Natural North Dakota
- Author: Vários
- Narrator: Vários
- Publisher: Podcast
- Duration: 0:53:24
- More information
Informações:
Synopsis
Hosted by Chuck Lura, a biology professor at Dakota College in Bottineau. Chuck has a broad knowledge of “Natural North Dakota” and loves sharing that knowledge with others. Since 2005, he has written a weekly column, “Naturalist at Large,” for the Lake Metigoshe Mirror. His columns also appear under “The Naturalist” in several other weekly newspapers across North Dakota. Natural North Dakota is supported by NDSU Central Grasslands Research Extension Center and Dakota College at Bottineau, and by the members of Prairie Public. Thanks to Sunny 101.9 in Bottineau for their recording services.
Episodes
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Identifying and treating poison ivy and skunk spray
08/06/2024 Duration: 02minSummer is upon us! It seems that every year, questions come up on how to identify poison ivy, and what to do if a dog has been sprayed by a skunk. A little reminder of identification of poison ivy and treatment of skunk spray might be helpful.
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Have you seen a smooth green snake?
01/06/2024 Duration: 02minThe Amphibians and Reptiles of North Dakota website lists eight species of snakes documented in the state. I assume that most North Dakotans are familiar with many of these snakes, but I suspect that few have ever heard of or seen a smooth green snake (Opheodrys vernalis).
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Birdwatching tools you should know
25/05/2024 Duration: 02minWhether it's watching robins in the yard, seeing an eagle soar overhead, or trying to identify a bird making that sweet call from some thick brush, birds seem to draw our interest. But many among us may not be aware of a couple aids that can help enhance our birding experiences.
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Ring-billed gulls
18/05/2024 Duration: 02minI was perusing Robert Stewart’s Breeding Birds of North Dakota (1975) recently and noticed that he listed three species of gulls nesting in the state: California, Franklin’s, and ring-billed. He also noted that herring gulls were nesting on Stump Lake back in 1884.
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Keystone Species
11/05/2024 Duration: 02minA keystone species can be loosely defined as a species that has a disproportionately large effect on a community. They are critical components. They hold things together. And their removal from a community can set off a series of events that change the community into something quite different.
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Seeing spring wildflowers in North Dakota
04/05/2024 Duration: 03minIf the pasque flowers are not in bloom near you, they will be soon. And there are other wildflowers as well, including Draba and prairie smoke. Beauty often comes in small packages, and the spring wildflowers will help brighten your day.
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Trees are declaring spring
27/04/2024 Duration: 02minOne of the common signs of spring is when we look up at the trees and see something different up there. The trees must be leafing out! Spring is officially here! But much of what we see up there is more likely flowers.
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Saving native grasslands and grassland birds
20/04/2024 Duration: 02minBoth grasslands and birds are rapidly decreasing in Canada — less than 15% of the native grasslands remain. To address the issue, Birds Canada has developed the Bird-Friendliness Index.
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Lyrids and Eta Aquarids Meteor Showers
13/04/2024 Duration: 03minIf you like to watch falling stars, this next month or so is a good time to see them. The Lyrids meteor shower will start soon, and it overlaps with the Eta Aquarids meteor shower. Between the two, the show will run to the end of May.
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Richardson's Ground Squirrel
06/04/2024 Duration: 02minShortly after beginning their journey down the Missouri River in April of 1805 after spending the winter at Fort Mandan, Meriwether Lewis wrote in his journal about an animal that Captain Clark had recently observed: “Captain Clark walked on shore today and informed on his return, that passing through the prairie he had seen an animal that precisely resembled the burrowing squirrel, accept in point of size, it being only about one third as large as the squirrel, and that it also burrows.”
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Get out and enjoy spring!
30/03/2024 Duration: 02minIt seems that every year when spring comes around, we are ready to go outdoors. Nature has much to offer, but all too often summer arrives, and we realize we did not get to enjoy the spring like we had hoped.
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Spring is (almost) here!
16/03/2024 Duration: 02minThe short days of winter are starting to fade away as the days continue to lengthen. And next Wednesday, March 20, is the spring equinox.
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North Dakota's Petrified Forest
09/03/2024 Duration: 02minIf you have never been to the petrified forest in Theodore Roosevelt National Park’s South Unit, you might want to consider doing so this year. And even if you have been there before, another visit to see these remnants of another time is a worthwhile experience.
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Red River Watershed
02/03/2024 Duration: 02minI recently happened upon the above map of the Red River Watershed. I suspect that the watershed is much larger than most of us would think.
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Marbled Godwits in North Dakota
24/02/2024 Duration: 02minOne of Prairie Public’s more popular television shows is Nature. Some of you may have seen the episode a few weeks ago on shorebird migrations. The show addressed how shorebirds navigate the trip, the risks of migration, and how human activity is creating problems for the birds. One of the shorebirds featured was the marbled godwit on its migration from Panama to the Dakotas.
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February Isn't As Quiet As You Might Think
17/02/2024 Duration: 02minJanuary is in the rearview mirror, as is a good portion of February. And whether Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow or not, no self-respecting North Dakota groundhog would stick their head out of the burrow in early February. Any thoughts of spring are premature. Or are they?
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Join the Great Backyard Bird Count
10/02/2024 Duration: 02minThe Great Backyard Bird Count is coming up next week, February 16-19. This annual citizen science effort is a collaboration between the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, National Audubon Society, and Birds Canada to help scientists better understand the bird population dynamics and movements.
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Lake Sturgeon
03/02/2024 Duration: 02minI recently saw a news article about a 240-pound lake sturgeon caught in the Detroit River in 2021. That’s a big fish! Perhaps someday North Dakota will produce a lake sturgeon of that size.
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Short-eared Owls
27/01/2024 Duration: 02minMost North Dakotans are familiar with the great horned owl. But I suspect few are familiar with the short-eared owl — even though, of the half-dozen or so owls native to the state, the short-eared owl is most closely associated with the wide open spaces of North Dakota prairie.