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Something Wild

New Hampshire PR

Something Wild explores the features of our local landscapes, from birds to trees to stone walls, and explains some of the behavior and science behind what we see and hear in our backyards.

Location:

Concord, NH

Description:

Something Wild explores the features of our local landscapes, from birds to trees to stone walls, and explains some of the behavior and science behind what we see and hear in our backyards.

Language:

English


Episodes

Something Wild: Olfaction Action What's Your Reaction?

7/16/2021
We know…we’ve been remiss, and it’s time to talk about the elephant in the room. Something Wild, as you know, is a chance to take a closer look at the wildlife, ecosystems and marvelous phenomena you can find in and around New Hampshire. But over the years there is one species in New Hampshire that we haven’t spent much time examining. A species, I think that has been conspicuous in its absence. Humans.

Duration:00:04:17

Something Wild: N.H.'s Wildest Neighborhoods

5/17/2021
Here at Something Wild, we love all things wild (even blackflies !) but sometimes it can be helpful to look beyond a single species and consider how many species interact within a given environment. In our periodic series, New Hampshire’s Wild Neighborhoods, we endeavor to do just that and this time we’re looking at peatlands.

Duration:00:04:33

Something Wild: Tree Sex

4/23/2021
Spring in New Hampshire is a double-edged sword. On one hand you have longer, warmer days — plants and trees are blooming! On the other hand, the pollen springtime trees produce can present an array of unpleasant seasonal symptoms. Yet pollen is so incredibly important to our survival – we think we should give it the credit it deserves. O ur friend Sam Evans Brown is the host of NHPR’s Outside/In; when pollen makes his eyes watery and the roof of his mouth itchy this time of year, Sam likes...

Duration:00:04:02

Something Wild: Peepers, The Unmistakable Sound of Spring

4/9/2021
It’s an unmistakable sound. One that elicits memories, sights and scents of events long ago. It recalls the joy of youth, the possibility of a spring evening. But it can also incite insomnia and the blind rage that accompanies it.

Duration:00:04:32

Something Wild: N.H.'s Liquid Gold

3/26/2021
For some, m aple sugaring is a perennial ritual, painstakingly completed as we usher out the bitter wisps of winter, and embrace balmier, brighter days of early spring. And whether you’re producing maple syrup with just a few buckets, or if you’ve expanded operations with a full-blown sugar shack … you know this much to be true: 1) S ugaring is an art 2) Sugaring is a science 3) And a great excuse to be outdoors, with family and friends. This week on Something Wild, we check in with novice...

Duration:00:04:19

Something Wild: One Year Later

3/12/2021
About this time one year ago life in New Hampshire and across the world changed drastically. In this week's Something Wild, we re-visit musings from Dave Anderson in how to find solace in nature-- even during the most stressful of times.

Duration:00:03:44

Something Wild: Ode To Late February

2/26/2021
February in New Hampshire can be a bitter time, weather-wise. In some places, layers of ice and snow still weigh heavily on conifer limbs, and on the souls of even the heartiest of New Englanders. But at last, the days are noticeably longer. So take heart winter-weary friends. The first pulses of springtime arrive in the smallest of signs.

Duration:00:04:28

Something Wild: How Trees Survive Winter

2/12/2021
Here at Something Wild , we don’t have a problem with winter. Aside from the snow and the cold and the freezing rain…okay, maybe we have a couple issues. But we have sweaters and hot cocoa and Netflix. Trees, however, do not. As the snow piles up, you may see trees bent over with their crowns nearly touching the ground, leafless and haggard. They can’t escape or hide from the cold, so how do trees survive? Just like any living thing, trees have adapted over time to deal with the range of...

Duration:00:03:52

Something Wild: Winter Finch Forecast

1/29/2021
Each year, bird enthusiasts across North America eagerly await the Winter Finch Forecast. Published every fall since 1999, the Winter Finch Forecast predicts when and where, and even IF fan-favorite finches like Evening Grosbeaks and Common Redpolls will grace our backyard bird-feeders, or make an appearance on a brisk mid-winter hike. It’s a big deal for birders. So much so that enthusiastic birders have been known to base winter birding plans on this forecast, even driving hundreds of...

Duration:00:04:26

Something Wild: Flying Under the Radar

1/5/2021
Sometimes called a Marsh Hawk, the northern harrier is currently one the rarest birds of prey nesting in the Granite State. Unlike many of our more common hawks, harriers shun the forest, opting instead to hunt in wide-open spaces like fields, brushy areas -- even in marshes. And get this --they build their nests on the ground . Peculiar preferences indeed, and ones that have made it a challenge for them to survive here. ___________________________ Flying under the radar is the modus...

