The Backyard Naturalists

A familiar sight for folks walking on the 4-Mile Creek Greenway in Matthews is the owl box, on the side of a house, near the boardwalk bridge. In this week’s episode of The Backyard Naturalists podcast, Debbie and Laurie talk to the homeowner, wildlife biologist and fellow naturalist, David Crowe about attracting owls and wildlife into his natural wildlife habitat.  

David has worked at the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska, has researched owls in Wyoming, and worked as a field biologist for the Florida Game and Wildlife Commission. Currently, David and his family live in Matthews, NC where operates Critter Control of Charlotte.  

Listen in as David shares his experiences hosting families of barred owls over the years in a box, on the side of his garage. He offers a few of his mistakes and successes, as well as tidbits of knowledge on how you can invite wildlife into your environment and natural habitat.  

Our hosts Debbie and Laurie share an impressive list of certifications between them such as Debbie being a Master Naturalist with the Central Carolinas Master Naturalist Program, both being Audubon Ambassadors and various certifications and affiliations with the National Wildlife Federation and North Carolina Wildlife Federation. Debbie currently serves as the Chair for the Town of Matthews Appearance/Tree Advisory Committee.

Connect with the Backyard Naturalists on the Web, Facebook and Instagram.

Please visit and support our presenting sponsor, Backyard Birds at http://www.thebirdfoodstore.com. A mecca for bird lovers and bird watchers, Backyard Birds is an independent family-owned business located in Matthews, NC (next to Dairy Queen), just southeast of Charlotte.

Thanks for listening to The Backyard Naturalists.  We hope you have a day filled with the wonders of nature. Get outside and take a walk on the wild side! Please don’t forget to leave a 5-star review for The Backyard Naturalists podcast.

Production services for The Backyard Naturalists podcast are provided by Downtown Podcasting. To start a conversation on how you can have a podcast, simply send an email to [email protected].

Laurie owns and operates our presenting sponsor, Backyard Birds, and is a wealth of knowledge when it comes to nature and wildlife, especially birds, bird seed, bird feeders, bird baths, nesting boxes, wind chimes, etc. Well, did you know, she spent about 12 years of her life, growing up as a homesteader in Alaska?

In this episode of The Backyard Naturalists, Laurie moves from the co-host chair, to the chair guests normally sit in, to have a conversation with Debbie and Chris about growing up as a teenager in “the last frontier”.  She answers questions about living in the wilderness as a teenager, how the family kept warm, what they ate, her favorite treat and some of her fondest memories of living in Alaska.

Many, many thanks to our coffee sponsor for this episode, The Good Cup Coffee Company. We appreciate their sponsorship and ask that you visit and support local, small businesses like Good Cup Coffee, located in Historic Downtown Matthews, NC. Be sure to listen to the entire episode to learn how you can win a free $25.00 gift card to The Good Cup Coffee Company.

Connect with the Backyard Naturalists on the Web, Facebook and Instagram.

Please visit and support our presenting sponsor, Backyard Birds at http://www.thebirdfoodstore.com. A mecca for bird lovers and bird watchers, Backyard Birds is an independent family-owned business located in Matthews, NC (next to Dairy Queen), just southeast of Charlotte.

Thanks for listening to The Backyard Naturalists.  We hope you have a day filled with the wonders of nature. Get outside and take a walk on the wild side! Please don’t forget to leave a 5-star review for The Backyard Naturalists podcast.

Production services for The Backyard Naturalists podcast are provided by Downtown Podcasting. To start a conversation on how you can have a podcast, simply send an email to [email protected].

Valentine’s Day is right around the corner and, in this episode of The Backyard Naturalists podcast, we’re talking about love, in the animal kingdom.

Monica Macoubrie is a Wildlife Education Specialists with the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission and she shares some of the most informative (and sometimes hilarious) stories about animal love. What do animals do to attract mates? Some birds have pretty fancy dance moves to entertain females. Do you know which furry little mammal gives out hugs and kisses to their mate to calm them when they’re stressed? How about the arachnid that gives gifts of food to a perspective mate?

Once you’ve listened to this episode, make sure check out Nebraska Wildlife Education on the Web, Facebook, Instagram or their YouTube Channel.

Connect with the Backyard Naturalists on the Web, Facebook and Instagram.

Please visit and support our presenting sponsor, Backyard Birds at http://www.thebirdfoodstore.com. A mecca for bird lovers and bird watchers, Backyard Birds is an independent family-owned business located in Matthews, NC (next to Dairy Queen), just southeast of Charlotte.

Thanks for listening to The Backyard Naturalists.  We hope you have a day filled with the wonders of nature. Get outside and take a walk on the wild side! Please don’t forget to leave a 5-star review for The Backyard Naturalists podcast.

