NaturallyScott

Send us Fan Mail

With a wingspan approaching 10 feet, the California Condor is a bird you don't simply see—you experience.

In this edition of Naturally Scott Adventures, Scott Harris travels to Navajo Bridge in Arizona, where the Colorado River cuts through Marble Canyon and one of the rarest birds in North America has found an extraordinary place to roost. Scott considers it the best place in the world to experience California Condors, with birds sometimes resting on the bridge girders almost directly beneath you. 

Scott follows the condors through their day: waking slowly as the canyon warms, spreading enormous wings in the morning sun, riding the developing thermals into the sky, traveling tremendous distances in search of carrion, and eventually soaring back into Marble Canyon to roost for the night. 

In this episode:

🦅 What it's like to stand just feet away from a California Condor

🌄 Seeing condors at Navajo Bridge and Marble Canyon

📏 Just how enormous a nearly 10-foot wingspan looks in the wild

☀️ How condors use thermals to travel incredible distances

🏷️ Why wild condors carry numbered wing tags—and how those tags let you learn the story of an individual bird

🥚 The extraordinary effort required to raise a young condor

⚠️ How California Condors came terrifyingly close to extinction

❤️ The captive-breeding program that brought them back

🎯 Why lead ammunition remains one of the greatest threats to their survival

Scott also shares other places to search for California Condors, including Pinnacles National Park, Grand Canyon National Park, and Zion National Park, and explains why seeing one of these enormous birds soaring through a canyon is a wildlife experience that's difficult to forget. 

This is the story of an ancient bird that fell to fewer than two dozen individuals—and the extraordinary effort to give these giants of the sky another chance. 

Send us Fan Mail

Squirrels raid our bird feeders, bury thousands of nuts, leap between trees, and somehow seem to outsmart nearly every obstacle we put in their way. But just how remarkable are they?

In this episode of Naturally Scott, Scott Harris sits down with squirrel expert John Koprowski of the University of Wyoming to explore an animal nearly everyone knows—but few of us truly appreciate.

John has spent much of his career studying squirrels, a family that includes more than 300 species spread across much of the world. Their extraordinary success comes from an impressive combination of intelligence, memory, athleticism, adaptability, and senses finely tuned to finding food and avoiding becoming somebody else's dinner. 

In this episode:

🐿️ Why squirrels make such great gateways into the natural world

🥜 How squirrels remember where they've buried thousands of nuts

👃 The astonishing role smell plays in finding food—and other squirrels

🌳 How squirrels can leap 20 feet between branches and survive enormous falls

🦅 The constant battle to avoid hawks, foxes, coyotes, snakes, and other predators

👶 How mother squirrels carry their babies—and John's unforgettable encounter with one protective mom

🏡 Why squirrels have become so successful living alongside humans

Scott also confesses something that may get him thrown out of the birding community: he actually enjoys watching squirrels raid his feeders. And John explains why those seemingly impossible squirrel-proofing challenges reveal just how perfectly adapted these little mammals really are. 

Funny, fascinating, and filled with stories, this conversation might just convince you to stop fighting your backyard squirrels and start watching them.

Send us Fan Mail

Owls are usually creatures of forests, trees, and darkness. Burrowing Owls break just about every one of those rules.

In this edition of Naturally Scott Adventures, Scott Harris heads to Cape Coral, Florida, a city that calls itself the “Burrowing Owl Capital of the World”—and makes a pretty convincing case. Unlike most owls, these tiny raptors live underground, spend much of their day out in the open, and have become remarkably comfortable sharing their neighborhoods with people. 

One of Scott’s favorite places to watch them is the Pelican Baseball Complex, where roughly 20 burrows sit just beyond the center-field fence. Around Cape Coral, their burrows are protected by simple PVC markers, allowing people to watch and photograph the owls while giving the birds space to go about their lives. 

In this episode:

🦉 Why Burrowing Owls are unlike any other American owl

⚾ Watching owls from the outfield of a baseball game

🌴 Why Cape Coral may be the best place in America to see them

🪲 How they hunt everything from beetles and grasshoppers to reptiles and rodents

☀️ Why male Burrowing Owls can become bleached by the Florida sun

🐣 The irresistible experience of watching an owl family outside its burrow

🐍 How baby Burrowing Owls can produce a remarkably convincing rattlesnake-like sound

Scott also shares other places to find Burrowing Owls around the country and explains why Cape Coral offers such an unusual opportunity to spend time at eye level with one of America’s most charismatic little raptors. 

Send us Fan Mail

Killer whales—or orcas—are among the most recognizable animals on Earth. But beneath those black-and-white markings are remarkably complex societies, with different diets, dialects, traditions, and even cultures passed from one generation to the next.

