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 more attractive to monarchs according to recent research from the University of Florida. In this episode of the Backyard Ecology podcast, we talk with Rebecca Nestle. Rebecca recently complete...
Nov 11, 2021•45 min•Ep 37•Transcript available on Metacast 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 things like put up bat houses and make their yards more bat friendly. In this episode, I talk with Reed Crawford. Reed is a PhD student in Ecology, Evolution, and Conservation Biology at the University of Illinois at U...
Oct 28, 2021•1 hr 1 min•Ep 36•Transcript available on Metacast 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 to host one of these winter hummingbirds at my home in Kentucky. In this Backyard Ecology episode, I talk with Brainard Palmer-Ball about these winter hummingbirds. Brainard is a retired zoologist from t...
Oct 14, 2021•1 hr•Ep 35•Transcript available on Metacast 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 episode I talk with Dr. Cathryn Greenberg. Katie is a Research Ecologist with the US Forest Service, Southern Research Station. She has been involved in multiple long-term studies looking at how diff...
Sep 30, 2021•57 min•Ep 34•Transcript available on Metacast 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 Pinelands Nursery and the co-host of the Native Plants, Healthy Planet Podcast. Tom is the General Manager at Pinelands Nursery, the owner of Pinelands Direct Native Plants, and the other co-host of the Native Plants, Healthy Plan...
Sep 16, 2021•2 hr 40 min•Ep 33•Transcript available on Metacast 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 order to help us better manage and protect the pollinators in our built environments. In this episode of the Backyard Ecology Podcast, we talk with Travis Watson. Travis is the Horticultu...
Sep 02, 2021•57 min•Ep 32•Transcript available on Metacast 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. Previously, NRCS programs and services were restricted to people with 10 acres or more, but that is no longer the case. In this episode of the Backyard Ecology Podcast, we talk with Randall Alcorn. Randall i...
Aug 19, 2021•1 hr 1 min•Ep 31•Transcript available on Metacast 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, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Florida. Researches and others from multiple state, federal, and private organizations and agencies have been working together to try and determi...
Aug 05, 2021•1 hr 17 min•Ep 30•Transcript available on Metacast 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., Lyme disease is much more common in the northeast, than it is in the southeast. In this episode of the Backyard Ecology Podcast, we talk with Dr. Howard Ginsberg. He is a Research Ecologist wit...
Jul 22, 2021•53 min•Ep 29•Transcript available on Metacast 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 never know what we are going to see when you begin going through the images. In this episode of the Backyard Ecology podcast, we talk with Anthony Trimboli about trail cameras. Anthony is a wildlife biologist, con...
Jul 01, 2021•50 min•Ep 28•Transcript available on Metacast 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 of how his guests got to where they are. My personal experiences, plus those of the interns, volunteers, college students, and recent grads that I’ve worked with in the past have made me realize how va...
Jun 17, 2021•1 hr 12 min•Ep 27•Transcript available on Metacast 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 an important agricultural crop. As of spring 2021, laurel wilt disease has been found in 11 states in the eastern U.S. with the potential to spread to much further – even down into Mexico and Central A...
Jun 04, 2021•1 hr 17 min•Ep 26•Transcript available on Metacast 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 award-winning author, educator, and someone I’m honored to call a friend. Her books include: Bugs Don't Hug: Six-Legged Parents and Their Kids , How Rude! Real Bugs Who Won't Mind Their Manners , Something Rotte...
May 20, 2021•59 min•Ep 25•Transcript available on Metacast 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 journey with you. This week’s Backyard Ecology podcast episode is a short, but important one because it talks about some changes that are coming to both the podcast and the blog. Don’t worry, Backyard Ecology isn’t going away. I...
May 06, 2021•8 min•Ep 24•Transcript available on Metacast 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. The adults only live a few weeks, but what an impression they make while they are here! In this episode of the Backyard Ecology podcast, we talk with Dr. Gene Kritsky. Gene is the Dean of the School of Beha...
