Historical Approach to Conservation of the Eastern Hellbender Salamander (Cryptobranchus alleganiensis) (Doctoral dissertation, State University of New York at Buffalo). Photo Credit "Hellbender" by John Garret is licensed under CC BY NC

Jewelweed. Spotted touch-me-not. Orange Balsam. It’s a plant known by many names, and, even if you don’t recognize any of them, you’ve probably popped one of its exploding seed pods. A favorite of hummingbirds and nature-lovers young and old, it’s a species with many stories to share. Listen in as the guys dive deep into the jewelweed patch, eating some seeds, trying to find the source of the “jewel” in jewelweed’s name, and getting to the bottom of the age-old claim that jewelweed is a cure for poison ivy. This episode was recorded on September 26, 2021 at Birdsong Park in Orchard Park, NY Episode Notes: Which species is more common in North America: yellow (aka pale) jewelweed or orange jewelweed? While it may vary from place to place, orange jewelweed seems to be the more common species. Nearly every site we visited referred to it as “common” or “more common” and to the yellow jewelweed as “less common”. Orange jewelweed’s North American range is also broader than yellow jewelweed’s (yellow is absent from most of the Gulf states and most Canadian provinces). When do the Witch hazel seeds explode out of their capsules? Steve and Bill were both confused on the timing. Witch hazel (Hamamelis virginiana) is a forest understory tree that blooms in the fall. The seeds take a year to develop and are forcibly expelled (because of dehiscence) from the seed capsules the following fall or winter. Check out our episode on witch hazel! Are there any plants that produce only cleistogamous (closed, self-pollinating) flowers? Not that we could find. Most sources make reference to the fact that cleistogamous flowering is a behavior that appears to have evolved to ensure reproduction under unfavorable conditions. These conditions usually limit or prevent cross pollination of the typical, chasmogamous (open) flowers. How many species of jewelweed do we have in North America? The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center lists 4 species of Impatiens native to North America. I. capensis and I. pallida are the ones found in the east (although, as mentioned in this episode, some sources list I. capensis as native in the Pacific northwest, as well). Five nonnative Impatiens species have also been introduced to the continent. Steve wondered what the Latin term ecalcarata means. This came up when Bill was discussing the western species of jewelweed, specifically, Impatiens ecalcarata. Turns out that ecalcarata means spurless, and the common name of this species is, appropriately enough, spurless touch-me-not or spurless jewelweed (AKA western jewelweed). FYI: The Latin name has been updated recently, and this species is now Impatiens ecornuta. Schizomyla impatientis is the Latin name of the midge that makes a gall on jewelweed. Steve recognized the genus, Schizomyla, and wondered if this insect was related to any of the gall-making insects we mentioned way back in our goldenrod episode (episode 1!). Bill checked, and the answer is no. Books Mentioned During This Episode 100 Flowers and How They Got Their Names – Diana Wells How Plants Get Their Names by LH Bailey The Book of Swamp & Bog: Trees, Shrubs, and Wildflowers of Eastern Freshwater Wetlands by John Eastman National Audubon Society Birds of North America National Audubon Society: Trees of North America Useful Links Gumleaf Boots, USA (free shipping for patrons) Thank you to Always Wandering Art (Website and Etsy Shop) for providing the artwork for many of our previous episodes! Support us on Patreon! Check out the Field Guides merch at our Teespring store. It’s really a great deal: you get to pay us to turn your body into a billboard for the podcast! Works Cited Cipollini, K. A. & Hurley, S. L. (2008) Variation in Resistance of Experienced and Naive Seedlings of Jewelweed (Impatiens capensis) to Invasive Garlic Mustard (Alliaria petiolata). The Ohio journal of science. 108 (3), 47–49. Guin, Jere D., and Ruth Reynolds. "Jewelweed treatment of poison ivy dermatitis." Contact...

This month, Bill and Steve look into the fall and (potential) rise of the American chestnut (Castanea dentata), and they’re joined by Erik Danielson, Stewardship Coordinator of the Western NY Land Conservancy. The Conservancy recently embarked on an effort to acquire the Allegany Wildlands, a unique piece of property that harbors, among its many abundant ecological treasures, remnant American chestnuts. Erik guides Bill and Steve through the property, and, in part 1 of this episode, they discuss the history of the chestnut and the blight that caused its downfall. In part 2, they share how past and present research come together to create a realistic plan for bringing the American chestnut back. Throughout both parts, Erik shares how the Allegany Wildlands fit into the Conservancy’s ambitious effort to create the Western NY Wildway, a network of connected protected lands stretching from Pennsylvania to the Great Lakes and beyond.

