Shows / Buzz Blossom & Squeak — Be a Neighborhood Naturalist
Buzz Blossom & Squeak — Be a Neighborhood Naturalist
Buzz, Blossom & Squeak is a quiet, curious walk into the natural world right outside your door. You don’t need to be a scientist, a hardcore birder, or someone who hikes miles into the wilderness. This podcast is for anyone who has ever paused to notice a bird call, wondered about a plant growing along a sidewalk, watched insects move through a garden, or felt the seasons shifting without quite knowing why. Each episode focuses on small, approachable pieces of nature—birds, bugs, plants…
Episodes
- Buzz Blossom & Squeak — Be a Neighborhood Naturalist
Where Do Insects Go in Winter?
Where Do Insects Go in Winter? A Northwoods yard can be buzzing with mosquitoes, butterflies, bees, and beetles in summer and look completely empty by January…
- Buzz Blossom & Squeak — Be a Neighborhood Naturalist
When Nature Looks Helpless
A fledgling misses a branch, a butterfly emerges with crumpled wings, and a young eagle wanders far from home. These moments can make us want to rush in and…
- Buzz Blossom & Squeak — Be a Neighborhood Naturalist
Hidden Animal Highways in Your Backyard
Fresh snow has a way of telling on everybody. Rabbit tracks, squirrel routes, deer crossings, and tiny paths along shrubs suddenly reveal that the animals in…
- Buzz Blossom & Squeak — Be a Neighborhood Naturalist
Look Closer, Not Farther: See More on Every Walk
A few weeks ago, my friend Em and I were scanning the far side of a lake for migrating ducks and shorebirds. When I finally got tired of squinting through…
- Buzz Blossom & Squeak — Be a Neighborhood Naturalist
No Bird Can Do It All: Some Can't Walk, Fly, Swim or Stand
There's an old joke about a loon, a warbler, an emu, and a duck standing around, each one wishing it had a skill it didn't have, except the duck, who can do…
- Buzz Blossom & Squeak — Be a Neighborhood Naturalist
How to Layer Clothes for Winter (Base, Mid, Outer)
Winter doesn't have to be a season you disappear from. Most of the time, being cold outside isn't the weather's fault, it's a clothing problem, and it's a…
- Buzz Blossom & Squeak — Be a Neighborhood Naturalist
El Nino Winter: What It Means for Backyard Birds
Somewhere out in the middle of the Pacific right now, the ocean is doing something it hasn't done in almost 150 years, and if you keep a feeder in your…
- Buzz Blossom & Squeak — Be a Neighborhood Naturalist
Chimney Swifts - Can't Perch, Can't Walk, and Barely Lands
# The Bird That Never Perches: A Chimney Swift Roost at Dusk This week I stood on a picnic table with a few hundred strangers, watching what looked like a…
- Buzz Blossom & Squeak — Be a Neighborhood Naturalist
129 - Five Games That Will Change How You Notice Nature
I want to start with a confession: there have been entire walks, even hikes, where I got to the end and realized I couldn’t tell you a single thing I’d passed…
- Buzz Blossom & Squeak — Be a Neighborhood Naturalist
128 - Science Behind 4 Smells You Notice Outdoors
Ever walked past a bog and wondered why it smells nothing like your backyard after a rainstorm? Or caught that sharp green scent of fresh-cut grass and had no…
- Buzz Blossom & Squeak — Be a Neighborhood Naturalist
127 - Fall Migration Already Started (And You Probably Missed It)
It’s the end of July, and while the rest of us are still thinking pools and barbecues, the birds have already started leaving. Not in September like most of us…
- Buzz Blossom & Squeak — Be a Neighborhood Naturalist
126 - Reading a Bird’s Strategy By Where It Stands
I promised you a twist at the end of this one, and I’m going to make you wait for it, just like I made myself wait when I first noticed it. Because once you…
- Buzz Blossom & Squeak — Be a Neighborhood Naturalist
125 - Summer Stars and The Best Perseid Meteor Shower in Years (Aug 12–13)
Finding Your Way Around the Summer Sky Step outside tonight and look up — it's not the same sky we talked about in winter. Orion and his belt have slipped…
- Buzz Blossom & Squeak — Be a Neighborhood Naturalist
124 - The Birds We’ve Wrongly Decided Are Villains
A hawk at the feeder gets hate comments. A crow doing something clever gets called creepy. A circling vulture gets treated like an omen. In this episode, I…
- Buzz Blossom & Squeak — Be a Neighborhood Naturalist
123 - How Wildfire Smoke Affects Birds, Insects, and Water
