Nature Almanac Archives - KGNU Community Radio: Recent Episodes
Nature Almanac Archives - KGNU Community Radio
An independent, noncommercial community radio station licensed in Boulder and Denver and dedicated to serving its listeners.
Jackrabbits, with their giant ears and feet and bounding leaps, used to be abundant in Boulder County, but they have been missing now for at least a decade. Naturalists Steve Jones and Scott Seevers search the snow on a winter day for tracks that might give evidence of any jackrabbits left in Boulder County. Along the way, they encounter many animal footprints and marks in the snow, but jackrabbits?Listen Here: play_arrow*Nature Almanac: Missing Jackrabbits of Boulder CountyIvonne Olivas The post Nature Almanac: Missing Jackrabbits of Boulder County appeared first on KGNU Community Radio.
In his new book about the Nebraska Sandhills,“Nourishing Waters, Comforting Sky,” naturalist and author Steve Jones refers to his Sandhills hideaway as Pine Lake rather than Smith LakeBoulder Naturalist Steve Jones has just won a Nebraska Book Award for his book about the Sandhills, “Nourishing Waters, Comforting Sky.” Today, naturalist Ruth Carol Cushman goes with Steve to a favorite prairie spot in Boulder that reminds Steve of the Nebraska Sandhills. There, they sit by a wild creek, while Steve reads an excerpt from his book.
Photo by Steve JonesPhoto by Steve JonesBoulder Naturalist Steve Jones has just won a Nebraska Book Award for his book about the Sandhills, “Nourishing Waters, Comforting Sky.” Today, naturalist Ruth Carol Cushman goes with Steve to a favorite prairie spot in Boulder that reminds Steve of the Nebraska Sandhills. There, they sit by a wild creek, while Steve reads an excerpt from his book.
- play_arrowNebraska’s Sandhills is the largest expanse of native grasses left in the USJackie Sedley The post Nebraska’s Sandhills is the largest expanse of native grasses left in the US appeared first on KGNU Community Radio.
Rattlesnakes have benefited from this year’s rains, which have led to plenty of prairie dogs and other rodents for the snakes to eat. Now, those rattlesnakes are heading from their hunting grounds around places like the Boulder Reservoir and Eagle Trail, to their winter dens. KGNU’s Shelley Schlender joins Naturalists Ruth Carol Cushman and Steve Jones on this week’s Nature Almanac, to go out carefully looking into abandoned prairie dog burrows along the Boulder Reservoir, looking for rattlesnakes.
“We tried to figure out what are the odds of actually being killed by a rattlesnake bite in Colorado and we found it’s about the same as the odds of being killed by a vending machine in Colorado,” says Jones.
Listen in to their conversation for more on the world of rattlesnakes:
- play_arrowNature Almanac: RattlesnakesJackie Sedley The post Nature Almanac: Rattlesnakes appeared first on KGNU Community Radio.
Colorado hummingbirds spent the summer in the mountains, raising their young . . . or being hatchlings that have now grown up. Now that it’s September, most are starting toward their winter homes, thousands of miles away, in Mexico and Central America. To celebrate the end of a summer of [...]
