QuACK

In this episode we talk about Community Science and how anybody, even kids can get involved with our in house Community Science extraordinaire, Brenna Marsicek, the Director of Outreach here at Southern Wisconsin Bird Alliance. Check out SoWBA’s free lessons, games, and activities!Get out and explore nature with us! Make a donation to SoWBAEpisode Transcription with pictures and links available on our website! Music: “The Forest and the Trees” by Kevin MacLeod

In this episode we answer questions like “What should we do when we see sick, injured, or orphaned wildlife?” and learn about all the care and expertise that wildlife rehabilitators can provide at the Dane County Humane Society (DCHS) Wildlife Center with Wildlife Program Manager Jackie Edmunds and Wildlife Rehabilitator and Educator Dave Mackler.Check out their work at DCHSCheck out SoWBA’s free lessons, games, and activities!Get out and explore nature with us! Make a donation to SoWBAEpisode Transcription with pictures and links available on our website! Music: “The Forest and the Trees” by Kevin MacLeod

In this episode, we answer questions like " why do frogs and salamanders need to lay their eggs in water?" and learn about the benefits of external gills with our amphibian expert Andrew Badje, a Conservation Biologist for the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. Check out SoWBA’s free lessons, games, and activities!Get out and explore nature with us! Make a donation to SoWBAEpisode Transcription with pictures and links available on our website! Music: “The Forest and the Trees” by Kevin MacLeod

In this episode, we answer questions like “How did Bald Eagles get their name?” and debunk some common animal fun facts with our guest Carolyn Byers, Education Director here at Southern Wisconsin Bird Alliance.Check out SoWBA’s free lessons, games, and activities!Get out and explore nature with us! Make a donation to SoWBAEpisode Transcription with pictures and links available on our website! Music: “The Forest and the Trees” by Kevin MacLeod

In this episode we answer questions like "why are bird bones hollow?" and learn about how baby birds grow their bones within the egg with our bird bone expert, Dr. Anna Pidgeon, a researcher and professor at UW - Madison! Check out SoWBA’s free lessons, games, and activities!Get out and explore nature with us! Make a donation to SoWBAEpisode Transcription with pictures and links available on our website! Music: “The Forest and the Trees” by Kevin MacLeod

In this episode we hear the tale of the Great Mustelid Mystery that started at Aldo Leopold Nature Center in spring 2024. Get comfy and put on your nature detective caps as Rowan Koester-Jess takes us through this riveting mystery. See offerings from Aldo Leopold Nature CenterCheck out SoWBA’s free lessons, games, and activities!Get out and explore nature with us! Make a donation to SoWBAEpisode Transcription with pictures and links available on our website! Music: “The Forest and the Trees” by Kevin MacLeod

In this episode, we answer questions like "do animals cover their tracks?" and learn about how animals with bare tails handle winter weather with our tracks expert, Extension Senior Wildlife Outreach Specialist, Jamie Nack! Check out SoWBA’s free lessons, games, and activities!Get out and explore nature with us! Make a donation to SoWBAEpisode Transcription with pictures and links available on our website! Music: “The Forest and the Trees” by Kevin MacLeod

In this episode, we talk more with DNR Conservation Biologist Jennifer Redell about what scientists are doing to help bats with White Nose Syndrome and how they are working to prevent the spread of the disease. Check out SoWBA’s free lessons, games, and activities!Get out and explore nature with us! Make a donation to SoWBAEpisode Transcription with pictures and links available on our website! Music: “The Forest and the Trees” by Kevin MacLeod

In this episode, we talk about White Nose Syndrome and how it affects our Wisconsin bats with our bat expert Jennifer Redell, a conservation biologist at the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. Be sure to return for part two! Check out SoWBA’s free lessons, games, and activities!Get out and explore nature with us! Make a donation to SoWBAEpisode Transcription with pictures and links available on our website! Music: “The Forest and the Trees” by Kevin MacLeod

In this episode, we answer questions like "How do monarchs know where to go on their migration?" and learn about the Monarch Butterfly mysteries still to be uncovered with our Monarch Butterfly expert Emma Pelton, conservation biologist for the Xerces Society. See the work of the Xerces SocietyCheck out SoWBA’s free lessons, games, and activities!Get out and explore nature with us! Make a donation to SoWBAEpisode Transcription with pictures and links available on our website! Music: “The Forest and the Trees” by Kevin MacLeod

