Nature Notes
Why do rattlesnakes rattle and hummingbirds hum?
How do flowers market themselves to pollinators?
Why do tarantulas cross the road?
Nature Notes investigates questions like these about the natural world of the Chihuahuan Desert region and the Llano Estacado every week. Through interviews with scientists and field recordings, this Marfa Public Radio original series reveals the secrets of desert life.
Join host Dallas Baxter on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 7:45 am during Morning Edition and 4:45 pm during All Things Considered. New episodes premier on Thursdays and replay on Tuesdays. Episodes are written and produced by Andrew Stuart and edited by Marfa Public Radio and the Sibley Nature Center in Midland, Texas.
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Agave-roasting was a mainstay of life in prehistoric West Texas. And new research suggests the practice was as much about celebration as it was sustenance. -
These ovens, where ancient people slow-roasted succulents like agaves, are rewriting the region's deep history. -
The Colima warbler isn’t flashy — it’s mostly gray, with a yellow patch on its rear. And the Big Bend has long been known as the warbler’s only U.S. abode. -
Across three decades, the local nursery has acquired a unique intimacy with the Trans-Pecos flora. -
Archeologists have identified numerous “shrine caves,” ancient pilgrimage places, where ceremonies were conducted and offerings made. -
In the deep past, proto-crocodilians dominated the planet. And now, a West Texas fossil find has added a new species to the roster of these remarkable creatures. -
Between the dinosaurs' extinction and the fauna we know today, mammals have gone through a dizzying array of changes. -
The ant has evolved an organ specifically to host its “good bacteria.” -
The Big Bend Rio Grande and its tributaries once abounded in fresh-water mussels. But today, a native Big Bend mussel — the Salina mucket — is proposed for endangered species protection. What's driven this species to the brink and how can it be saved? -
Reviving streams means addressing the root causes of their decline. A new initiative aims to do just that by restoring the high grasslands where these desert lifelines begin.