Image by Stephen R. Jones of Townsendia Hookeria also known as the Easter Daisy with bee On April’s Nature Almanac, Colorado native Easter Daisies bloom among the 60 million-year-old shale rock formations of Boulder’s Six Mile Fold. Steve Jones and […]
For this first Friday in March, we bring you our monthly look at the natural world on the Nature Almanac. Naturalists, Scott Severs and Ruth Carol Cushman, wander along Boulder’s Heatherwood trail. As their footsteps crunch over ice, they spot […]
Bohemian waxwings eating berries. Photo by Chris Petrizzo Bohemian Waxwings are wandering the front range in high numbers this winter, due to an “incursion” that led them to leave their homes in Canada and Alaska. Scott Severs and Ruth Carol […]
On this month’s Nature Almanac, city lights confused migrating warblers, leading them off-course to a CU-Boulder beech tree with late-season leaves and aphids. Ruth Carol Cushman and Scott Severs look for signs of the mis-placed warblers , and they share […]
Bears are fattening up for their winter hibernation. Ruth Carol Cushman ventures into Bear Canyon, on the lookout for signs of bears. (photo credit: Glenn Cushman) Listen: (Download Audio)
As you know, on the first Friday of every month here at KGNU, we play the Nature Almanac, which features local naturalists looking for what’s happening in the natural world. Boulder Naturalists go to The Foothills to experience the peak […]
As you know, on the first Friday of every month here at KGNU, we play the Nature Almanac, which features local naturalists looking for what’s happening in the natural world. Today, we have a special treat for you, a “bonus” […]
On July’s Nature Almanac, naturalists Carol Cushman and Steve Jones venture out to the Cherryvale Trailhead to get a glimpse of the sparkling fireflies that come out this time of year Listen: (Download Audio)
Colorful June songbirds nest along Bear Creek, and Bear Canyon is greening up from the NCAR fire, which happened late in March. Photo courtesy Stephen R. Jones. Listen: (Download Audio)
Kingfishers are bold about diving into pools to catch fish but very shy around cameras. Naturalists Scott Severs, Steve Jones, Ruth Carol Cushman search for kingfishers along Boulder’s White Rock Trail and explain why Kingfishers avoid people and their cameras. […]
Millions of shorebirds are migrating from the Arctic Tundra toward South America. Some fly through the night to reach Longmont’s Lagerman Reservoir. Here they rest and use their long bills to probe for insects and tiny shrimp along the reservoir’s […]
Most birds nest in the early summer, but Cedar Waxwings and Goldfinches prefer August nests because that’s when their favorite wild foods are abundant. Naturalists Scott Severs and Ruth Carol Cushman seek out those August nesters and their favorite foods […]
Jeweling Damselflies are a relative of dragonflies, with an iridescent emerald body. Their big black wings make them look like butterflies. A gem of a stream at Flagg Park in Lafayette is home to many Jewelwings in July. Naturalists Scott […]
The City of Longmont allows beavers to build dams to foster natural wetlands along local creeks. The City does this without letting the beaver’s dammed up water flood nearby buildings, thanks to the city’s installation of Beaver Deceivers. Naturalists Scott […]
For the April Nature Almanac, rare Grebes are migrating through Boulder County. Will Boulder Naturalists Scott Severs and Ruth Carol Cushman find any on Erie Reservoir? https://objects-us-east-1.dream.io/kgnu-news/2021/04/4-2021_NatureAlmanac-April_KGNU.mp3 (Download Audio) Image: A Horned Grebe at Erie Reservoir courtesy of Scott Severs
On this edition of the Nature Almanac, our Boulder naturalists observe some rather comical young osprey that don't know how to build a nest and discuss whether we should build nest platforms for osprey and what happens if we don't.
On this edition of the Nature Almanac, our Boulder naturalists observe some rather comical young osprey that don't know how to build a nest and discuss whether we should build nest platforms for osprey and what happens if we don't.
On this edition of the Nature Almanac, our Boulder naturalists observe some rather comical young osprey that don't know how to build a nest and discuss whether we should build nest platforms for osprey and what happens if we don't.
On this edition of the Nature Almanac, our Boulder naturalists observe some rather comical young osprey that don't know how to build a nest and discuss whether we should build nest platforms for osprey and what happens if we don't.
On this edition of the Nature Almanac, our Boulder naturalists observe some rather comical young osprey that don't know how to build a nest and discuss whether we should build nest platforms for osprey and what happens if we don't.
On this edition of the Nature Almanac, our Boulder naturalists observe some rather comical young osprey that don't know how to build a nest and discuss whether we should build nest platforms for osprey and what happens if we don't.
On this edition of the Nature Almanac, our Boulder naturalists observe some rather comical young osprey that don't know how to build a nest and discuss whether we should build nest platforms for osprey and what happens if we don't.
Ruth Carol Cushman speaks via FaceTime, sharing Small Wonders of Nature from the Frasier Retirement Community, where she and her husband Glenn have recently moved, and where they just celebrated their 51st Wedding Anniversary. https://objects-us-east-1.dream.io/kgnu-news/2020/04/Nature%20A%202020-03%20April%20Small%20Wonders_mixdown.mp3 Image: A house wren courtesy […]
Bald Eagles eat frozen fish dinners as Union Reservoir starts to thaw. Boulder County Naturalists Steve Jones and Scott Severs explain why.