This week’s episode started with something small and annoying: my air purifier kept kicking on every time I walked across my living room. Turns out my floor…
- Buzz Blossom & Squeak — Be a Neighborhood Naturalist
122 - The Hidden Logic of Beaks, Snouts, and Faces
Can you identify a critter without ever opening a field guide? I think you can — if you just look at its face first. I stumbled on a chart lineup of bird beaks…
- Buzz Blossom & Squeak — Be a Neighborhood Naturalist
121 - Yard Work Is a Dinner Bell for Birds
The second I start mowing, trimming, or dragging branches around my yard, I get company — robins, sparrows, cardinals, all showing up like they’ve been waiting…
- Buzz Blossom & Squeak — Be a Neighborhood Naturalist
120 - Let Somebody Else Raise Your Kids — A Bird Strategy
My friend and I were out at our local federal marsh when we spotted brown-headed cowbirds, a black-billed cuckoo, and a yellow-billed cuckoo — all in the same…
- Buzz Blossom & Squeak — Be a Neighborhood Naturalist
119 - What Are Birds Actually Fighting About?
That bird that acts like it owns your entire backyard? It probably does — and it has good reasons for the attitude. While camping last month, I watched a…
- Buzz Blossom & Squeak — Be a Neighborhood Naturalist
118 - Nobody Loves the Possum. Here’s Why They Should.
Nobody loves the possum. That’s kind of the point. The hissing, the drooling, the naked scaly tail, the teeth — all fifty of them — and the dramatic habit of…
- Buzz Blossom & Squeak — Be a Neighborhood Naturalist
117 - From the Rockies to Alaska: Why the West Is So Different
If the Appalachians are ancient, rounded, and quiet — worn down by hundreds of millions of years — then what are the Rockies? The answer is: still under…
- Buzz Blossom & Squeak — Be a Neighborhood Naturalist
116 - The Ancient Forces That Made North America
North America doesn't just look remarkable — it is remarkable, and not in a flag-waving way. In this episode of Buzz, Blossom & Squeak, I want to take you on a…
- Buzz Blossom & Squeak — Be a Neighborhood Naturalist
115 - How Baby Birds Learn Everything
Last week on a camping trip, I had three moments that made me laugh out loud — and then sent me down a rabbit hole about one of nature's most entertaining and…
- Buzz Blossom & Squeak — Be a Neighborhood Naturalist
114 - Why Birds Get Lost: The Science of Vagrancy and Range Expansion
In July 2023, a volunteer doing routine piping plover counts at a Wisconsin wildlife area saw a flash of pink out of the corner of his eye. He stopped. He…
- Buzz Blossom & Squeak — Be a Neighborhood Naturalist
113 - Reading the Sky: What Storm Colors Are Telling You
Why does the sky turn green when a tornado is coming? Why do storm clouds go black? And what does a 19th-century volcanic eruption in Indonesia have to do with…
- Buzz Blossom & Squeak — Be a Neighborhood Naturalist
112- Why Is Water Blue? The Science of Color in Lakes, Oceans, and Ice
Why is Lake Superior almost black on a stormy day and impossibly blue on a calm one? Why does the Caribbean look turquoise when it's made of the same H2O? And…
- Buzz Blossom & Squeak — Be a Neighborhood Naturalist
111 - Spectrometry in Space: What Every Planet Is Telling Us
We've never touched Mars. We've never scooped up Pluto's frost or sifted through Jupiter's cloud layers. And yet scientists can describe the chemistry of every…
- Buzz Blossom & Squeak — Be a Neighborhood Naturalist
110 - How Light Reveals Secrets
What if you could know what something is made of — without ever touching it? That's not science fiction. It's spectrometry, and it's one of the most quietly…
- Buzz Blossom & Squeak — Be a Neighborhood Naturalist
109 - The Science of Noticing When Nature Happens
Spring doesn't arrive in a single moment — it arrives in layers, and phenology is the science of noticing the order. There's a name for what farmers, hunters…
- Buzz Blossom & Squeak — Be a Neighborhood Naturalist
108 - How to Actually Identify Ducks
Duck season is here — and ducks are confusing. If you've ever stood at the edge of a pond going completely blank while trying to name what you're looking at…
- Buzz Blossom & Squeak — Be a Neighborhood Naturalist
107 -The Dusk Chorus: What Happens When the Sun Goes Down
You've heard the dawn chorus — but have you heard the dusk chorus? Step outside at sunset and a whole different world comes alive. In this episode, Jill heads…
- Buzz Blossom & Squeak — Be a Neighborhood Naturalist
106 - Why Do Birds Sing at Dawn?