In this episode we answer questions like "why do centipedes have so many legs?" and "do insects fart?" and learn about the ways that bugs view our world completely different than how we do with our Insect Anatomy expert PJ Liesch the director of the UW-Madison Insect Diagnostic Lab!See more of PJ's work here!And follow him on X (Twitter) @WisconsinBugGuyCheck out SoWBA’s free lessons, games, and activities!Get out and explore nature with us! Episode transcription with pictures and links available on our website!Music: “The Forest and the Trees” by Kevin MacLeod

In this episode, we answer questions like “How can we identify hawks when they are flying so high in the sky?“ and learn about hawks use UV vision to their advantage when hunting. Learn more about the Wildlife Center here!Check out SoWBA’s free lessons, games, and activities!Get out and explore nature with us! Make a donation to SoWBAEpisode Transcription with pictures and links available on our website! Music: “The Forest and the Trees” by Kevin MacLeod

In this episode, we answer questions like "why do baby birds sometimes look different from their parents" and learn about "brood parasites" and their fascinating approach to parenthood with our Baby Bird expert Dr. Matt Reetz, the Executive Director at Southern Wisconsin Bird Alliance!Check out SoWBA’s free lessons, games, and activities!⁠⁠Get out and explore nature with us! ⁠⁠Make a donation to SoWBA⁠Episode transcription with pictures and links available on our website! Music: “The Forest and the Trees” by Kevin MacLeod

In this episode, we answer questions like "how does a bird breathe in the egg?" and learn about "brood patches" and how important they are to keep baby birds warm with our Baby Bird expert Dr. Matt Reetz, the Executive Director at Southern Wisconsin Bird Alliance! Be sure to come back and check out part 2.Check out SoWBA’s free lessons, games, and activities!⁠⁠Get out and explore nature with us! ⁠⁠Make a donation to SoWBA⁠Episode transcription with pictures and links available on our website! Music: “The Forest and the Trees” by Kevin MacLeod

In this episode, we answer questions like "why do robins lay blue eggs?" and learn about precocial and altricial young with our egg expert (egg-spert if you will) Carolyn Byers the Education Director at Southern Wisconsin Bird Alliance. See Carolyn's nest research on our Into the Nest page! Check out SoWBA’s free lessons, games, and activities!Get out and explore nature with us! Make a donation to SoWBAEpisode Transcription with pictures and links available on our website! Music: “The Forest and the Trees” by Kevin MacLeod

In this episode, we answer questions like "do bird calls adapt to their habitats?" and learn about how large cities can impact bird calls and songs with our bird voices expert Dr. Anna Pidgeon! Check out SoWBA’s free lessons, games, and activities!Get out and explore nature with us! Episode TranscriptionMusic: “The Forest and the Trees” by Kevin MacLeod

In this episode, we answer questions like "how and why do birds sing?" and learn about the differences and similarities between bird bodies and our own with our Bird Voices expert Dr. Anna Pidgeon, a professor and researcher at UW-Madison. Be sure to come back and check out part 2!Check out SoWBA’s free lessons, games, and activities!⁠⁠Get out and explore nature with us! ⁠⁠Make a donation to SoWBA⁠Episode transcription with pictures and links available on our website! Music: “The Forest and the Trees” by Kevin MacLeod

In this episode, we answer questions like "how do mushrooms grow?" and "how can you tell if a mushroom is poisonous or not?" with our fungi expert Megan Dudenhoeffer, a science technician at the US Forest Service in the Center for Forest Mycology Research. Visit Megan's website and see her research and publications!Check out SoWBA’s free lessons, games, and activities!Get out and explore nature with us! Make a donation to SoWBAEpisode Transcription with pictures and links available on our website! Music: “The Forest and the Trees” by Kevin MacLeod

In this episode, we answer questions like “How do birds stay warm in cold weather?” and “How do birds get their colors?” and learn about how black eye markings on birds help reduce the glare of the sun with our feather expert Laurie Solchenberger, a teacher at Lincoln Elementary School. Check out SoWBA’s free lessons, games, and activities!Get out and explore nature with us! Make a donation to SoWBAEpisode Transcription with pictures and links available on our website! Music: “The Forest and the Trees” by Kevin MacLeod

