Nature Guys

The Bug Chicks are in Bob's backyard to share the amazing story of how they got started. Co-hosts Greg Torres and Chris Anderson (of Science Around Cincy) join in the fun.

Learn more about The Bug Chicks on their website: thebugchicks.com.

Tune in to find out the winners of our cicada contest. Check out all the wonderful entries on our Celebrating Cicadas page.

Related episodes: Cicadas, 17 Years to Awesome and Cicadas are Kinda Cute

Be sure to tune in next week for our special guests The Bug Chicks.

If you love hummingbirds, tune in to listen to Bob's conversation with John Shewey. His book, The Hummingbird Handbook, is filled with facts and practical tips to care for hummingbirds right in your own neighborhood.

Related episodes: Hummingbirds, Bicycling with Butterflies with Sara Dykman, The Nature of Oaks with Doug Tallamy

The source for this interview is The Hummingbird Handbook: Everything You Need to Know about These Fascinating Birds by John Shewey from Timber Press.

Greg and Bob talk about wild ginger, a plant that makes a great native ground cover. You have to get down on your knees to see the flower. Who pollinates this flower that is hidden from view?

Related episode: The Nature of Oaks with Doug Tallamy

Our sources for this episode include:

• Don't Judge a Book by its Cover: The Curious Case of Wild Ginger Pollination
• Wild Ginger
• Caring For Wild Ginger: How To Grow Wild Ginger Plants

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Bob is excited to talk to Holly Merker about her wonderful book Ornitherapy For Your Mind Body Soul. Tune in to his conversation with Holly Merker and listen to the story of how birds saved Holly's life!

The source for this interview is Ornitherapy by Holly Merker, Richard Crossley and Sophie Crossley

Charles Van Rees, Nature Guys Podcast's very own science guy, has a fascinating conversation with Kim McCoy about Kim's new book Waves and Beaches: The Powerful Dynamics of Sea and Coast by Willard Bascom and Kim McCoy published by Patagonia.

Kim mentions salmon in the conversation. To learn more about salmon, check out Bob's interview with Mark Kurlansky in the episode Salmon are a Gift about Mark's book Salmon: A Fish, the Earth and the History of Their Common Fate also published by Patagonia.

Gia and Bob are excited about the arrival of the 17 year periodic cicadas. We hope to inspire you to either love cicadas or maybe just hate them a little less. Bob and Gia share 17 cool things about cicadas. There is nothing to fear when the cicadas are here!

Please listen to the episode to learn all about our contest to celebrate the cicadas! Email us your entry to [email protected].

Related episodes: Cicadas are Kinda Cute, The Nature of Oaks with Doug Tallamy

Our sources for this episode include:

• Cicada Safari App created by Dr. Gene Kritsky
• Cicada Mania: Cicada Insect News, Facts, Life Cycle, Photos, Books ...
• When the Woods Hum by Joanne Ryder (the book is out of print but check your library)
• Cecily Cicada (2021 Edition) by Kita Helmetag Murdock and Patsy Helmetag
• Periodical Cicadas The Brood X Edition by Gene Kritsky

Bob reads an amazing new book Bicycling with Butterflies: My 10,201 Mile Journey Following The Monarch Migration. Tune in to his conversation with Sara Dykman, the first person to follow migrating monarch butterflies on her bicycle. Learn more about Sara and some of the lessons she learned on her nine month adventure from Mexico to Canada and back.

Please check out Sara's website Beyond a Book. Bicycling with Butterflies is published by Timber Press.

Related episodes: Monarchs on the Move, Mighty Milkweed

Charles and Bob discuss vernal pools. Bob has always been intrigued by vernal pools and with time at home due to the pandemic he decided to build one in his backyard. Learn about his first aquatic visitor the water strider. Also learn about an amazing creature that lives in a vernal pool at Cincinnati Nature Center. If you have not seen fairy shrimp be sure to check them out. Charles explains what they look like and why they are found in vernal pools.

Related episodes: The Nature of Oaks with Doug Tallamy, Dragonflies, Damselflies and Wood Frogs Quack It Up

Our sources for this episode include:

• Vernal Pool Chronicles: a YouTube channel about vernal pools with some fantastic footage
• Colburn et al., 2007: Diversity and ecology of vernal pool invertebrates (Chapter from: Science and Conservation of Vernal Pools in Northeastern North America)
• U.S. EPA informational page - Vernal pools

Greg Torres and Bob discuss one of the most important trees in Florida. The Red Mangrove is the protector from storms and provides safe harbor to many living things.

Cheer on Greg who is competing in the 2021 Go Wild for Jeopar-Ding fund raiser that will premiere virtually on Wednesday, March 31, 2021 to support the J.N. "Ding" Darling National Wildlife Refuge. Check out related episodes on our Wildlife Refuges page.

Watch Greg's YouTube video on red mangroves.

Our sources for this episode include:

• Florida's Extraordinary Mangroves
• Essential Facts about Mangroves
• Florida's Mangroves