The holiday seasons are upon us. This is often a time to gather with family and friends, give thanks, share memories, exchange gifts, and reflect both on what we have and what we hope to achieve in the coming year. I thought about skipping this episode completely since it will […]
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Wasps are often portrayed as one of “the bad guys” in the insect world. But part of that common misconception comes from a lack of knowledge or understanding about wasps in general and stereotypes that don’t apply to most wasp species. The truth is that wasps are extremely diverse and […]
Monarch butterflies have become an increasingly hot topic in recent decades, and especially in the last couple of years. Conversations about monarchs often revolve around topics like their migrations, the importance of milkweeds, or other flowers we can plant for monarchs. Rarely do the topics of monarch health or monarch […]
One of the most common pieces of advice given related to pollinator gardening is to try and have a constant supply of blooms available throughout the growing season. That’s easy in the spring. The summer is a little more challenging than the spring, but is still relatively easy. Even early […]
Have you ever found a leaf with weird little balls or spiky things attached to it? Or found a plant with a weird growth on its stem or a dense clump of leaves growing out of an odd place? Chances are those were galls. Going into this conversation, I knew […]
One of the most common questions I get is, “What should I plant for pollinators?” As you’ll hear in today’s conversation, I’m not the only one who frequently gets that question. It’s probably the most common question asked of anyone who promotes pollinator gardening. Unfortunately, there isn’t a simple answer […]
We’ve all been there. We are walking in the woods, in a field, along a creek bank, around our property, or around the local park and we stumble upon an interesting plant. It isn’t one that we know and we immediately begin to wonder, “what is that?” It’s a simple […]
Fall is an extremely important time for pollinators, so having plenty of flowers available at this time of year is crucial if one of your goals is to attract pollinators. Luckily, there are lots of fall blooming, native plants that you can grow in your gardens. In the last Backyard […]
Late summer is often thought of as a challenging time for gardening. It’s hot, it’s humid, we may or may not be getting regular rainfall, and there are often lots of other summertime activities competing for our attention. But if our goal is to plant for pollinators and wildlife, then […]
I often hear comments or questions such as, “I do what I can in my yard, but I wish more people in my community would plant pollinator gardens.” Or, “What can I do to get my community involved and to make my community more pollinator friendly?” It can feel overwhelming […]
Did you know that Venus flytraps are insect pollinated? Or that they are native to a very small part of eastern North and South Carolina? Or that they rarely eat flies? I didn’t either until I stumbled upon a research paper talking about the pollination of Venus flytraps. That paper […]
Summer brings with it butterflies, lightning bugs, caterpillars, hummingbirds, fawns, baby birds, and so much more. It can be a really fun time to just get outside and observe all of the fascinating plants and animals around us. There are also plenty of things that we can be doing at […]
I often get asked what people can plant for bees. I can give good general answers to those questions, because we have a good idea of what types of flowers tend to be attractive to bees in general. We can then use that information along with personal observations made by […]
Glades are ecosystems where the soils are really shallow and rocky, often with patches of rock showing on the surface. They can be found all over the world, including multiple states within the eastern U.S. These ecosystems are unique areas that support some really interesting and sometimes highly specialized or […]
I can’t believe that I’ve been podcasting for a year and a half and that this is my 50th episode of the Backyard Ecology podcast! I am truly honored and humbled that so many people enjoy hearing what I have to say and are following the podcast. Looking back, we’ve […]
The interest in gardening with native plants has been growing steadily, and I am very excited about that fact. Growing native plants in our gardens and landscapes can have many benefits – both for us as the gardeners and for the pollinators and wildlife that also call our yards home. […]
Once upon a time, the moon was the brightest object in the night sky followed by the stars. However, that’s no longer the case. Today the night sky is so brightly lit by artificial lights sources that the majority of people living in North America can no longer see the […]
Ruby-throated hummingbirds are common and much beloved summer visitors to yards and gardens throughout the eastern U.S. and Canada. In this episode of the Backyard Ecology podcast, we talk about ruby-throated hummingbirds, their northward migration, and how to make our yards more hummingbird friendly. We are joined in this conversation […]
Grassland birds such as bobwhite quail, meadowlarks, sparrows, northern harriers, burrowing owls, and many others represent one of our fastest declining groups of birds. In many ways, this makes sense since grasslands are some of our fastest declining ecosystems, especially in the eastern U.S. Yet, many people don’t realize how […]
The spotted lanternfly (Lycorma delicatula) is an invasive species of leafhopper (a type of insect) that was accidentally brought to the U.S. from Asia. It was first detected in Pennsylvania in 2014 and has spread to multiple states since then. This episode of the Backyard Ecology podcast is all about […]
When it comes to planting for pollinators or gardening for pollinators, the traditional advice has always been to plant larger patch sizes or clumps of plants. The thought is that the larger patch sizes will be easier to see and more attractive to pollinators than smaller clumps or patch sizes. […]