This week on Naturally Scott, Scott Harris sits down with renowned killer whale researcher John Ford, who has spent more than four decades studying these extraordinary animals, primarily along the coast of British Columbia. His fascination began as a child watching killer whales pass his family's fishing boat and eventually led to work as a whale trainer before he devoted his career to understanding them in the wild. 

John takes us inside the very different worlds of resident, Bigg's, and offshore killer whales. Some specialize in salmon, others hunt marine mammals, and still others target sharks—and those food preferences and hunting techniques are learned traditions that can persist across generations. 

Along the way, Scott and John explore some of the strangest and most fascinating killer whale behaviors ever documented: attacking great white sharks for their livers, breaking the rudders of sailboats, wearing salmon on their heads, rubbing against pebble beaches, and intentionally stranding themselves along Patagonia to capture young sea lions.  

In this episode:

🐋 The remarkable cultures of killer whales

🐟 Why some populations eat salmon while others won't touch fish

🦈 Orcas hunting sharks—and why great whites flee

⛵ What's really happening with orcas and sailboats

🐟 The wonderfully bizarre phenomenon of “salmon hats”

👵 Why killer whale societies are led by older matriarchs

🗣️ Dialects, family groups, and knowledge passed through generations

🌊 John's unforgettable honeymoon watching orcas hunt sea lions in Patagonia

It's a fascinating look at intelligence, culture, family, specialization, and one of the ocean's most extraordinary predators.

Send us Fan Mail

What could possibly draw someone to Texas in the middle of summer?

Twenty million bats.

In this edition of Naturally Scott Adventures, Scott Harris travels to Bracken Cave Preserve just outside San Antonio—home to the largest bat colony on Earth. Every summer evening, millions of Mexican free-tailed bats pour from a single cave in one of the greatest wildlife spectacles anywhere in the world. 

Scott shares what it's like to witness the breathtaking "batnado," explains why these tiny mammals are so important to agriculture, and explores the incredible adaptations that allow them to survive among predators, navigate by echolocation, and consume hundreds of tons of insects every night.

In this episode:

🦇 Witnessing the world's largest bat colony

🌪️ The spectacular "batnado" and river of bats

🐍 Snakes, owls, hawks, coyotes, and the predators waiting outside the cave

🚜 Why farmers love bats

🌎 Inside Bracken Cave Preserve near San Antonio

📸 Tips for planning your own visit

✨ One of the greatest wildlife spectacles in North America

Whether you're a bat enthusiast or simply love unforgettable wildlife experiences, Bracken Cave is a destination unlike any other.

👉 Stay connected with Naturally Scott:
 https://naturallyscott.kit.com/5fd12c6752

Send us Fan Mail

What if everything you thought you knew about some of North America's most familiar animals was wrong?

In this episode of Naturally Scott, Scott Harris welcomes science writer and author Jason Bittel, whose new book Grizzled shines a spotlight on 50 of North America's most misunderstood animals. From grizzly bears and white-tailed deer to porcupines, daddy longlegs, yellow jackets, and ringtails, Jason shares the fascinating stories hiding in plain sight. 

Together, Scott and Jason explore the surprising biology, remarkable adaptations, and evolutionary history of creatures many of us see every day—but rarely truly understand.

In this episode:

🐻 Why grizzly bears and black bears require completely different survival strategies

🦌 The incredible hidden biology of white-tailed deer

🦔 Why porcupine quills are even more remarkable than you think

🕷️ The truth about daddy longlegs

🐝 Why yellow jackets deserve a second look

📚 Behind the scenes of writing for National Geographic

🦝 Meet the adorable ringtail—an animal most Americans have never even heard of

Whether you're a lifelong naturalist or simply curious about the wildlife around your own backyard, this conversation will leave you looking at familiar animals in an entirely new way.

Send us Fan Mail

There may be no animal more closely tied to the spirit of the American West than the wild Mustang.

In this edition of Naturally Scott Adventures, Scott Harris travels to Nevada in search of one of North America's most iconic animals—wild Mustangs. From the shores of Washoe Lake State Park to the open sagebrush country outside Reno, Scott explores the history, biology, and enduring romance of these remarkable horses.

Along the way, he shares unforgettable encounters with bachelor bands racing across the desert, solitary stallions standing watch over their territory, playful colts discovering the world, and the ongoing conservation challenges surrounding America's free-roaming horse populations. 

