Field Notes from the Montana Natural History Center

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Nature notes and inquiry from the Montana Natural History Center.

Montana Public Radio


    • Feb 22, 2025 LATEST EPISODE
    • monthly NEW EPISODES
    • 4m AVG DURATION
    • 153 EPISODES


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    Latest episodes from Field Notes from the Montana Natural History Center

    Black and White Feathered Bullies

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 22, 2025 4:55


    On the suggestion of an experienced birder, I bought a wire wreath and stuffed it with unshelled peanuts. The magpies spent hours skirmishing with each other to grab a peanut. I reveled in the mayhem.

    Chasing the Tulip Tree

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 19, 2025 5:23


    There were tulip poplars, also known as yellow poplars or tulip trees. No tulip maples. I'd thought I'd seen the real thing in Washington, DC. No such beauties adorned my backyard.

    The Mysterious Call of Great Horned Owls

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 18, 2024 4:16


    Throughout history, people have been captivated by owls. There are 260 species of owls across the planet. They can be found on every continent except Antarctica.

    Thunder Chickens

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 11, 2024 3:35


    I've always been fascinated by ruffed grouse. For such a small, skittish-seeming bird, they have a hugely outsized presence in the soundscape of the forest.

    Of Nighthawks & Memories

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 6, 2024 4:19


    It's easy to see how the nighthawks' idiosyncrasies make them a crowd favorite, but what I love most about them are the cherished memories they resurrect.

    Standing Alone; Moving Together

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 4, 2024 4:43


    A lone Sandhill Crane stood at the edge of the marsh feeding, its bill dipping repeatedly through the mud with a series of rapid, steady bursts reminiscent of a sewing machine's insistent motion.

    Buried Breath

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 4, 2024 5:37


    Earthworms use their entire body to breathe. Burrowed deep in the ground — slow moving, slow metabolizing — their long frames tighten and relax and pull the air they need from soil.

    Oriole Nests: Relics of Summer

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 28, 2024 5:28


    They looked like bulging stockings decorating a mantle at Christmastime. They were certainly gifts of a sort for our winter-weary senses. These were the unique nests of Bullock's Orioles.

    The Dinosaur in the River

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 21, 2024 5:36


    In the natural world, how to persist—how, even, to improve—in the face of limits and uncertainty can be a punishing question.

    Where Do Forest Seedlings Come From?

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 14, 2024 5:18


    As I drove home from Missoula, I was alarmed to see wildfire smoke across the freeway from my house in Frenchtown. Even more concerning was the convoy of pickups pulling stock trailers.

    Snake Serendipity

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 14, 2024 3:56


    We have three species of garter snakes in Montana. The snake couple I saw were the terrestrial species, Thamnophis elegans, who can lack the colorful markings of the other two.

    Dermestids, Death, and Pandemic Ponderings

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 1, 2023 5:18


    In late 2020 I'm spending mornings masked, working in a lab in the University of Montana Zoological Museum. The museum houses research collections of natural artifacts like skins and skeletons. But behind the scenes museum staff tend a single living collection: a colony of dermestid beetles, the meticulous scavengers that scour flesh from bones before a skeleton can be installed in the museum.

    “Spooky” Turkey Vultures Deserve Respect

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 25, 2023 4:29


    Why are they so feared and misunderstood? If a bird popularity contest were held, Turkey Vultures would not fare very well. A spooky bird contest, on the other hand? Dead winner.

    The Wasps Came In To Die

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 18, 2023 4:21


    First one, buzzing and bumping into the living room window, who was soon joined by a few sisters. Within an hour, there were more than 40 sinisterly striped yellow jackets (Vespula alascensis) zooming from one window to another in pursuit of light, and I was outnumbered.

    Banding Together

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 11, 2023 4:54


    As I watched Rob Domenech, executive director of the Raptor View Research Institute, and his research biologist Brian Busby carefully load the three chicks onto the lift, and heard Harriet's chirps of protest from above, I considered the importance of this work.

    An Osprey Story: Superpowers, Struggles, & Survival

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 4, 2023 4:36


    At Lee Metcalf National Wildlife Refuge, I saw an Osprey dive into the deepest section of white water and emerge with nothing to show for its effort, and then retreat to a cottonwood branch to watch for another opportunity in the dark, boiling water.