This month, Bill and Steve look into the fall and (potential) rise of the American chestnut (Castanea dentata), and they’re joined by Erik Danielson, Stewardship Coordinator of the Western NY Land Conservancy. The Conservancy recently embarked on an effort to acquire the Allegany Wildlands, a unique piece of property that harbors, among its many abundant ecological treasures, remnant American chestnuts. Erik guides Bill and Steve through the property, and, in part 1 of this episode, they discuss the history of the chestnut and the blight that caused its downfall. In part 2, they share how past and present research come together to create a realistic plan for bringing the American chestnut back. Throughout both parts, Erik shares how the Allegany Wildlands fit into the Conservancy’s ambitious effort to create the Western NY Wildway, a network of connected protected lands stretching from Pennsylvania to the Great Lakes and beyond.

This month, the guys set out to discover if daddy longlegs really are the most poisonous spider in the world, but, along the way, they uncover a fascinating array of arachnids and adaptations in the group known collectively as harvestmen. Join them for some mythbusting and a deep dive into the little-known order of arachnids called Opiliones. Episode Notes Steve referred to the American toad as Bufo americanus, and Bill agreed. But they were both wrong because its Latin name has been changed to Anaxyrus americanus. At one point, Bill made a comment where he seemed to be saying that all reptiles have teeth. They do not. He wants to clarify that he was speaking specifically about snakes. What he should have said is “Most snakes have teeth, but not all snakes have fangs.” Steve mentioned that he didn’t know much about Dick Walton, so we looked him up! Turns out Dick Walton is a naturalist and teacher living in Concord, MA. He considers himself a generalist but has focused on birds, butterflies, dragonflies, solitary wasps, and jumping spiders. He coauthored Peterson’s seminal Birding By Ear audio field guides, the go-to guide for budding birders in the pre-app era. Check out his work at http://www.rkwalton.com/ The guys have great respect for his work and hope that Mr. Walton was not offended by their joking around in this episode.. What is the origin of the name “daddy longlegs”? No one seems to know for sure, but some sources point to the book, Daddy-Long-Legs, a 1912 novel by the American writer Jean Webster. But the book, as far as we can tell, has nothing to do with arachnids. So, we’re still scratching our heads on that one. Steve wondered if crane flies are dipterans – they are! Also, during this episode, Steve had a couple questions about the mouth parts of dipterans (flies) and hemipterans (true bugs): Do all dipterans have sucking mouth parts? Yes! “Flies have a mobile head, with a pair of large compound eyes, and mouthparts designed for piercing and sucking (mosquitoes, black flies and robber flies), or for lapping and sucking in the other groups. “ from Wikipedia How are wheel bugs killing? The wheel bugs is a species of assassin bug and is a True Bug (Order Hemiptera). “Most hemipterans feed on plants, using their sucking and piercing mouthparts to extract plant sap…but some hemipterans such as assassin bugs are blood-suckers, and a few are predators” from Wikipedia Steve wondered if mites were the largest group of invertebrates, but it turns out that arthropods. Ok, then, are mites the largest order of arthropods. Nope, that honor belongs to insects. Alright, maybe Steve meant to say that mites are the largest group of arachnids, but, still no, spiders are. Do spider legs have chemical receptors? Spiders, in fact, do taste, and also smell, through special sensory organs on their legs, as well as on their pedipalps. Steve was correct when he said that our five local species of ashes (black, white, green, blue, and pumpkin) are critically endangered. Steve mentioned seeing a kissing bug covered in dust in his house, but a search did not turn up any records of this behavior in kissing bugs. Maybe Steve was referring to an insect commonly called the masked hunter (Reduvius personatus). Masked hunters are given this name because the immature masked hunter carries dust and debris on its body to camouflage itself. What are the hairs in pitcher plants called? Trichomes Useful Links Gumleaf Boots, USA (free shipping for patrons) Thank you to Always Wandering Art (Website and Etsy Shop) for providing the artwork for many of our previous episodes! Support us on Patreon! Check out the Field Guides merch at our Teespring store. It’s really a great deal: you get to pay us to turn your body into a billboard for the podcast! Works Cited Pinto-da-Rocha, Ricardo, Glauco Machado and Gonzalo Giribet. 2007. Harvestmen: The Biology of Opiliones. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. Shear, W.A. (2009)...