Production services for The Backyard Naturalists podcast are provided by Downtown Podcasting. To start a conversation on how you can have a podcast, simply send an email to [email protected].

The Backyard Naturalists are absolutely thrilled to feature Dr. Carrie, DeJaco, Ph.D. on this episode to have a conversation about invasive plants. Dr. DeJaco is an Associate Professor of Biology and Environmental Science at Pfeiffer University in North Carolina. She also holds a B. A. and Masters Degree in Biology from the University of Louisville. Carrie loves using Pfeiffer's extensive Misenheimer campus as an outdoor classroom in which her students can conduct projects with invasive species, succession, and landscape reconciliation.     We start the conversation at the very beginning with the simple question, “what is an invasive plant” and during the discussion, we review items such as:

• The Top 10 List of invasive plants in the Greater Charlotte, NC region
• Which invasive plant can you get rid of to help control mosquitoes in your yard
• Once you’ve rid your yard of invasive ground cover, what’s a good, drought tolerant replacement

During this episode, Debbie mentions a document published by the City of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County which reviews invasive exotic plants in the area and how it serves as a guide to their identification and removal. The publication can be accessed here.

Carrie's website provides a comprehensive list and detailed information on native and invasive plants for your yard and garden. 

We encourage you to regularly visit Dr. DeJaco’s Facebook page, For the Birds and the Bees and connect with the Backyard Naturalists on the Web, Facebook and Instagram.

Please visit and support our presenting sponsor, Backyard Birds at http://www.thebirdfoodstore.com. A mecca for bird lovers and bird watchers, Backyard Birds is an independent family-owned business located in Matthews, NC (next to Dairy Queen), just southeast of Charlotte.

Thanks for listening to The Backyard Naturalists.  We hope you have a day filled with the wonders of nature. Get outside and take a walk on the wild side! Please don’t forget to leave a 5-star review for The Backyard Naturalists podcast.

Production services for The Backyard Naturalists podcast are provided by Downtown Podcasting. To start a conversation on how you can have a podcast, simply send an email to [email protected].

The Great Backyard Bird Count began in 1998 and quickly became one of The Backyard Naturalists favorite events and times of the year. Serving as a collaboration between the  National Audubon Society and Cornell’s Ornithology Lab, the Great Backyard Bird Count is a community science project to collect data on wild birds, on an international basis.

If you’re  a first-timer or new to birdwatching, it’s quite alright. Being a professional bird watcher certainly isn’t a requirement to participate. Beginning bird admirers will find it easier by using the Merlin Bird ID app. Previous participants can consider using the eBird mobile app or the eBird website.

Learn more about the Great backyard Bird Count via a free webinar February 16 at 2:00 p.m. EST. You can register for the webinar here.

Connect with the Backyard Naturalists on the Web, Facebook and Instagram.

Please visit and support our presenting sponsor, Backyard Birds at http://www.thebirdfoodstore.com. A mecca for bird lovers and bird watchers, Backyard Birds is an independent family-owned business located in Matthews, NC (next to Dairy Queen), just southeast of Charlotte.

Thanks for listening to The Backyard Naturalists.  We hope you have a day filled with the wonders of nature. Get outside and take a walk on the wild side! Please don’t forget to leave a 5-star review for The Backyard Naturalists podcast.

Production services for The Backyard Naturalists podcast are provided by Downtown Podcasting. To start a conversation on how you can have a podcast, simply send an email to [email protected].

Debbie and Laurie, The Backyard  Naturalists, welcome Steve Hughes back to the show but, this time, they’re talking about hawks. The biggest and the smallest. What they eat. Where they live. What’s presents the biggest danger to hawks?

Steve is a wealth of information, not only about hawks, but all birds pf prey. Listen as The Backyard Naturalists learn from Steve, one of the areas most renowned experts on birds pf prey.

Connect with the Backyard Naturalists on the Web, Facebook and Instagram.

Please visit and support our presenting sponsor, Backyard Birds at http://www.thebirdfoodstore.com. A mecca for bird lovers and bird watchers, Backyard Birds is an independent family-owned business located in Matthews, NC (next to Dairy Queen), just southeast of Charlotte

Thanks for listening to The Backyard Naturalists.  We hope you have a day filled with the wonders of nature. Get outside and take a walk on the wild side! Please don’t forget to leave a 5-star review for The Backyard Naturalists podcast.

Production services for The Backyard Naturalists podcast are provided by Downtown Podcasting. To start a conversation on how you can have a podcast, simply send an email to [email protected].

With the holidays now behind us, lots of folks are trying to decide what to do with their real and artificial Christmas trees. In this episode of The Backyard Naturalists, Debbie and Laurie talk about great ideas and suggestions on what to do with yours. If you have a way to dispose of your tree that enhances your natural wildlife habitat, we’d love to hear from you. Leave your solution in the comments section.