    Spotted Tussock Moth: The Fuzzy Orange Spot of Fall

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 20, 2023 4:57


    A small spot of orange in the middle of the trail caught my eye. It wasn't a leaf or a berry; it was tiny and moving! As I neared the curious sight, I discovered it was a fuzzy caterpillar.

    What Happens After a Wildfire?

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 15, 2023 5:04


    Despite the harsh and stark appearance, all is not lost after a wildfire. In fact, there is much to be found when you look about.

    Journey to the Bighorn Basin

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 31, 2023 4:23


    Let me take you on a journey. It's just a few miles, but over that short distance we'll be transported not only to a dramatically different landscape, but also back through hundreds of millions of years of Earth's history.

    Living in Sandhill Crane Country

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 31, 2023 4:39


    The first sound we hear these early summer mornings is the prehistoric, other-worldly call of Sandhill Cranes. It rises deep from their impossibly long necks, climbs into the sky, and stretches for miles across the countryside.

    If A Tree Falls...

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 16, 2023 4:20


    We're wandering around the mostly evergreen woods nearby the ghost town of Garnet, Montana. we reach a sunlit clearing: a bright green patch with just a handful of trees.

    Speed on the Prairie

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 9, 2023 4:16


    Usually, pronghorn will dash away when they see a truck coming. However, at times they race toward me, accelerating, seemingly intent on crossing the road ahead of me.

    Bittersweet: On memory, my mother, and chokecherries

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 2, 2023 5:33


    My sister and I struggle to keep up with our mother. Today, we carry gallon-sized Ziploc bags, rolling the nearly-black berries from their stems to our palms to our bags.

    Coulee Country

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 19, 2023 4:31


    This Montana prairie holds a secret. This is coulee country, a landscape peppered with gullies waiting to be explored.

    Fungus Flowers

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 28, 2023 4:39


    Most plants conduct photosynthesis and make their own food from sunlight, carbon dioxide and water. Fungus flowers, however, cannot conduct photosynthesis, making them not only look bizarre but function in a bizarre manner.

    The Dancing Loon: A Close Call

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 21, 2023 5:03


    We continue walking, giving the shoreline a wide berth to avoid scaring any loons that might be around. Now we're on the opposite side of the lake and—we see them. Two adult Common Loons. Oh, they're lovely: streamlined, low-slung bodies, perfect for diving. Sleek black heads, red eyes, and characteristic black-and-white coloration that makes it easy to identify them.

    Find the Toads, Count the Toads, Save the Toads

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 14, 2023 4:36


    It's June and I'm in a dreamy meadow deep in the backcountry of Mount Rainier National Park, looking for toads. My mission: find the toads, count the toads, save the toads—in that order.

    Crawfish: Camouflaged and Colorful Crustaceans

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 9, 2023 4:22


    Crawdads have specialized cells in their exoskeletons that allow them to change color to adapt to their surroundings. The cells, called chromatophores, work to either concentrate or disperse pigment. Similar cells in chameleons and octopuses allow for a quick color change. But, for crawdads, the process is slower.

    Northern Harriers

    Play Episode Listen Later May 31, 2023 4:20


    Northern Harriers are considered one of the most elusive raptors, and some of the most accomplished wildlife photographers admit how difficult they are to photograph. Male Harriers, with their white underside and opaque gray-back plumage, seem to be even more challenging to photograph than the brown and much larger females. For that reason, many birders and photographers call male Harriers “Gray Ghosts.”. One moment they're in your viewfinder, the next, they're gone.

    Is That A Moose?

    Play Episode Listen Later May 26, 2023 5:22


    I was delighted to observe such an unusual visitor, but he had a bigger surprise for me. As I watched him forage through my yard he did something unique I had never seen, heard of, nor even imagined!

    Tufted Evening Primrose

    Play Episode Listen Later May 17, 2023 4:43


    Tufted evening primrose is one of the loveliest native plants found in dry climates across western and central North America. Its botanical name translates to “wine seeker, densely clumped,” which is apt for a low-growing, mounded plant with very fragrant, citrus-scented flowers.

    We Speak In Smells

    Play Episode Listen Later May 10, 2023 5:32


    I could not articulate what pulled me off the trail, but I followed the urge all the way to the base of the towering tree, a western redcedar. I stood, neck bent back to take in its shading canopy of soft, scaly leaves. We greeted one another in an exchange that predates my ancestors taking human form: the mammalian exhale of carbon dioxide and inhale of oxygen from the trees.