Have you ever woken up at five in the morning, stepped outside into the cold and the dark, and heard a single bird start to sing — and then another, and then…
- Buzz Blossom & Squeak — Be a Neighborhood Naturalist
105 - The First Thing Every Animal Does When Spring Arrives
Spring fever is real — and it turns out every creature in the natural world has it too. In this episode I'm exploring the very first thing each animal does the…
- Buzz Blossom & Squeak — Be a Neighborhood Naturalist
104 - Spring Is Already Here — You Just Have to Know Where to Look
Step outside with me for a minute. The grass is still brown and undecided. There are patches of snow on the north side of the fence. The ground is soft on top…
- Buzz Blossom & Squeak — Be a Neighborhood Naturalist
103 - Feathers Are More Incredible Than You Think
I walk past feathers all the time — on the trail, in my yard, floating across the floor when my bird molts — and I'll be honest, I never gave them a second…
- Buzz Blossom & Squeak — Be a Neighborhood Naturalist
102 - Why Can Animals Eat Things That Would Kill Us?
Have you ever watched a dog eat something off the ground and thought — I would be in the hospital right now? Or stared at a koala stuffing eucalyptus leaves…
- Buzz Blossom & Squeak — Be a Neighborhood Naturalist
101 - From Skywatching to Wall Clocks: How Nature Became Our Calendar
How did watching the sky turn into the calendar on the wall and the clock we check every day? This episode explores how ancient sky observations evolved into…
- Buzz Blossom & Squeak — Be a Neighborhood Naturalist
100 - Berries: Nature’s Winter Survival Strategy
Winter isn’t empty—it’s stocked with hidden food. Berries are nature’s survival pantry when everything else disappears. Look closer, and you’ll see winter is…
- Buzz Blossom & Squeak — Be a Neighborhood Naturalist
99 - Reading the Tracks: Discovering Animal Stories Right Outside Your Door
Every snowfall writes a story across the ground. Each footprint is a clue left behind by a hidden neighbor. All you have to do is slow down and learn how to…
- Buzz Blossom & Squeak — Be a Neighborhood Naturalist
98 - Snowflakes, Snert, and Snow Sharks: A Tour of Winter’s Icy Wonders
In this episode, we explore the remarkable diversity of snow and ice, uncovering the hidden science and sensory experiences behind winter weather. From the…
- Buzz Blossom & Squeak — Be a Neighborhood Naturalist
97 - Why Orion Is the Coolest Constellation in the Sky
Why Orion Is the Coolest Constellation in the Sky In this episode, we explore the majestic constellation Orion—why it's a favorite, how it acts as a celestial…
- Buzz Blossom & Squeak — Be a Neighborhood Naturalist
96 - The Secret Life of Winter Lakes: A Hidden World Beneath the Ice
"What if I told you that beneath this silent, frozen surface, fish are still swimming, plants are still growing, and nature hasn’t stopped at all?" In this…
- Buzz Blossom & Squeak — Be a Neighborhood Naturalist
95 - Start the New Year with Nature: A Personal Challenge to Reconnect
Start the New Year with Nature: A Personal Challenge to Reconnect In this episode, we explore how to make nature a central theme in your life this year…
- Buzz Blossom & Squeak — Be a Neighborhood Naturalist
94 - Black, Brown, and Polar Bears: What Makes Each Unique?