Duration:00:03:59

Something Wild: Christmas Tree Farms Are The Gift That Keeps On Giving

12/4/2020
This time of year, you're likely to see cars and pickup trucks heading home on the highways with fresh-cut Christmas trees tied to roofs or in the truck beds. Fraser firs, Korean firs, Balsam firs, and Spruce (ouch!)... So today on Something Wild we take a look at Christmas tree farms, and the important habitats they provide for New Hampshire wildlife. You might be heartened to know that tree farms are a unique land use, and serve as early successional habitat, one that is neither...

Duration:00:04:23

Something Wild: Where Have All the Birds Gone?

11/20/2020
As we hunker down for the winter weather, we’re frequently too preoccupied with what is in our front yards that we tend not to notice what isn’t there. And short of finding a postcard in your mailbox from a warm exotic location, signed by your friendly neighborhood phoebe, you probably haven’t thought much about the birds that flitted through your yard just months ago. We love to admire the birds when they’re here with us, but we’ve accepted that school-age aphorism that birds fly south for...

Duration:00:04:23

Something Wild: New Hampshire's Bat Habitats

11/6/2020
By the time the cold weather months hit us, three of New Hampshire’s eight species of bats have already migrated to warmer places in the South and Mid-Atlantic regions. The bat that DO overwinter in New Hampshire have relocated out of their preferred summer roosts in trees (and Dave's chimney), and into winter hibernacula like caves, mine shafts, and abandoned military bunkers where the microclimate is just right. These cozy shelters provide stable temperatures, higher humidity, and...

Duration:00:04:45

Something Wild: Life After Death in NH Forests

10/23/2020
Standing dead trees (often called snags) are common in our forests, and it’s hard to overstate just how vital a role they play in a healthy ecosystem. These gray ghosts provide food and shelter for a whole heap of forest critters; a total of 43 species of birds and mammals are specially adapted to nesting or denning inside tree cavities. But before a dead tree becomes a high-rise condo for a long list of species, it first undergoes a remarkable transformation. In fact, snags undergo a series...

Duration:00:00:33

Something Wild: Life After Death in NH Forests

10/23/2020
Standing dead trees (often called snags) are common in our forests, and it’s hard to overstate just how vital a role they play in a healthy ecosystem. These gray ghosts provide food and shelter for a whole heap of forest critters; a total of 43 species of birds and mammals are specially adapted to nesting or denning inside tree cavities. But before a dead tree becomes a high-rise condo for a long list of species, it first undergoes a remarkable transformation. In fact, snags undergo a series...

Duration:00:03:59

Something Wild: Boom & Bust Cycles

9/25/2020
This episode of Something Wild was produced by Andrew Parrella: The number of acorns a tree produces in a given year has to do with masting. Not mast like on tall ships, but mast as in masticate, or to chew and it refers to the fruit, seeds or nuts that trees produce and are in turn fodder for animals. Especially in New Hampshire, oak mast follows a boom or bust cycle, which means the amount of acorns varies from year to year. Over time, evolution has favored the oak trees that demonstrate...

Duration:00:03:37

Something Wild: The Judas Trees

8/27/2020
It's late August, and the leaves are already starting to change. And that flush of red you’re seeing likely comes from the red maple , also known as “swamp” or “soft maple”. It's an adaptable tree renowned for signaling an impending autumn, and has even earned the dubious nickname: “Judas Tree” – for betraying these late summer days. Red maples are common in New Hampshire’s young forests, especially in areas prone to natural disturbances such as flooding in wetlands, along rivers -- and by...

Duration:00:03:52

Something Wild: The Hoarders

8/13/2020
This Something Wild segment was produced by the amazing Andrew Parrella. You may be familiar with hoarders (not the TV show, but same idea). In nature, a hoarder will hide food in one place. Everything it gathers will be stored in a single tree or den. But for some animals one food cache isn't enough. We call them scatter hoarders. A "scatter hoarder" hides food in a bunch of different places within its territory. The gray squirrel is a classic example, gathering acorns and burying them in...

Duration:00:04:50

Something Wild: Olfactory Hues

8/1/2020
We know…we’ve been remiss, and it’s time to talk about the elephant in the room. Something Wild, as you know, is a chance to take a closer look at the wildlife, ecosystems and marvelous phenomena you can find in and around New Hampshire. But over the years there is one species in New Hampshire that we haven’t spent much time examining. A species, I think that has been conspicuous in its absence. Humans. So we’re grabbing the bull by the horns and digging in to a complex species that is an...

Duration:00:04:39

Something Wild: The Wheel

7/22/2020
Producer's note: Because of the global pandemic, Dave Anderson was not able to record this piece in NHPR's studio. Instead, he recorded through the microphone in his phone, while sitting in his Hyundai during a rain shower. Because that's how he rolls. ______________________________________________________________ My summer lament when weeks accelerate is there are really only two seasons : "summer waxing" and "summer waning." The former happily runs from January to June. The latter opens...

Duration:00:03:30