In this episode:

🐎 The remarkable history of America's wild Mustangs

🏜️ Why Nevada is home to nearly half of the nation's free-roaming horses

🌅 Exploring Washoe Lake State Park at sunrise

⚔️ Bachelor bands, dominant stallions, and family life

📸 The best places to photograph wild horses near Reno

🌎 The ongoing balance between conservation and land management

✨ Why few wildlife experiences capture the romance of the American West quite like wild horses

Whether you've dreamed of seeing Mustangs your entire life or are planning your first trip to Nevada, this episode celebrates one of America's most enduring wildlife icons.

👉 Stay up to date and get bonus content:
 https://naturallyscott.kit.com/5fd12c6752

Send us Fan Mail

What if the most important life in the ocean is almost completely invisible?

In this episode of Naturally Scott, Scott Harris sits down with marine microbiologist Dr. Ginny Edgcomb of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution for a fascinating journey into the hidden world beneath the waves.

From hydrothermal vents and hypersaline lakes at the bottom of the Mediterranean to deep-sea drilling expeditions in the Indian Ocean, Ginny studies microscopic organisms that thrive where most life simply cannot. Along the way, she explains how these remarkable microbes recycle nutrients, fuel entire ocean ecosystems, and may even help scientists search for life beyond Earth.  

The conversation explores:

🔬 Why microbes are the foundation of nearly every marine food web

🌋 Hydrothermal vents and the extraordinary life they support

🧂 Mysterious hypersaline “lakes” hidden on the Mediterranean seafloor

🌍 What Earth’s most extreme environments can teach us about alien life

🚢 Life aboard research vessels—from flying fish and whales to pirate drills

🌊 How climate change is reshaping the world’s oceans

Equal parts adventure, exploration, and science, this episode reveals an unseen world that quietly supports nearly every living thing in the sea.

👉 Stay up to date and get bonus content:
https://naturallyscott.kit.com/5fd12c6752

Send us Fan Mail

Welcome to another edition of Naturally Scott Adventures, where Scott Harris takes you into the field to experience some of North America's most remarkable wildlife and wild places.

In this episode, Scott visits Crystal River National Wildlife Refuge on Florida's Gulf Coast to meet one of the state's most beloved residents—the Florida manatee. These gentle marine mammals, often called "sea cows," can weigh well over 1,000 pounds, yet they're among the most peaceful animals you'll ever encounter. 

Scott explores the biology, behavior, and conservation of Florida manatees, explaining why they gather each winter in Florida's warm springs, how boat strikes became their greatest threat, and why Crystal River has become one of the best places in the world to observe them responsibly. 

The episode also celebrates one of America's great wildlife success stories, as Florida's manatee population has rebounded dramatically thanks to conservation efforts, public awareness, and protected habitat. 

In this episode:

🐋 Why manatees are called "sea cows"

🌿 Exploring Crystal River National Wildlife Refuge

💙 Swimming and kayaking with manatees (responsibly)

👶 Mothers, calves, and manatee family life

🚤 The dangers of boat strikes

🌡️ Why warm springs are critical for survival

📈 The remarkable recovery of Florida's manatee population

Whether you're planning a Florida adventure or simply love wildlife, this episode offers an unforgettable look at one of North America's gentlest giants.

👉 Subscribe for updates and bonus content:
 https://naturallyscott.kit.com/5fd12c6752

Send us Fan Mail

Award-winning author, ornithologist, and conservationist Scott Weidensaul returns to Naturally Scott to discuss his inspiring new book, The Return of the Oystercatcher: Saving Birds to Save Ourselves. Rather than focusing solely on declining bird populations and environmental challenges, Scott shares something equally important: hope. 
podcast-scott-weidensaul.txt

From the remarkable comeback of Bald Eagles and Canada Geese to the recovery of American Oystercatchers, Scott highlights conservation victories that prove people can make an extraordinary difference when science, persistence, and collaboration come together. 
podcast-scott-weidensaul.txt

The conversation also explores Indigenous-led conservation efforts protecting millions of acres of Canada's boreal forest, one of the world's most important breeding grounds for migratory birds. These stories demonstrate that successful conservation isn't just possible—it's happening today. 
podcast-scott-weidensaul.txt

In this episode:

🦅 The incredible recovery of Bald Eagles
 🪿 Why Canada Geese are one of conservation's greatest success stories
 🐦 How American Oystercatchers reversed decades of decline
 🌲 Indigenous communities protecting Canada's boreal forest
 🌎 Why optimism matters in conservation
 📖 The stories behind The Return of the Oystercatcher

If you've ever wondered whether conservation success stories still exist, this episode is full of reasons to believe they do.

👉 Subscribe for updates and bonus content:
 https://naturallyscott.kit.com/5fd12c6752