As a nature lover, I’m often asked about my favorite plants, animals, and insects. And I always struggle to answer those questions, because I have so many favorites, and they are context dependent. But when it comes to birds, woodpeckers often come to mind first.

They’re often colorful, charismatic, and have such an amazing set of adaptations that let them drill into trees, excavate insects from bark, and some even fly catch on the wing.

One of the most interesting woodpecker species is the Acorn Woodpecker, found in much of the west and southwest. They live in large groups, are loud, have a clown face, and can store thousands of acorns in specially drilled holes that are just acorn sizes.

Today’s guest is Dr. Walt Koenig, who has spent several decades studying these birds, in affiliation with the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and UC Berkeley. Today we’ll learn about their behaviors, why you don’t find acorn woodpeckers in the east, despite a nice variety of oak trees, and get this - acorns aren’t even their preferred food!

Dr. Koenig has studied their breeding behaviors and group compositions, which is perhaps the most fascinating part of the interview, and I can’t do it justice in a short intro - so you’ll just have to listen.

And if one studies acorn woodpeckers, it follows that one studies acorns, too. So we also discuss the phenomenon of masting - that is, when oak trees produce bumper crops of acorns, in synchrony across wide geographic ranges! In fact, this past year was a mast year for some oak species in California. So if you are interested in what causes masting, you might want to jump to the last 23 minutes or so of the interview.

FULL SHOW NOTES

LINKS
Acorn Woodpeckers at All About Birds

Dr. Koenig's Website

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Music: Spellbound by Brian Holtz Music
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Discover the Jumpstart Nature Podcast - entertaining and immersive, it's the nature fix we all need.

Check past Nature's Archive episodes for amazing guests like Doug Tallamy, Elaine Ingham, and Rae Wynn-Grant, covering topics from bird migration to fungi to frogs and bats!

Slime molds (Myxomycetes) are beautiful, weird, and amazing organisms. Often mistaken for fungi, they are actually single celled, yet they grow and efficiently move in search of food, can start and stop their life cycle based on environmental conditions, and even change colors several times during their brief life cycle. They can be beautifully colored, frequently iridescent, and can be ornately shaped. And better still, they can be found in much of the world - maybe even in your yard.

My guest today, Alison Pollack, is a renowned slime mold photographer and unabashed enthusiast of slime molds and their habitats. If you follow nature photographers on Instagram, perhaps you count yourself as one of her nearly 60,000 followers.

Today, Alison tells us what exactly a slime mold is - and no, it is not a mold or fungi. She tells us about their fascinating lifecycle, where they grow, and how to find them.

Alison then tells us about her astonishing macro photography of slime molds - both in the field and in her home studio. She walks through her process, technique, and equipment she uses to create her acclaimed photos. If you do nothing else, follow her on Instagram @marin_mushrooms, or check the photos below to get a hint of the beauty of the slime molds, and Alison's artistic skill in capturing them.

You can also find Alison on Facebook at AlisonKPollack, and on iNaturalist at alison_pollack.

FULL SHOW NOTES

Links To Topics Discussed

From Macro to Micro: The Art of Fungi Photography with Alison Pollack

Damon Tighe - was on Episode 36 talking Fungi

Nikon Small World Master of Microscopy

Slime Mold Identification and Appreciation - Facebook Group

All the Rain Promises and More by David Arora

Laowa ultra macro lens - there are models for each major camera manufacturer.

Les Myxomycètes

Myxomycetes - A Handbook of Slime Molds by Steven Stephenson

NOVA Slime Mold episode

Olympus Tough TG-6 - this seems to be the most recommended pocket camera by naturalists of many types

Raynox DCR-250

Where the Slime Mould Creeps by Sarah Lloyd

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Music: Spellbound by Brian Holtz Music
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Discover the Jumpstart Nature Podcast - entertaining and immersive, it's the nature fix we all need.

Check past Nature's Archive episodes for amazing guests like Doug Tallamy, Elaine Ingham, and Rae Wynn-Grant, covering topics from bird migration to fungi to frogs and bats!

I spent several hours assembling the highlights of the 24 episodes we produced in 2024, all packaged in this nice short recap. It was a lot of work, so I hope you like it!

If you want to hear any of these episodes in their entirety, simply check our feed or naturesarchive.com. And for easy reference, the full year's episodes are listed below.