In 2021, Kyle Lybarger began creating TikTok videos about native plants and grassland ecosystems in Alabama. He quickly became a social media star and even gained the attention of more traditional media streams including The Weather Channel. Kyle is doing terrific work teaching about and raising awareness of native plants […]
Sometimes you read or hear something that makes you say, “Wait a minute! What?” It was one of those moments that led to this episode. In this episode of the Backyard Ecology podcast, I talk with David Mason. David is a PhD candidate at the University of Florida who has […]
Winter is often depicted as being dark and cold. A time to slow down and spend more time inside, than outside. But winter can be a really great time for observing nature and doing many habitat management activities. Habitat management activities that we can do in the winter is a […]
The first “real” episode of the Backyard Ecology podcast went live on December 3, 2020. (Technically that was episode 2, but I don’t count the introduction episode as a “real” episode because all I was doing was telling you that I was going to start the Backyard Ecology podcast.) This […]
Lichens are AMAZING organisms. You can find them practically everywhere from very urban areas to very rural areas. You can find them growing on trees, rocks, buildings, benches, and all kinds of different things. But many of us really don’t know a whole lot about lichens. In today’s episode of […]
Wild turkeys are fascinating birds that are only found in North America. They are also a conservation success story – one which most people aren’t aware of because the turn-around was so successful. In this episode of the Backyard Ecology podcast, we talk with Dr. Bret Collier. Bret is a […]
When it comes to gardening for monarchs, the most common thing you hear is “plant milkweeds.” Milkweeds are important, because they are the only thing that monarch caterpillars can eat. But they aren’t the whole story. In fact, having other types of flowering plants available can actually make your gardens […]
Bats are often associated with Halloween and relegated to roles in scary movies, but they are so much more. Bats are very diverse and fascinating creatures that play an invaluable role in our ecosystem. I love the fact that more people seem to be recognizing this and wanting to do […]
We always think of hummingbirds as being summer birds. But, did you know that we also have winter hummingbirds? They aren’t common, and they become less common the further you are from the southern coastal plains; however, they aren’t unique either. In the winter of 2011-2012, I was lucky enough […]
What happens when you do a shelterwood cut, conduct a prescribed burn, or have some other natural or human-made disturbance event in oak hickory forests? What happens to the acorn crop? How do different types of wildlife respond? What about the other vegetation in the woods? In this Backyard Ecology […]
Sometimes it’s just fun to sit down and have a fun conversation with other people in the industry, and that’s exactly what we did in this episode of the Backyard Ecology podcast. In this episode, I talk with Fran Chismar and Tom Knezick. Fran is the Sultan of Sales for […]
Pollinator gardens have rapidly increased in popularity, but unfortunately, there hasn’t been a lot of research on the best ways to create those gardens or on how effective those gardens really are. Happily, that’s beginning to change. More and more scientists are beginning to tackle those types of questions in […]
If you listen to the Backyard Ecology podcast, then you are likely interested in creating pollinator and/or wildlife habitat on at least part of your property. The Natural Resources Conservation Service or NRCS is a federal agency that has a number of programs which can help us do just that. […]
In the spring of 2021, reports started coming in of birds dying with weird eye and/or neurological symptoms. At first, it seemed like the bird mortality event was only in Washington, D.C., Maryland, and Virginia, but before long reports began to also come in from West Virginia, Delaware, New Jersey, […]
Lyme disease is our most common tick-borne disease and it is estimated that there are around 400,000 cases each year. Black-legged ticks or deer ticks (Ixodes scapularis) are the only species of tick that carries Lyme disease in the eastern U.S. Although deer ticks are found throughout the eastern U.S., […]
I’ve always really enjoyed looking at the pictures and watching the videos captured by the trail cameras on our property. The videos are always my favorite because you get to see more of the behaviors. Either way, retrieving the SD card from a camera is always exciting because you just […]
This episode is different from anything I’ve done before, because Michael Hawk, who hosts the Nature’s Archive podcast, and I are sharing each other’s episodes. One of the things I really like about the Nature’s Archive podcast is that in addition to the biology, Michael also digs into the stories […]
Laurel wilt disease is a disease caused by an introduced beetle and fungus. This disease is deadly to members of the Laurel family which includes redbay, sassafras, and spicebush. Laurel wilt disease also kills avocados, which aren’t native to the eastern U.S., but are in the Laurel family and are […]
I know from the emails and messages that I’ve received that many of you are parents, teachers, grandparents, aunts, uncles, or friends of young people. Well, this episode is for all of you. In this episode of the Backyard Ecology podcast, we talk with Heather L. Montgomery. Heather is an […]
Thank you for joining me on this Backyard Ecology journey. I can’t believe we’re already up to episode 24 of the Backyard Ecology podcast! And the blog has been going on, in one form or another, for much longer than that. I am really looking forward to continuing on this […]
For many of us, the rhythmic chatter of annual cicadas is a natural part of every summer. But then… every once in a while… the trees explode in a deafening chorus of periodical cicadas. Periodical cicadas will spend over a decade as nymphs underground before emerging and maturing into adults. […]
Gardening with native plants has been growing in popularity. Some people want to grow native plants for plant conservation purposes or to showcase the diverse, local flora of their region. Others want to grow native plants for the benefits they provide to pollinators and wildlife. Still others are interested in […]
