Wildlife Matters

When’s the last time you thought about a thistle as beneficial?

In this week’s Wildlife Matters, the Masked Biologist makes a case for loving the thistle.

While we are accustomed to birds nesting in spring, we have one bird species here that is just finishing their nesting season.

The American Goldfinch is the subject of this week’s Wildlife Matters.

Continuing his way through a few of your wildlife-related Curious North questions, the Masked Biologist talks about hand feeding birds – and other related thoughts – in this week’s Wildlife Matters.

In a curious north question from a few months back, Alice asked the question “Does everyone up North feed birds from their hands?”

Getting kids to shift their attention to the outdoors can be a challenge, even on a beautiful summer day.

In this week's episode of Wildlife Matters, the Masked Biologist talks about his own efforts as a father to help keep children connected to nature.

For this week’s Wildlife Matters, the Masked Biologist tackles another Curious North question, about some of Wisconsin’s largest migratory birds—swans and cranes.

This is another curious north question that captured my interest, so I thought I would spend some time talking about some of our area’s less common migratory birds. Rosemary Resch asked “Do swans, sandhill cranes and whooping cranes summer anywhere in Wisconsin or are they primarily migratory?”

Springtime woodpecker worries are the focus of this week’s Wildlife Matters, as the Masked Biologist tackles another Curious North question from one of our listeners.

I get questions or concerns pretty frequently about woodpeckers hurting or killing trees, so when I saw this Curious North question, I thought I would try to address Jane Trotter’s concerns. She asks “A Hairy Woodpecker is busily working on a Hemlock tree right outside our bedroom window. The Hemlock appears to be alive and well....so far. Will Hairy’s morning percussions hurt the tree?”

In this week’s Wildlife Matters, the Masked Biologist tackles one of WXPR’s Curious North questions.

Emily DiGiorgio from Ironwood, MI, asks: How can we help accommodate wildlife in our backyards without disturbing our home aesthetic?

To answer Emily's question, here's the Masked Biologist.

Local public radio gives your friends and neighbors an opportunity to contribute to something truly special, and you—the listener—are an important component that makes radio work.

This week the Masked Biologist takes a step away from wildlife to talk about the magic of radio and the spoken word on Wildlife Matters.

Tamarack trees, like many of us, could live anywhere in Wisconsin but prefer the Northwoods.

Recently a listener from Harshaw submitted this question to our Curious North series: What's up with the tamarack trees? They seem to be dying. Is it the rising water levels, or something else?

In today’s Wildlife Matters the Masked Biologist sheds some light on what might be causing tamarack tree mortality.

This week’s Wildlife Matters springs from a Curious North question.

Kaye Jaeger from the town of Crescent asks: We love the loons on our lake. We also love the eagle that flies over regularly. Is there anything we can do to prevent the eagle from eating the baby loons?

To respond to Kaye's question, the Masked Biologist contemplates the interactions of two charismatic Northwoods wildlife species: bald eagles and loons.

Since March, we've been getting questions in as part of our Curious North series.

Jaron Childs from Tomahawk recently asked: What signs can we look for to help assess the health of a lake, river, or forest in northern Wisconsin?

The Masked Biologist answers his question for this week's Wildlife Matters.

What follows is a very brief answer to a very complex question about how to evaluate habitat health.

The Masked Biologist dedicates today’s Wildlife Matters to all the mothers out there, human and animal.

You probably polluted a water body today—we all did.

In today’s Wildlife Matters, the Masked Biologist takes a look at pharmaceuticals and personal care products and their detrimental impacts.

Spring is a busy time of year for Wisconsin’s wildlife.

Here is the Masked Biologist with a few springtime wildlife tips for this week’s Wildlife Matters.

Did you know that Earth Day has its roots in Wisconsin?

The Masked Biologist takes a glimpse back at the origins and early years after the original Earth Day in this week’s Wildlife Matters.

Happy Earth Day! How familiar are you with the establishment and early years of Earth Day? I thought perhaps I would share some insight from someone who knew it far better than I, earth day founder and Senator from Wisconsin Gaylord Nelson, in his own words.