And I'd love your feedback on Nature's Archive in general! I made a short survey (probably only takes 1 minute). Please fill it out:

https://naturesarchive.com/survey

#106: Why Ants Might Be the Most Interesting Creatures on Earth with Chloe Jelley
#105: From Fear to Fascination: Kevin Wiener on His Journey at All Bugs Go to Kevin
#104: Wasting Away: The Battle to Save Sunflower Sea Stars and Kelp Forests with the Sunflower Star Lab
#103: Exploring Wildlife Forensics with Ashley Bray
#102: Sophie Osborn – From the Brink: Reintroducing Endangered Birds
#101: Connecting Climate, Carbon, Tree Leaf Phenology and Genetics with Dr. Hanna Makowski
#100: The Biggest Nature Lesson I’ve Learned from 100 Nature’s Archive Episodes
#99: Into the Wild: Snow Leopards and Wildlife Photography with Jake Davis
#98: Ocean’s Green Giants: The Vital Role of Kelp with Tristin Anoush McHugh
#97: How to Love a Forest with Ethan Tapper
#96: From Rattles to Kings: Unraveling the Secrets of Snakes With Dr. Emily Taylor
#95: The Rare 2024 Cicada Double Emergence with Dr. Chris Simon
#94: Secrets of the Octopus with Sy Montgomery and Warren Carlyle
#93: Dr. Rae Wynn-Grant – Carnivore Ecology, Wild Life, and Environmental Justice
#92: Secrets of Beautifully Fuzzy Velvet Ants with Dr. Joseph Wilson (and a bit about native bees, too!)
#91: Examining Tree Physiology with Dr. Lucy Kerhoulas: Insights into Drought Adaptation and the Carbon Smoking Gun
#90: From Invasive Species to Allergenic Pollen with Allasandra Valdez (The Happy Botanist Podcast) and Dr. Daniel Katz

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Music: Spellbound by Brian Holtz Music
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Discover the Jumpstart Nature Podcast - entertaining and immersive, it's the nature fix we all need.

Check past Nature's Archive episodes for amazing guests like Doug Tallamy, Elaine Ingham, and Rae Wynn-Grant, covering topics from bird migration to fungi to frogs and bats!

I love discovering overlooked plants and animals that play outsized roles in the environment. I’m also fascinated by complex systems, especially when they’re easy to observe.

And nothing ticks all three of those boxes better than ants.

One estimate says that for every human on earth, there may be as many as 2.5 million ants. And these ants form complex societies with unique roles. They communicate in mysteriously complex ways, and can range in size from almost microscopic to an inch and a half long.

Ants can build colonies in acorns, hollow twigs, leaf baskets, massive tree branches, and of course, in the ground. The largest super colonies stretch for hundreds of miles - and by the way, you can find such super colonies in California and in southern Europe. They can farm fungi, and ranch aphids.

My guest today helped unveil all of this and more. Chloe Jelly is a graduate researcher at Cornell University in the Moreau lab. She particularly enjoys outreach, which made her an ideal guest for today’s episode.

People sometimes say that viruses and microbes rule the world, but after today’s discussion, you’ll see that ants aren’t very far behind.

Find Chloe on her website, at the Moreau Lab, and on BlueSky.

Check our Full Show Notes for photos and videos that were discussed today.

Links Discussed In The Show
Chloe's website, and Chloe on BlueSky

Chloe Jelley's papers (Google Scholar)

In the Shadow of Man by Jane Goodall

Moreau Lab at Cornell

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Music: Spellbound by Brian Holtz Music
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Discover the Jumpstart Nature Podcast - entertaining and immersive, it's the nature fix we all need.

Check past Nature's Archive episodes for amazing guests like Doug Tallamy, Elaine Ingham, and Rae Wynn-Grant, covering topics from bird migration to fungi to frogs and bats!

Do you love spiders and insects? Or perhaps you are more apprehensive of them - or even suffer from arachnophobia. In either case, today’s discussion is for you.

Join me for an enlightening journey into the world of insects and arachnids with Kevin Wiener. Kevin is an environmental educator and founder of the thriving 'All Bugs Go To Kevin' community. In this episode, Kevin shares his inspiring path from pest control to becoming a passionate advocate for arthropods. Explore the crucial roles insects play in our ecosystem, debunk common myths about animals like the Brown Recluse spider, and learn about sustainable pest control methods - including what you can do in your own home.