Eastern bluebirds are a conservation success story. Their numbers plummeted in the early 1900s. Then in the 1960s and 70s, consorted efforts were started to establish bluebird trails and similar programs. Growing up in the late 1970s and 1980s, I remember often hearing about the plight of the eastern bluebird […]
It is so easy to come home at the end of a long day, eat supper, and then just sink into the couch to veg out for a bit or keep ourselves busy with household activities that need to be done. I’ll be honest, I’m as guilty as the next […]
I am frequently asked about growing native plants in small spaces or in typical suburban yards with HOA or city ordnances. And I’m not the only one who’s getting those questions. I hear and see those same questions being asked throughout the native plant and pollinator communities. That’s why I […]
Flower flies, a.k.a. hover flies, are common garden visitors, but they are often overlooked. The reason they are so often overlooked is because they are extraordinary mimics, usually of bees or wasps. Their mimicry is so good, that flower flies are often mistakenly identified as bees in social media posts, […]
Frogs and toads are so much fun to observe and learn about. In the eastern U.S. we are lucky because we have enough water that they can be found virtually anywhere. Some species may be very specific in their habitat needs, but others are fairly general and can be found […]
This week’s episode of the Backyard Ecology podcast is the conclusion of our conversation with Lynn Faust. Lynn is the author of Fireflies, Glow-worms, and Lightning Bugs: Identification and Natural History of the Fireflies of the Eastern and Central United States and Canada. In this episode, we continue to just […]
For many of us in the eastern U.S., warm spring and summer nights are characterized by the methodical flashing of fireflies and lightning bugs. Fireflies and lightning bugs are exactly the same thing. I grew up calling them “lightning bugs,” but somewhere along the line picked up the term “firefly.” […]
Clovers are often suggested for lawn alternatives or for incorporating into our yards to make them more pollinator friendly. Clovers can also play important roles in agriculture either in grazing systems or as cover crops in row cropping systems. In addition, they are a favorite of deer and rabbits. However, […]
Like many people, I grew up with a healthy…. apprehension (ok, fear) of wasps. And, of course, I’ve seen all the memes on social media vilifying wasps and calling them names that I’m not going to repeat on this podcast. But, those fears and concerns are mostly unfounded and misplaced. […]
Vernal pools are a special type of shallow wetlands that fill with snow melt and rain in late fall through early spring, then dry up sometime during the summer. Because they dry up, they are sometimes overlooked or dismissed as “not very good wetlands.” However, they serve an important role […]
The Great Backyard Bird Count is an annual citizen science / community science project hosted by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Audubon, and Birds Canada. This international project takes place all over the world for four days every February. In 2021, it will happen February 12-15. In today’s episode of […]
We’re lucky in the eastern U.S. because bodies of water are pretty common. For most of us, if we don’t have access to a creek, stream, river, pond, etc. in our immediate backyards, then we likely have access somewhere nearby in the surrounding community. This means it can be relatively […]
Growing native plants has grown in popularity over the last couple of decades. This has led to an increased demand for native plant seeds. However, many of us have never really stopped to think about how those native seeds are produced on a commercial level. In this episode, we talk […]
Land snails???? Come on, how do they fit with Backyard Ecology? True, land snails aren’t the most charismatic organism in our yards and communities, so it would be easy to just write them off and ignore them. Most of us probably do that on a regular basis. But, land snails […]
Many of us grew up hearing about the decline of the old growth forests and their impacts on neotropical songbirds and other wildlife. I think this was especially true for those of us who grew up here in the eastern U.S. However, the story that hasn’t been told as well […]
Hi Everyone! Today we are talking with Mac Callaham who is a Research Ecologist with the Southern Research Station of the U.S. Forest Service. Mac’s focus is on invasive species, with a specialty in soil animals, especially earthworms. Like many people, I grew up thinking that earthworms were a good […]
Hi, Everyone! In today’s episode of the Backyard Ecology podcast we are talking with Shelby Fulton who is a terrestrial biologist with the Kentucky Nature Preserves. Our conversation focuses on moths and how they survive the winter. We also talk about how diverse moths are and ways to observe them […]
Hi Everyone! On today’s episode of Backyard Ecology, we talk with Maddy Heredia who is the outreach specialist and a biologist with the Kentucky Nature Preserves. Maddy and I first met when she was in college and volunteered on a citizen science / community science program that I was leading. […]
Hi Everyone! Today we are talking with Dr. Adam Baker who recently completed his PhD studying monarch butterflies and their use of monarch waystations in urban and suburban areas. His research has led to some important and easily applied strategies that any of us can use in our gardens. First, […]
Hi Everyone! On today’s episode of Backyard Ecology we talk with Dr. Kirsten Traynor, a research associate at Arizona State University and the editor of 2 Million Blossoms, a quarterly magazine dedicated to protecting our pollinators. Our conversation takes a curvy, twisty path that covers multiple different topics including what […]
Many people believe that nature is only “out there” – in national parks, other large chunks of pristine land, or some far-off exotic place. For a long time, I did too. But the truth is that nature is everywhere and there are still plenty of discoveries to be made about […]