Hooded Mergansers are the stars along ice-free Clear Creek in Wheatridge, as the Boulder County Audubon Society joins Steve Jones, Ruth Carol Cushman and Scott Severs for a nature hike. https://objects-us-east-1.dream.io/kgnu-news/2020/02/NatureA_2020-02.mp3 Image courtesy of Steve Jones.
The Boulder County Nature Association Winter Solstice Hike has kestrels and bald eagles along the trail and a circle gathering to welcome 2020. Image: A pair of American Kestrels. Courtesy of Scott E. Severs.
What’s hiding in fallen winter leaves and old tree stumps? Ruth Carol Cushman and Scott Severs visit Boulder’s Sawhill Ponds to look for hidden insects, deer mice, and even the evidence of snakes who hide in almost plain site as […]
Boulder Teen Naturalists talk about the natural world at use telescopes to stargaze at their annual pizza party on Shanahan Ridge in South Boulder with Steve Jones and Boulder physicist/astronomer Regnar Trampedach. Photo by Jayvee Villaganas on Unsplash
Ailing Aspen Trees – Leave that turn brown or black instead of gold are an increasing sign of ailing aspen trees along the Front Range. Boulder Naturalists Steve Jones and Scott Seevers take a look at the health of local […]
In September, Nuthatches in Long Canyon walk upside down on tree trunks, storing nuts and seeds in the bark to save an extra snack for winter. Ruth Carol Cushman and Scott Severs. Image: Red-breasted Nuthatch by Cri Solo
Sunrise at Longmont’s Jim Hamm Park. Bullfrogs and blackbirds everywhere. A Marsh Wren family hides in the cattails, including fledgelings that still have their yellow baby “lips.” Image courtesy of Nancy J. Wagner.
Normally it’s cliff swallows that make Longmont’s Sandstone Ranch special. This year’s abundant rains have added lush prairie grasses and wildflowers, making the ranch a Botanical Garden.
This month on the Nature Almanac, Ruth Carol Cushman and Scott E. Severs search for Western Tanagers at Waneka Lake in Lafayette, CO. Will they find them? Image: NPS
For the first Friday in May, Boulder Naturalists Steve Jones and Scott E. Severs search for song sparrows and the the true meaning . . . of opera. Image courtesy of Scott E. Severs
For the first Friday in April . . . Male Redwing Blackbirds at the Coot Lake cattail marshes are staking out territory and flashing their red epaulets, getting ready to see who among them will dazzle the loves of their […]
This is the Nature Almanac for the first Friday in March, 2019. It’s the unexpected moment when a shoveler duck, swimming right in front of Ruth Carol Cushman and Scott Severs starts wildly flapping its wings. A mink has grabbed […]
Here’s the Nature Almanac for the first Friday in February. It’s the quest for an extremely rare bird that has never been seen before in Colorado — a goose that looks a lot like a Canada Goose, so it blends […]
This January’s Nature Almanac features a winter solstice hike and the many songs and poems shared along the way. With Boulder Naturalists Steve Jones, Ruth Carol Cushman and Scott Severs. Image courtesy of Scott Severs.
In this December’s the Nature Almanac, a Vermilion Flycatcher has been at Cottonwood Marsh long past the regular time for migration. Scott Severs and Ruth Carol Cushman talk about the flycatcher and why a bird can end up going in […]
A bumper crop of Douglas Fir cones has brought hungry birds to the high country, eager to eat and also stash the seeds away for winter. Here’s a walk with Audubon Teen Naturalists and Steve Jones and Scott Severs, looking […]
This October’s Nature Almanac features a stroll around Jim Hamm Park in Longmont, looking at blackbirds and migrating waterfowl. With Boulder Naturalists Rush Carol Cushman and Scott Severs. Images courtesy of Scott E. Severs.
The Nature Almanac for the first Friday in September is an evening walk along the Bobolink Trail as Scott and Steve count snowy cricket chirps as a way to determine the current temperature. They also discuss how when crickets chirp, […]
Nature Almanac for the first Friday in August — it’s an evening walk along South Boulder’s Greenbriar Trail as Scott and Steve look for a beautiful and confident insect eating bird that bobs and swoops through the evening air — […]
This month’s Nature Almanac features a visit to a colony of Bank Swallows, where the parents swoop in the sky catching insects to feed hungry babies who live in nesting holes along a steep bank near the St. Vrain in […]