Kevin also discusses his experiences with arthropod pets, the importance of community support in overcoming fears, and the joys of integrating photography into environmental education and personal discovery. Whether you're a seasoned nature enthusiast or just curious, this episode offers fascinating insights and practical tips for fostering a balanced ecosystem in your own backyard. Don't miss this chance to transform fear into fascination and discover the often overlooked beauty of bugs.

You can find Kevin at allbugsgotokevin.com, and of course, if you’re on Facebook, consider joining the All Bugs Go to Kevin group. It’s one of the bright spots of social media.

FULL SHOW NOTES on jumpstartnature.com

LINKS
All Bugs Go To Kevin - website

All Bugs Go To Kevin - Facebook Group

Brown Recluse Spider by Richard Vetter

Travis McEnery’s Brown Recluse Documentary

Spiders of North America by Sarah Rose

Podcasts Mentioned
Kevin Wiener on the Bugs Need Heroes podcast
Jumpstart Nature's Cicada Episode (Kevin is featured)
Sarah Rose on Nature's Archive (spiders!)

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Music: Spellbound by Brian Holtz Music
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Discover the Jumpstart Nature Podcast - entertaining and immersive, it's the nature fix we all need.

Check past Nature's Archive episodes for amazing guests like Doug Tallamy, Elaine Ingham, and Rae Wynn-Grant, covering topics from bird migration to fungi to frogs and bats!

Today we’re discussing perhaps the most important 24 armed creature you quite possibly have never heard of before. Each arm has eyes, or more accurately, eyespots on the ends, and they have thousands of tube feet that they closely coordinate to move. It’s a keystone species which used to have populations around 6 billion. And in a matter of a couple of years, about 5 billion of those vanished, melting away, literally turning to goo. Or at least that’s how SCUBA divers and biologists described it. It almost sounds like an alien science fiction story, but I assure you, it’s real.

Maybe you’ve figured out what I’m talking about. And if you listened to my kelp forest interview with Tristin McHugh, we briefly mentioned this creature. It’s the Sunflower Sea Star, an amazing creature whose disappearance has caused havoc in marine systems.

I traveled 45 minutes from my house to meet with Reuven Bank and Andrew Kim from the inspiring and innovative Sunflower Star Laboratory in Moss Landing, California - right in the middle of the coast of the world famous Monterey Bay.

It’s a small bustling town full of marine research institutes, fishers, and ecotourism.

This episode has two parts rolled into one - it’s a sit-down interview, right on the Moss Landing Harbour. And then we go on a mini-field trip - a tour to learn how the Sunflower Star Lab is an important driver in recovering this incredible species.

As you’ll hear in the recording, we had a lot of…ambiance, from sea lions to raucous gulls patrolling the harbor, and the hums of pumps and water you’d expect in an aquaculture facility.

Yes, that’s my way of saying this was a bit of a challenging episode to record and edit. But despite a few rough spots, I think it turned out quite well.

Reuven is chairman of the board for the Sunflower Star Lab. He’s also an interpretive diving ranger for the National Park Service, though his work at the lab is independent from that. And Andrew is the lead aquaculture research technician at Moss Landing Marine Labs, a member of the Sunflower Star Lab board, offering his expertise on aquaculture to the lab. Oh, and we also had a brief discussion with Vincent Christian while he was working in the lab. As you’ll here, Vincent is the reason why the lab even exists.

Check the Sunflower Star Lab at sunflowerstarlab.org and on Facebook and Instagram.

FULL SHOW NOTES

LINKS
Birch Aquarium at Scripps
Pycnopodia Recovery Working Group
Roadmap to Recovery for the Sunflower Sea Star
Sunflower Star Laboratory

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Music: Spellbound by Brian Holtz Music
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Discover the Jumpstart Nature Podcast - entertaining and immersive, it's the nature fix we all need.

Check past Nature's Archive episodes for amazing guests like Doug Tallamy, Elaine Ingham, and Rae Wynn-Grant, covering topics from bird migration to fungi to frogs and bats!

Have you ever thought about how or why natural areas, like state or county parks, open space, or wildlife refuges were set aside and saved? Sometimes it seems amazingly unlikely that these places exist.