Connect with the Backyard Naturalists on the Web, Facebook and Instagram.

Please visit and support our presenting sponsor, Backyard Birds at http://www.thebirdfoodstore.com. A mecca for bird lovers and bird watchers, Backyard Birds is an independent family-owned business located in Matthews, NC (next to Dairy Queen), just southeast of Charlotte.

Thanks for listening to The Backyard Naturalists.  We hope you have a day filled with the wonders of nature. Get outside and take a walk on the wild side! Please don’t forget to leave a 5-star review for The Backyard Naturalists podcast.

Production services for The Backyard Naturalists podcast are provided by Downtown Podcasting. To start a conversation on how you can have a podcast, simply send an email to [email protected].

You’ve got questions and The Backyard Naturalists have answers! In our first “Mailbag Episode” Debbie and Laurie answer a few questions submitted by their listeners via social media and email.

Connect with the Backyard Naturalists on the Web, Facebook and Instagram.

Please visit and support our presenting sponsor, Backyard Birds at http://www.thebirdfoodstore.com. A mecca for bird lovers and bird watchers, Backyard Birds is an independent family-owned business located in Matthews, NC (next to Dairy Queen), just southeast of Charlotte.

Thanks for listening to The Backyard Naturalists.  We hope you have a day filled with the wonders of nature. Get outside and take a walk on the wild side! Please don’t forget to leave a 5-star review for The Backyard Naturalists podcast.

Production services for The Backyard Naturalists podcast are provided by Downtown Podcasting. To start a conversation on how you can have a podcast, simply send an email to [email protected].

When Debbie and Laurie were brainstorming about guests to have on The Backyard Naturalists podcast, Wildlife educator and naturalist Steve Hughes quickly rose to the top of the list. The bio on Steve’s website certainly summarizes Steve in that he’s “a native Charlottean who has spent his life in the outdoors. The experience and knowledge he has gained over the years as a naturalist and wildlife artist has provided him with countless opportunities to educate others as to the importance of wildlife in our world”.

As an accomplished wildlife artist, Steve has had artwork commissioned by organizations such as Ducks Unlimited, Turkey Federation, Trout Unlimited, The Charlotte Nature Museum, Discovery Place and many other private individuals.

In this educational and informative episode of The Backyard Naturalists podcast, Debbie and Laurie have an in-depth conversation with Steve on owls. They talk about the largest and the smallest owls. What they eat, where they live and where and what they hunt. Steve will amaze you with his knowledge of owls and other birds of prey.

We believe you’ll truly enjoy listening to this episode with Steve Hughes and hope you’ll share with your other naturalist friends and family.

Connect with the Backyard Naturalists on the Web, Facebook and Instagram.

Please visit and support our presenting sponsor, Backyard Birds at http://www.thebirdfoodstore.com. A mecca for bird lovers and bird watchers, Backyard Birds is an independent family-owned business located in Matthews, NC (next to Dairy Queen), just southeast of Charlotte.

Thanks for listening to The Backyard Naturalists.  We hope you have a day filled with the wonders of nature. Get outside and take a walk on the wild side! Please don’t forget to leave a 5-star review for The Backyard Naturalists podcast.

Production services for The Backyard Naturalists podcast are provided by Downtown Podcasting. To start a conversation on how you can have a podcast, simply send an email to [email protected].

Our tenth episode of The Backyard Naturalists featured tree expert, Ralph Ramsaur and there was so much to talk about, we felt we should continue the conversation in a second installment. 

You’ll remember, Ralph is an ISA Board Certified Master Arborist and currently serves as the Town of Matthews, NC Landscape Manager and Town Arborist. He’s also the staff liaison on the Town’s Appearance and Tree Advisory Committee and in his free time, maintains the Town’s “Tree City USA” program, which has been in place for over 21 years.

When it comes to planting trees, there are endless misconceptions, unintended consequences and quite honestly, things that homeowners do wrong while planting a tree. During their conversation with Ralph, Debbie and Laurie learn the correct way to plant trees and incorporate them into a natural wildlife habitat. They also review some of the basic benefits to having trees as a part of a home’s landscape like providing shade in the summer and preventing water runoff.

Connect with the Backyard Naturalists on the Web, Facebook and Instagram.

Please visit and support our presenting sponsor, Backyard Birds at http://www.thebirdfoodstore.com. A mecca for bird lovers and bird watchers, Backyard Birds is an independent family-owned business located in Matthews, NC (next to Dairy Queen), just southeast of Charlotte.

Thanks for listening to The Backyard Naturalists.  We hope you have a day filled with the wonders of nature. Get outside and take a walk on the wild side! Please don’t forget to leave a 5-star review for The Backyard Naturalists podcast.

Production services for The Backyard Naturalists podcast are provided by Downtown Podcasting. To start a conversation on how you can have a podcast, simply send an email to [email protected].