In this episode we answer questions like "Do birds ever nest in the winter?" and "How do birds protect their nests?" and learn about cavity nesters with our nest expert Carolyn Byers the Director of Education at Southern Wisconsin Bird Alliance.Check out SoWBA’s free lessons, games, and activities!⁠⁠Get out and explore nature with us! ⁠⁠Make a donation to SoWBA⁠Episode transcription with pictures and links available on our website! Music: “The Forest and the Trees” by Kevin MacLeod

In this episode, we answer questions like "why is it important to follow protocol?" and "how do scientists know that their not counting the same animals over again?" and learn about "closure and repeatability" and why it's so important to scientists with our research expert Dr. Jennifer Stenglein who is a Quantitative Wildlife Research Scientist at the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. Check out Snapshot Wisconsin here! Check out SoWBA’s free lessons, games, and activities!Get out and explore nature with us! Make a donation to SoWBAEpisode Transcription with pictures and links available on our website! Music: “The Forest and the Trees” by Kevin MacLeod

In the second part of our trees episode we'll learn about "mast" and what animals benefit when it's a "mast year" with our tree expert Brian Wahl! Check out SoWBA’s free lessons, games, and activities!Get out and explore nature with us! Make a donation to SoWBAEpisode Transcription with pictures and links available on our website! Music: “The Forest and the Trees” by Kevin MacLeod

This episode was so fun and full of information it's in two parts! In this part, we answer questions like "How many trees are there in the world?" and why that's not such an easy question to answer with our tree expert Brian Wahl, the Urban Forestry Coordinator at the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources! Check out SoWBA’s free lessons, games, and activities!Get out and explore nature with us! Make a donation to SoWBAEpisode Transcription with pictures and links available on our website! Music: “The Forest and the Trees” by Kevin MacLeod

In this episode, we answer "What are ways people can help stop birds from flying into windows?" with our bird collisions expert Brenna Marsicek the Director of Outreach at Southern Wisconsin Bird Alliance. Check out SoWBA’s free lessons, games, and activities!⁠⁠Get out and explore nature with us! ⁠⁠Make a donation to SoWBA⁠Episode transcription with pictures and links available on our website! Music: “The Forest and the Trees” by Kevin MacLeod

In this episode, we answer questions like “Why do birds chase their reflections in windows?” and “Why do bats sometimes hit windows if they use echolocation?” and learn about what makes a building safe or dangerous for birds with our bird collision expert Brenna Marsicek the Director of Outreach at Southern Wisconsin Bird Alliance. Be sure to check back in for part 3!Check out SoWBA’s free lessons, games, and activities!⁠⁠Get out and explore nature with us! ⁠⁠Make a donation to SoWBA⁠Episode transcription with pictures and links available on our website! Music: “The Forest and the Trees” by Kevin MacLeod

In this episode, we talk all about the challenge that glass and other reflective surfaces pose to birds and what groups like Bird Collision Corps do to help with our bird collision expert Brenna Marsicek, the Outreach Director at Southern Wisconsin Bird Alliance. Be sure to check out part 2 and 3! Check out SoWBA’s free lessons, games, and activities!⁠⁠Get out and explore nature with us! ⁠⁠Make a donation to SoWBA⁠Episode transcription with pictures and links available on our website! Music: “The Forest and the Trees” by Kevin MacLeod

In this episode, we answer questions like “where do birds migrate to?” and "do birds migrate at a certain time of day?" with our bird migration expert Bob Honig!Check out SoWBA’s free lessons, games, and activities!Get out and explore nature with us! Make a donation to SoWBAEpisode transcription with pictures and links available on our website! Music: “The Forest and the Trees” by Kevin MacLeod

Get ready for Southern Wisconsin Bird Alliance's brand new podcast, Questions Asked by Curious Kids, or QuACK! Check out SoWBA’s free lessons, games, and activities!⁠ ⁠Get out and explore nature with us!  Make a donation to Southern Wisconsin Bird Alliance Transcription with helpful images available on our website! Audio Editing and Transcription by Mickenzee Okon Logo design by Carolyn Byers and Kaitlin Svabek Music: “The Forest and the Trees” by Kevin MacLeod