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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The writer Edward Abbey described his first sight of the Rocky Mountains, as a 17-year-old hitchhiker from Pennsylvania:“On the Western horizon... was a… -
How is a mountain made? The story often spans millions of years. But not always.On one explosive day, some 33 million years ago, the Chinati Volcano… -
“Guadalupe Mountains National Park has a reputation as a hiker's paradise. It's deserved.”That headline from a New York Times article distills the… -
“I look to the mountain,” the Psalmist of the Bible says, speaking for many of us. Our eyes are drawn to summits – mountain peaks have enthralled… -
Women have made critical contributions to the sciences for centuries. But despite efforts to increase female participation in STEM – science, technology,… -
Paquime, or Casas Grandes – a few hours drive from El Paso in Chihuahua, Mexico – is a stunning archeological site, the largest urban center known from… -
“There are many houses of great size, strength and height,” the Spanish chronicler Baltasar Obregon wrote in the 1560s. “They are six and seven stories,… -
“These are the days of miracle and wonder, and don't cry, baby, don't cry.”Those lines from a Paul Simon song resonate in a time of unprecedented and… -
“The Old Man in the Fur Coat.” “Old Slew Foot.” “Mama Grizzly.” “Child of the Mountain God.” Bears have always held a special place in the human… -
The return of desert bighorn sheep to West Texas is one of the state's marquee conservation stories. These majestic animals had been eradicated here by…