Apr 29, 2021•1 hr 7 min•Ep 23•Transcript available on Metacast 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 native plants as sources of food or herbal medicine. And some people want to grow native plants in their gardens for a combination of reasons. Whatever the underlying purpose is, we all s...
Apr 22, 2021•1 hr 1 min•Ep 22•Transcript available on Metacast 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 and the need to put up nest boxes for them. Today, their numbers have rebounded and they are considered a low conservation concern. In this week’s episode of the Backyard Ecology podcast, w...
Apr 15, 2021•45 min•Ep 21•Transcript available on Metacast 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 person of falling into that trap. But nature doesn’t just stop when the sun goes down. Instead, a whole new world opens up and comes to life – a world that is just as interesting and fascinating as anything we find during the daytime. In this week’s episode of the Ba...
Apr 08, 2021•1 hr 5 min•Ep 20•Transcript available on Metacast 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 was so excited to talk to this week’s guest on the Backyard Ecology podcast. In this week’s episode of the Backyard Ecology podcast, we are talking with Kate Brandes. Kate has worked as a geologist, envir...
Apr 01, 2021•57 min•Ep 19•Transcript available on Metacast 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, magazine articles, newsletters, and sometimes even books. In this week’s episode of the Backyard Ecology podcast, we are talking with Dr. Jeff Skevington and Michelle Locke. Jeff and Michelle ...
Mar 25, 2021•1 hr 9 min•Ep 18•Transcript available on Metacast 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 in urban areas as well as more rural areas. In this week’s episode of the Backyard Ecology podcast, we are talking with Dr. Cy Mott. Cy is an associate professor of biology at Eastern Kentucky University. His focus is on amphibian...
Mar 18, 2021•1 hr 7 min•Ep 17•Transcript available on Metacast 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 geek out about lightning bugs. Once again, this is a very informal conversation that includes stories and more educational content. If you haven’t listened to the previous episode, then...
Mar 11, 2021•51 min•Ep 16•Transcript available on Metacast 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.” Now I use both terms interchangeably. It doesn’t matter what you call them, these flashing insects have the ability to bring out the child in all of us. In this episode of the Backyard Ecology podcas...
Mar 04, 2021•51 min•Ep 15•Transcript available on Metacast 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, most (if not all) of the clovers in these systems and that we typically think of are exotic species. Our native clover species are not nearly as well known. In this episode of the Backyard E...
Feb 25, 2021•1 hr 7 min•Ep 14•Transcript available on Metacast 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. Wasps generally aren’t going to bother you, especially when they are on flowers, and they definitely aren’t the evil villains they are often portrayed as. Instead, they are a vital part of the ecosystem that helps ...
Feb 18, 2021•1 hr 5 min•Ep 13•Transcript available on Metacast 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 in the ecosystem and can be teeming with all kinds of life. In this episode, we talk with Tom Biebighauser about vernal pools. Tom is a wildlife biologist, wetland ecologist, educator, and author. He has writ...
Feb 11, 2021•1 hr 3 min•Ep 12•Transcript available on Metacast 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 the Backyard Ecology podcast, we talk with Becca Rodomsky-Bish, Project Leader for the Great Backyard Bird Count, about the project, its importance, and how we can participate. We also talk abou...
Feb 04, 2021•41 min•Ep 11•Transcript available on Metacast 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 easy for us to explore those waterways, and for many of us part of that exploration at some point included catching crayfish or other aquatic organisms. In this episode, we talk with Mael Glon, a PhD candidate at ...
Jan 28, 2021•1 hr 10 min•Ep 10•Transcript available on Metacast 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 with John Seymour and Robert Hoffman from Roundstone Native Seed about this and their recommendations for planting native seeds. John is the president of Roundstone and Robert is their Restoration Ecologist. Growing ...
Jan 21, 2021•1 hr 4 min•Ep 9•Transcript available on Metacast 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 are extremely important to our ecosystem and in some cases are critical to the survival of much more charismatic organisms. Not to mention, they can be pretty fascinating in their own right if we just give them a chance. On to...
Jan 14, 2021•56 min•Ep 8•Transcript available on Metacast 
