Urban Wildlife Podcast

In this episode we talk about the fauna of Disney World as well as Tony’s birthday plans, which include a birthday bird walk. For the first time, but not the last time, Billy talks anoles and speciation, and Tony goes down a plover rabbit hole.

Billy and Tony are back with their first episode in almost two years. After some updates they talk about their uneasy relationship with fishing and how to connect urbanites with aquatic biodiversity. Here’s that Meateater article Billy mentioned.

Billy and Tony sit down with Rich Conroy of the Militia Hill Hawk Watch and of the Dresher, PA Wild Birds Unlimited to chat about the joys of hawk watching and lots of other birding topics in the conversation. Topics covered include bird feeding, how raptors migrate using updrafts, raptor kettles, the hawk watching spectacle of Veracruz in Mexico, the year Tony was a sandpiper, Kirtland’s snakes and Billy striking out at finding urban Kirtland’s snakes, and how you can be pretty old and still be considered young at a birding club.

Billy talked with author Scott Weidensaul about the wonders of bird migration and how urbanite humans can make their city habitats better for avian visitors. Topics include shorebirds, songbirds, raptors, outdoor cats, dogs, urban parks, window collisions, artificial light at night, and why bald eagles aren’t trash birds.

Tony and Billy talk with one of their urban wildlife heroes, Stan Gehrt, who has been studying Chicago’s coyotes for more than 20 years. Dr. Gehrt has just authored a new book Coyotes Among Us: Secrets of the City’s top Predator. We talk coyotes, mange, how to pronounce “coyote,” coyote predation on deer and woodchucks, which is cuter: fawns or coyote pups, coyote monogamy, how foxes and woodchucks will tell you whether there are coyotes around, urban coyote diets, why coyote attacks (rarely) happen, why coyotes can’t keep away from airports and why they should, why Philadelphia doesn’t have coyotes like Chicago does, the coywolf silliness, and much more.

Tony and Billy talk about one of their favorite critters, the (urban) woodchuck (a.k.a. groundhog, monax, whistle pig, etc.) and its marmot relatives around the globe. Other topics include yellow-bellied and hoary marmots; when iNaturalist makes it look like a critter has an urban distribution, but it’s really just a park next to a city; WTSHTF hobbyists who kill ratsnakes for no good reasons; groundhog day, eating woodchucks, and coyotes and woodchucks.

Tony and Billy got together ostensibly to talk about urban beavers (Castor canadensis), but the conversation wandered far and wide, touching on such subjects as hunting and conservation, rowhouse rednecks, groom cakes, Coleman coolers, the absurdity of private land ownership, and how Tony introduced “your mom” jokes to Brazil.

The biggest animal in Philadelphia (and other port cities) isn’t a deer or a coyote, it’s a fish. We talk with biologist Shannon White about Atlantic sturgeon and her research into their depressingly reduced populations. We talk about how the caviar boom of the late 1800s devastated sturgeon populations, and about how their slow life history, channelization, boat traffic, anchor dragging, and exotic species (like blue and channel catfish) work against their recovery. We talk about how people might accidentally or intentionally introduce captive stock of sturgeon into the wild and why that is a terrible idea. Tony blames America’s dysfunctional health insurance system on shad (and how they fed George Washington’s troops at Valley Forge). We also talk about snorkeling in rivers (are smallmouth bass really cuddly?), how fish ladders work, and Billy’s dreams of spear fishing flathead catfish to examine their stomach contents, even though they are too toxic to eat.

In memory of Scott McWilliams, who passed away from brain cancer recently, we are reposting this episode from 2015. Scott was a great Philadelphian, physician, Billy’s herping buddy and close friend, and an endlessly inquisitive naturalist.

Andrew Budziak traveled from Vancouver to St. John’s and four cities in between to photograph Canadian urban wildlife for his video series Edge of Frame. Billy and Andrew talk about the wildlife he saw and the humans too.

You can watch the videos at his site or on Narcity’s YouTube channel.

The San Francisco garter snake (Thamnophis sirtalis tetrataenia) is shockingly beautiful and sadly endangered. It’s small range lies within the San Francisco Bay Area (no surprise there), one of the most densely populated regions of the United States. Billy is … Continue reading →

You might only think of them as paths from here to there, but roads are vast structures whose density largely defines urban areas and determine what can survive in them. Darryl Jones, author of A Clouded Leopard in the Middle … Continue reading →

Seattle naturalist and author David B. Williams talks with Billy about the urban nature world of Seattle, including the geology of building stone, backyard eagles, and mountain beavers. (and if anyone out there wants to do a full episode about … Continue reading →

There are too many white-tailed deer for forests in much of eastern North America to regenerate. Should we put them on birth control? Should we let hunters take care of the problem? Is more-intensive culling the solution? Can wolves and … Continue reading →

Billy’s book, Exploring Philly Nature: A Guide for All Four Seasons is out! Buy your copy ASAP! (go ahead, this podcast episode will still be here when you’re done). Tony’s got some book ideas too (and a R.A.M.B.O. album due … Continue reading →

(English/Español) The City Nature Challenge starts on Friday, April 29, and in this episode Billy talks with Angel Mario Hualpa Erazo of Ecuador’s Green Jewel, based in Loja in southern Ecuador. We get to know Loja, hear about Green Jewel’s … Continue reading →

Urbanites are starting to learn to live with predators like coyotes, bobcats, and hawks, but what about their rodent prey, like rats? We talk with political scientist and human/wildlife researcher Christian Hunold about his paper looking at rodenticide bans and … Continue reading →

Troy Bynum (@tb_wildlife_photography on Instagram) is Philly naturalist, wildlife photographer, and a new urban hunter. Troy talks with Billy about the experience of hunting for the first time, and they discuss issues of race and hunting.

Local wildlife lovers and cat lovers can all feel outgunned and overwhelmed when the national, multi-million-dollar organizations that push TNR come to town. Tulsans for Public Safety shows how one community has organized on a grassroots level to promote sound … Continue reading →

Billy and Tony chat about a summer spent doing urban environmental education together.