    Sandhill Spring

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 19, 2023 4:18


    On this lazy Sunday just outside Missoula, I can hear only two cranes from the former flock. Perhaps these are the late sleepers, the teenagers, left by the wayside as the larger family group launched back to the migratory grind and headed north to their breeding grounds. Spring is the season of courtship, and what I'm listening to may well be the first pairing of lovers who will mate for life.

    Deathwatch Beetle

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 16, 2023 1:38


    Found in the eastern portion of the United States, deathwatch beetles typically inhabit the hardwood timbers of old buildings or the decaying wood of very old trees. The larvae bore into the wood, feeding for anywhere from one to ten years before pupating and emerging as an adult. And while their wood-boring lifestyle can weaken the structural integrity of some infested buildings, if you believe the superstition, that's the least of your worries.

    Sandhill Cranes

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 5, 2023 5:26


    I'll never forget the first time I heard the call of a Sandhill Crane. It was early June, and I was halfway through an eight-day backpacking trip in the Sapphire Mountains. Sitting in a meadow one evening and refilling my bottle at the oxbow of a quiet creek, I began to hear a sound unlike anything I'd ever heard. It was part elephant, part jackhammer, and part squeaky door hinge. One thing seemed clear: no way had that sound been made by a modern animal, and certainly not by a bird.

    Beaver Neighbor

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 26, 2023 4:07


    I noticed a wide flat tail propelling the shadowy animal forward, and suddenly its head popped up above the water. Two large black eyes considered its surroundings as it meandered upstream. I watched excitedly through my binoculars as it dove smoothly under willow roots and resurfaced near a boulder. After two years of living along this creek, I had finally seen the ever-elusive beaver! I hadn't really known what beaver signs to look for though as just a novice beaver enthusiast.

    Jumping Spider Paddle Battle

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 25, 2023 4:01


    I love paddling my kayak, to get away even for just an hour or two. Sitting in my kayak one morning on a detention pond close to home, I watched a small, tan spider hopping on my paddle. I quickly took a picture, hoping to identify it later. Before I could enjoy watching this new-to-me spider too much, however, another spider—large, black, and hairy—emerged from under my paddle, ran up to the smaller spider, bit it, and started dragging it off!

    battle sitting paddle jumping spider
    Keeper of the Woods (Pine Squirrels)

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 24, 2023 4:44


    Then, it happens. A pine squirrel wakes up. First one, then another, then three hundred, then five thousand, and before long the evergreen canopy is buzzing with their banter. From that moment forward, my pre-dawn slyness is a distant memory. There is no unwatched, uncriticized movement in these woods anymore. Any step I take is met with angry feedback from above.

    The Gall of Kinnikinnick

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 20, 2023 4:42


    We pause our berry gathering to more closely examine the kinnikinnick. On many parts of the shrub, the smooth, leathery green leaf margins are accented by bulbous, yellow-red growths. Unmistakably, these are galls, tumor-like growths of the leaf tissue. Each gall was induced by a manzanita leaf-gall aphid (Tamalia coweni), a female aphid who probes along the leaf to form a tiny home.

    Meet the Rubber Boa, Montana's Tiny Boa Constrictor

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 19, 2023 5:07


    The cottonwoods and alders on the left and ponderosas and perennial grasses on the right framed the trail as if it were the subject of a painting, drawing our eyes up the valley. Mary was celebrating the variety and vigor of the riparian understory when I saw Iris sidestep a stick ahead of us. Iris leaves no stick unturned, so my curiosity was piqued. As we approached, I could see it was a rubber boa!

    Grasshopper Glacier

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 18, 2023


    As a teenage boy on the farm in Iowa, I experienced a horde of grasshoppers while unloading a wagon of oats. The surface was covered with grasshoppers! It was not difficult to grab one, and when I did, it would “spit tobacco.” I have since learned that spitting a dark liquid is a defense mechanism. Memories like this one have stuck with me, and in part fueled my interest in the mass of grasshoppers that somehow ended up in Rocky Mountain glaciers.

    Freaky Fungus with an Affinity for Fruit

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 17, 2023 4:49


    You've probably seen it before, even if you didn't know exactly what you were looking at: some black, woody growth on cherry or plum trees. Black knot fungus, or Apiosporina morbosa, is a fungal agent that invades young trees of the Prunus genus, including most hard-pitted, fruit-bearing trees like cherries, plums, apricots, and peaches.

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