The northern flicker (Colaptes auratus) is a common bird that has some exceptionally uncommon behaviors. Unlike most bird species, male flickers take an equal share of egg incubation and feeding, and, in up to five percent of females, a lady flicker will take up with two mates - an older male and a younger male - raising young in two different nests at the same time. In addition, flickers will sometimes lay their eggs in the nests of other flickers, a behavior called intraspecific brood parasitism, another habit rarely seen in birds. Join the guys as they delve into studies exploring the wild and swinging world of northern flicker reproduction. This episode was recorded on May 11th, 2021 at Chestnut Ridge Park in Orchard Park, NY. Episode Notes: Bill fully realizes that he mispronounced monogamous as monogyoumous. He doesn’t know why he did this, but he is appropriately embarrassed about it. Bill and Steve were both amazed to learn that belted kingfishers nest in burrows. Find out more here. At one point in this episode, Bill wondered about all cavity nesting birds having pure white eggs. They do not, and this article provides a nice overview of egg coloration in cavity-nesting species. Around the 32:40 mark – Bill said that of the bird species that have biparental care, 90% have extra pair paternity (EPP), and, in describing it, he said that it occurs when a female mates with another male outside her pair bond, but, to be clear, both sexes can engage in EPP. Steve asked about their longevity. Some info from one of Dr. Wiebe’s studies: Flickers have a relatively fast life history with an annual apparent mortality rates of 60%. The rate doesn’t vary with age. A 2006 study looked at mortality rates of male and female flickers over a 6-yr period and observed only 1-2 birds out of every 300 adults were 7 or more years old. There was no significant differences between male and female survival rates for the general population. The oldest known flicker was 9 years, 2 months old. The New World blackbird family is Icteridae. Why are these birds called flickers? As best as we can tell from a quick google search, the name is another effort to mimic their call - flicka flicka flicka. Useful Links Gumleaf Boots, USA (free shipping for patrons) Thank you to Always Wandering Art (Website and Etsy Shop) for providing the artwork for many of our previous episodes! Support us on Patreon! Works Cited Wiebe, K.L., 2002. First reported case of classical polyandry in a North American woodpecker, the northern flicker. The Wilson Journal of Ornithology, 114(3), pp.401-403. Wiebe, K.L., 2018. Age-related improvements in fecundity are driven by the male in a bird with partially reversed sex roles in parental care. Oecologia, 188(4), pp.1095-1104. Wiebe, K.L. and Kempenaers, B., 2009. The social and genetic mating system in flickers linked to partially reversed sex roles. Behavioral Ecology, 20(2), pp.453-458. Image credit Yellow-shafted northern flicker (female) (Colaptes auratus), Cabin Lake viewing blinds, Deschutes National Forest, near Fort Rock, Oregon Permission details: Nature's Pic's (www.naturespicsonline.com) explicitly releases for copying under Attribution-ShareALike 3.0 (see copyright release webpage: http://www.naturespicsonline.com/intro.html).

Episode Notes Spring is here! So, what better time to talk about winter-active insects? Steve recorded this one in February with entomologist and all-around-great-guy Dr. Wayne Gall, and there was no way we could wait until next winter to share it! Join Steve and Wayne as they head into the winter woods, peeling back the snowy curtain that conceals the ecology of these fascinating invertebrates. This episode was recorded in February 2021 at the Deer Lick Conservation Area, a Nature Conservancy property, located in Gowanda, NY. Timestamp of sightings in the episode 2:34 – Small Winter Stone Fly – Genus: Allocapnia 12:20 – Snowfleas in the Order Collembola 12:33 – Snow Scorpion Fly in the Genus Boreus. Possibly Boreus Brumalis 45:16 – Winged Winter Crane Fly in the Genus Trichocera 51:59 – Snow Fly in the Genus Chionea 55:06 - Chironomid Midge Two other species - an unidentified spider and a second, unidentified Allocapnia species - were encountered Corrections Polystichoides is not the correct name for Christmas Fern. It’s Polystichum acrostichoides. Support The Field Guides at Patreon Make a one- time Paypal donation. Our Sponsor Gumleaf Boots, USA Thank you to Always Wandering Art (Website and Etsy Shop) for providing the artwork for many of our previous episodes! Thank you Patrons! Alyssa, Eric, The Hebranks, Ken, Diane, Daniel M, Rachelle, OrangeJulian, Jessica, Rich K, Sean, Kali, Rob M, WeNamedTheDogIndie, John, Bethany, Ester, Jeff, Goose_Egg, bruce, Kazys, Jajean, Bob, Doodle Dude 82, Elisabeth, Lauren, Jane, Ben, Andrew, Andy, Helen, MD, Judy, Kelly, Sara, and this month’s new patrons: Jonathan A, Anna G, Jake M, Melissa Marie in Dusty, AZ, Celia, Lucas, and Kelly S.

This winter (2021) marked the first time a Snowy Owl (Bubo scandiacus) was spotted in New York City’s Central Park in 130 years. Why was it there? Where did it come from? Since 99.9% of the population immediately just thinks of Harry Potter when Snowy Owls are mentioned, the guys wanted to cast the proverbial “Lumos!” and shed some light on the subject. Join them and guest Daniel Mlodozeniec (photographer and naturalist) as they delve into the Snowy Owl’s ecology in part 1. Then, in part 2, come along as they look into the research behind what drives Snowy Owl irruptions, those irregular migrations that cause Snowies to end up in Central Park and even in places like Bermuda and Hawaii! This episode was recorded on February 1, 2021 in Buffalo, NY at the Erie Basin Marina (part 1) and Tifft Nature Preserve (part 2).