Backyard Ecology™

Summary In this episode, Ashley Kennedy and I discuss the results of her research on the diets of nestling eastern bluebirds. Ashley used GoPro cameras located on active bluebird nestboxes to take pictures of what eastern bluebirds were bringing back to the nest to feed their young. Over the course of several seasons, she obtained over 8,000 pictures which clearly showed food being brought back to the nest.    3 things you'll learn from this episode: The most common food items brought back to eastern bluebird nestlings, plus some less common and very unexpected prey items. Some of the reasons why caterpillars are such an important food source for baby birds. Insights into eastern bluebird food preferences.   Today's guest Ashley Kennedy is an entomologist who recently published her research on what eastern bluebird nestlings eat.    Resources: Ashley's research  The Backyard Ecologist's Newsletter  Backyard Ecology™ Community    Thank you! We want to say a big "Thank you!" to all our financial supporters who help us provide free educational content about the plants, pollinators, and wildlife that can be found in our yards and communities.   Join our financial supporters in helping us produce free content for everyone. It doesn't take much if we all work together. If everyone who hears this contributed just $2-3 / month (or the cost of one bottle of soda / month), we would be able to produce a whole year's worth of videos, podcasts, blogs, newsletters, and other free content. Ways to contribute include: Monthly contributions.  One-time donation online. Mailing a check to Backyard Ecology, P.O. Box 652, Glasgow, KY 42142-0652.

Glades are ecosystems where the soils are really shallow and rocky, often with patches of rock showing on the surface. They can be found all over the world, including multiple states within the eastern U.S. These ecosystems are unique areas that support some really interesting and sometimes highly specialized or rare organisms. Admittedly, they can also be frustrating for homeowners who may have one in their yard and be trying to force it to conform to the standards of a "normal" yard because they think something is wrong with it. However, sometimes all it takes is discovering that there isn't anything wrong with that area, but instead it is something special and can be celebrated for its own uniqueness. In this episode of the Backyard Ecology podcast, we are talking with Dr. Kim Cleary Sadler. Kim is a professor of biology education at Middle Tennessee State University and co-director of the Center for Cedar Glade Studies. Glades are classified by the type of rock that is found there. So, you can have limestone glades, chert glades, sandstone glades, shale glades, etc. Much of Kim and my conversation focuses on limestone glades, or what in some areas are more commonly known as cedar glades. However, we also touch on a few other types of glades and the basic concepts that we talk about can be applied to pretty much any type of glade. In this episode, Kim and I discuss some of the characteristics of glades, some of the different types of organisms you can find there, ways homeowners can deal with glades on their properties, and much more. We also share numerous stories related to our experiences with glades. Links Center for Cedar Glade Studies: https://www.mtsu.edu/glade-center Kim's email: [email protected] Related Backyard Ecology episodes: Liking lichens: A Glimpse into the Fascinating World of Lichens: https://www.backyardecology.net/liking-lichens-a-glimpse-into-the-fascinating-world-of-lichens/ Checking In After 50 Episodes of the Backyard Ecology Podcast: https://www.backyardecology.net/checking-in-after-50-episodes-of-the-backyard-ecology-podcast/ Backyard Ecology's website: https://backyardecology.net Backyard Ecology blog: https://www.backyardecology.net/blog/ Backyard Ecology's Patreon page: https://www.patreon.com/backyardecology Subscribe to Backyard Ecology emails: https://www.backyardecology.net/subscribe/ My email: [email protected] Episode image: Couchville Cedar Glade in spring Photo credit: Darel Hess, all rights reserved