Black, Brown, and Polar Bears: What Makes Each Unique? In this episode, I explore the fascinating world of bears—not just as powerful wilderness icons, but as…
- Buzz Blossom & Squeak — Be a Neighborhood Naturalist
93 - El Niño, La Niña, and the Pacific’s Hidden Rhythm
El Niño, La Niña, and the Pacific’s Hidden Rhythm Why does the weather sometimes feel wildly different from one decade to the next? Why are some winters…
- Buzz Blossom & Squeak — Be a Neighborhood Naturalist
92 - Earth's Hidden Thermostat: The Oceanic Conveyor
Earth's Hidden Thermostat: The Oceanic Conveyor In this episode, we explore the extraordinary yet often overlooked mechanism that helps regulate Earth’s…
- Buzz Blossom & Squeak — Be a Neighborhood Naturalist
91 - Fractals, Spirals, and Fibonacci: The Hidden Geometry of Nature
Fractals, Spirals, and Fibonacci: The Hidden Geometry of Nature" In this episode, I talk about the mesmerizing and efficient patterns that appear throughout…
- Buzz Blossom & Squeak — Be a Neighborhood Naturalist
90 - Nature’s Hidden Code: The Fibonacci Sequence in Your Backyard
Nature’s Hidden Code: The Fibonacci Sequence in Your Backyard In this episode, I explore one of nature’s most beautiful secrets—the Fibonacci sequence. From…
- Buzz Blossom & Squeak — Be a Neighborhood Naturalist
89 - Winter Survival: How Animals Keep Warm When the Cold Hits
Winter Survival: How Animals Keep Warm When the Cold Hits In this episode, we explore the incredible ways that animals survive brutal winter conditions. From…
- Buzz Blossom & Squeak — Be a Neighborhood Naturalist
88 - Biomicry: How Nature is Teaching Us to Innovate
n this episode, we explore how the natural world has become the ultimate R&D department for some of the most groundbreaking innovations in human technology and…
- Buzz Blossom & Squeak — Be a Neighborhood Naturalist
87 - The Secret Life Beneath Our Feet – Understanding the Power of Soil
The Invisible World Beneath Our Feet” In this episode, we explore the incredible world of soil — not dirt, but a vibrant, living ecosystem that powers life on…
- Buzz Blossom & Squeak — Be a Neighborhood Naturalist
86 - What Comes Alive When the Sun Goes Down: A Journey Into Nocturnal Wildlife
What Comes Alive When the Sun Goes Down: A Journey Into Nocturnal Wildlife In this episode, I take you into the fascinating and often overlooked world of…
- Buzz Blossom & Squeak — Be a Neighborhood Naturalist
85 - How Plants Travel the World: Nature’s Secret Voyagers
The Secret Travels of Seeds: How Plants Get Around In this episode, we explore the often-overlooked journey of plant seeds and the surprising ways they travel…
- Buzz Blossom & Squeak — Be a Neighborhood Naturalist
84 - The Jet Stream: Earth's Invisible Superhighway in the Sky
The Jet Stream: Earth's Invisible Superhighway in the Sky In this episode, we're talking about one of the most powerful yet invisible forces shaping life on…
- Buzz Blossom & Squeak — Be a Neighborhood Naturalist
83 - Why the Sky Changes Blue Each Season
In this episode, we explore the beauty and science behind the ever-changing sky. From the deep cobalt blues of autumn to the hazy silver tones of summer, each…
- Buzz Blossom & Squeak — Be a Neighborhood Naturalist
82 - The Marvels of October Spiders: Nature’s Autumn Engineers
82 - The Marvels of October Spiders: Nature’s Autumn Engineers In this episode, we explore the world of October spiders—those mysterious and suddenly massive…
- Buzz Blossom & Squeak — Be a Neighborhood Naturalist
81 - The Season That Nourishes and Grounds Us
Why Fall Feels So Meaningful: The Science, Culture, and Spirit of the Harvest Episode Summary: In this episode, I explore why fall carries such emotional and…
- Buzz Blossom & Squeak — Be a Neighborhood Naturalist
80 - Autumn's Color Show
Why Autumn Is So Beautiful: The Science & Soul of Fall Leaves In this episode, we explore the breathtaking beauty of autumn—beyond its stunning colors. What…
- Buzz Blossom & Squeak — Be a Neighborhood Naturalist
79 - Moth Secrets Revealed
The Secret Life of Moths: Nature’s Nocturnal Navigators" In this episode of Buzz, Blossom and Squeak, we explore the incredible, underappreciated world of…
- Buzz Blossom & Squeak — Be a Neighborhood Naturalist
78 -Colorful Songs to Silent Flights: Fall vs Spring Migration
78 -Colorful Songs to Silent Flights: Fall vs Spring Migration In this episode, we explore the surprising and subtle differences between spring and fall bird…