And it’s too easy to assume that there is no land left to set aside. But today we’re telling the story of Coyote Valley, a land adjacent to the hustle and bustle of Silicon Valley. I don’t want to spoil the story, but I will tell you it is inspiring and shows just what can happen with the right combination of ingredients. And it turns out those ingredients probably exist wherever you live, too.

This episode was actually aired on our Jumpstart Nature podcast last month.

The Jumpstart Nature podcast is a little different than Nature’s Archive. It’s an immersive narrative style, hosted by Griff Griffith. Our goal with Jumpstart Nature is to not only inspire existing nature lovers, but to reach beyond the choir, so to speak.

Here are the show notes from Jumpstart Nature:

On a 1983 morning, Steve Jobs scouted Coyote Valley for Apple’s new headquarters. Despite his plans, Coyote Valley remains one of the most important undeveloped landscapes near Silicon Valley.

This episode tells the story of its conservation through unexpected alliances, resilience, and the invaluable ecosystem services it provides. From critical wildlife connectivity to indigenous cultural significance, discover how perseverance and community action can protect cherished landscapes.

Join host Griff Griffith and our guests, Andrea Mackenzie, Amah Mutsun Chairman Valentin Lopez, Megan Fluke, Nick Perry, and Dr. Stuart Weiss as they provide unique and inspiring perspectives as they explore how to protect and steward unique lands like Coyote Valley, whether near Silicon Valley or your own backyard.

FULL SHOW NOTES

LINKS
Amah Mutsun Land Trust
Amah Mutsun Tribal Band
Cars, Cows, Checkerspot Butterflies – Dr. Stuart Weiss’s paper
Creekside Science
Green Foothills
Obi Kaufmann
P-22, The Mountain Lion of Hollywood
Santa Clara Valley Open Space Authority
Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing

RELATED PODCAST EPISODES
The Age of Connectivity
Dr. Stuart Weiss – Of Checkerspots, Cars, and Cows

Credits
This podcast episode was written and produced by Michael Hawk. Our host and co-writer is Griff Griffith.

The

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Music: Spellbound by Brian Holtz Music
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Discover the Jumpstart Nature Podcast - entertaining and immersive, it's the nature fix we all need.

Check past Nature's Archive episodes for amazing guests like Doug Tallamy, Elaine Ingham, and Rae Wynn-Grant, covering topics from bird migration to fungi to frogs and bats!

I’ve been looking forward to today’s episode for a really long time - and for two great reasons. One, it’s about wildlife forensics, which is an immense field that requires knowledge of everything from wildlife behavior and morphology, to DNA, to crime scene investigation, to policy and the law. I’ve always been a bit of a generalist who likes to deep dive into topics on occasion…so this is a field true to my heart.

And the second reason I’ve been looking forward to it is the guest - forensic wildlife biologist Ashley Bray. As you’ll hear, Ashley - in addition to being a forensic wildlife biologist - is also a podcaster. And her podcast is a slant on human/wildlife conflict - with - as you might expect from a forensic biologist - with a true crime twist. Oh - it’s called Get Out Alive - be sure to check it out.

Today we take a broad look at what forensic wildlife biology entails, and the surprising connections it reveals, such as the connection between wildlife crimes and drug and human trafficking - and organized crime in general.

Ashley has a few nice case examples that we review. And hold tight - you’re going to learn about a super cute animal called a vaquita.

So, get ready for a wide ranging discussion with forensic wildlife biologist Ashley Bray. And you can find Ashley on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook!

FULL SHOW NOTES (Includes Photos!)

LINKS
An Immense World by Ed Yong

CITES Treaty information

Sea of Shadows documentary

Sea Shepherd Conservation Society

University of Florida's Wildlife Forensics Program

RELATED PODCAST EPISODES
#102: Sophie Osborn - From the Brink: Reintroducing Endangered Birds

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Music: Spellbound by Brian Holtz Music
License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license
Artist site: https://brianholtzmusic.com

Discover the Jumpstart Nature Podcast - entertaining and immersive, it's the nature fix we all need.

Check past Nature's Archive episodes for amazing guests like Doug Tallamy, Elaine Ingham, and Rae Wynn-Grant, covering topics from bird migration to fungi to frogs and bats!