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Field Notes For keen observers, a walk to the grocery store or a hike up a mountain can inspire questions. Where do magpies nest? Why doesn't a spider stick to its own web? How do water striders keep from sinking? Every week since 1992, Field Notes has inquired about Montana's natural history. Produced by the Montana Natural History Center, Field Notes are written by naturalists, students and listeners about the puzzle-tree bark, eagle talons, woolly aphids and giant puffballs of western, central and southwestern Montana.
Field Notes

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Field Notes

Field Notes

From Montana Public Radio

For keen observers, a walk to the grocery store or a hike up a mountain can inspire questions. Where do magpies nest? Why doesn't a spider stick to its own web? How do water striders keep from sinking? Every week since 1992, Field Notes has inquired about Montana's natural history. Produced by the Montana Natural History Center, Field Notes are written by naturalists, students and listeners about the puzzle-tree bark, eagle talons, woolly aphids and giant puffballs of western, central and southwestern Montana.

Most Recent Episodes

Black and White Feathered Bullies

On the suggestion of an experienced birder, I bought a wire wreath and stuffed it with unshelled peanuts. The magpies spent hours skirmishing with each other to grab a peanut. I reveled in the mayhem.

Chasing the Tulip Tree

There were tulip poplars, also known as yellow poplars or tulip trees. No tulip maples. I'd thought I'd seen the real thing in Washington, DC. No such beauties adorned my backyard.

The Mysterious Call of Great Horned Owls

Throughout history, people have been captivated by owls. There are 260 species of owls across the planet. They can be found on every continent except Antarctica.

Thunder Chickens

I've always been fascinated by ruffed grouse. For such a small, skittish-seeming bird, they have a hugely outsized presence in the soundscape of the forest.

Of Nighthawks & Memories

It's easy to see how the nighthawks' idiosyncrasies make them a crowd favorite, but what I love most about them are the cherished memories they resurrect.

Standing Alone; Moving Together

A lone Sandhill Crane stood at the edge of the marsh feeding, its bill dipping repeatedly through the mud with a series of rapid, steady bursts reminiscent of a sewing machine's insistent motion.

Buried Breath

Earthworms use their entire body to breathe. Burrowed deep in the ground — slow moving, slow metabolizing — their long frames tighten and relax and pull the air they need from soil.

Oriole Nests: Relics of Summer

They looked like bulging stockings decorating a mantle at Christmastime. They were certainly gifts of a sort for our winter-weary senses. These were the unique nests of Bullock's Orioles.

The Dinosaur in the River

In the natural world, how to persist—how, even, to improve—in the face of limits and uncertainty can be a punishing question.

Where Do Forest Seedlings Come From?

As I drove home from Missoula, I was alarmed to see wildfire smoke across the freeway from my house in Frenchtown. Even more concerning was the convoy of pickups pulling stock trailers.

Field Notes

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