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PODCAST

Nature Notes

Marfa Public Radio

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. Through interviews with scientists and field recordings, this Marfa Public Radio original series reveals the secrets of desert life. Join host Dallas Baxter for new episodes on each week on Thursdays. Episodes are written and produced by Andrew

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All Episodes

4:00

A 20-Year Study of Ocotillos Reveals Desert...

Nature Notes ·

2025/08/08

Ocotillos are iconic Southwestern plants. With spiny, twisting limbs that can rise 20 feet, and vivid red flowers that bloom in even the driest spring, they distill the desert’s thorny allure.

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3:58

In the Prehistoric Story of Corn, Big Bend’s...

Nature Notes ·

2025/07/31

Maize, aka corn, was first domesticated in southern Mexico some 9,000 years ago. Much of today’s corn descends from varieties grown by Native farmers in the eastern U.S.

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4:00

To Avert the “Insect Apocalypse,” Dark Skies are Key

Nature Notes ·

2025/07/24

Moths that linger at artificial lights are easy prey for bats and birds, and they aren’t doing “moth stuff,” like pollinating night-blooming plants. But the impacts of artificial light extend far beyond this familiar example, and in fact pose a profound threat to insect populations worldwide.

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4:00

From Fort Stockton to Fort Worth, Dinosaur Footprints...

Nature Notes ·

2025/07/03

The Pecos County dinosaur prints are the most prominent in our region. But there are more than 50 such sites in Texas, from the Hill Country north to Fort Worth, and Dinosaur Valley State Park.

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4:00

Mountain Magic: The Hunt for the Mysterious Fireflies...

Nature Notes ·

2025/06/26

They’re irresistible to children, but their flashes can enchant an observer of any age. Fireflies seem like magic. They’re mostly associated with sultry summer nights in the eastern U.S. But they are found in the arid West, including in our region.

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4:00

Texas T-Rex? Big Bend Dinosaur Fossils are an Enigma

Nature Notes ·

2025/06/19

Though it’s certainly the most famous dinosaur, much about T-Rex, and its broader tyrannosaur lineage, remain a mystery. Now, scientists are taking a fresh look at tyrannosaur fossils from Big Bend National Park.

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4:00

In Big Bend’s Boquillas Formation, Geologists Trace...

Nature Notes ·

2025/06/12

Visible in the park’s southeastern corner, near the hot springs and Boquillas Canyon, the Boquillas Formation is a series of limestones and shales, in white, tan, yellow and brown. These rocks were laid down in shallow ocean waters across 10 million years, and they abound in fossils, which capture the emergence and extinction of countless creatures.

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4:00

Hearing Songbird Culture in Mountain Chickadee...

Nature Notes ·

2025/06/05

Chickadees are found across North America. Their “chickadee-dee-dee” call is an alarm – the more “dee-dee-dees,” the more serious the threat – and it’s only one element in their vocal repertoire.

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4:00

Along with Stargazers and Astronomers, Wildlife Needs...

Nature Notes ·

2025/05/29

Around the world, advocates are fighting to preserve dark skies, as a vital asset for humankind. But there’s also new research showing the importance of dark skies for nonhuman creatures.

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4:00

Mammoth Find: A Tusk Discovery Points to Big Bend’s...

Nature Notes ·

2025/05/08

In March, a hunter on the O2 Ranch south of Alpine found what appeared to be an ivory tusk in an arroyo bottom. Ranch Manager Will Juett contacted archeologists at Alpine’s Center for Big Bend Studies. They confirmed the find: this was a mammoth tusk.

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4:00

Listening to the Desert’s “Werewolf Mouse” Reveals...

Nature Notes ·

2025/05/01

Grasshopper mice are fierce, if diminutive, predators, that routinely dine on scorpions, centipedes and other venomous prey. And as they set out on their nightly hunts, they emit a long, piercing cry. It’s been called “a wolf’s howl in miniature.” Listening closely to these desert mice reveals the surprising world of “bioacoustics.”

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4:00

Patty Manning Pollinator Garden to Honor a Passionate...

Nature Notes ·

2025/04/18

The garden’s namesake was a passionate advocate for our region’s plants. Manning, who passed away September 8th, managed the Sul Ross greenhouse for 18 years, worked as a teacher and consultant and, with her partner Cindi Wimberly, founded Twin Sisters Natives. That business offered plants Manning had cultivated, with careful expertise, from seeds she’d collected.

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4:01

Riparian Raptors: For Birds of Prey, Cottonwood...

Nature Notes ·

2025/04/10

Zone-tailed hawks are among the birds of prey that rely on riparian forests – woodlands along creeks and streams – as nesting sites in the Big Bend. Each summer, these hawks return from the tropics to raise young in the same creek-side cottonwoods.

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4:00

On the West Texas Prairie, the Plainview Site Points...

Nature Notes ·

2025/04/03

In 1944, near the town of Plainview - 45 miles north of Lubbock - archeologists discovered two dozen examples of a previously unknown spearpoint – the Plainview style – among the bones of at least 100 Ice Age bison.

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4:00

The “Wooly Devil” is a Tiny, Wondrous Discovery in...

Nature Notes ·

2025/03/20

It’s the first discovery of a new plant genus in a national park in decades, and a landmark find. But the identification of Ovicula biradiata, the “wooly devil,” began with a simple walk in the park. The discovery is a reminder that while known for its vast landscapes, Big Bend National Park is also a place of hidden surprises.

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4:00

Stories in the Soil: Exploring the “Geoarcheology” of...

Nature Notes ·

2025/02/27

Lubbock Lake is one of several important archeological sites on the West Texas plains that testify to the earliest Americans, the “Paleoindians.”

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4:00

Mississippi Kites: New Raptors to West Texas Embody...

Nature Notes ·

2025/02/13

Mississippi kites are slender and elegant, with 3-foot wingspans and plumage that fades from black to a pale gray-white. They once summered mostly in the Southeast, nesting in deciduous trees. But as people brought those trees to the Texas plains, the kites followed

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4:00

With its Evolutionary Magic, the Grasshopper Mouse...

Nature Notes ·

2025/02/07

Pound-for-pound, grasshopper mice are among the fiercest predators in the desert borderlands, and they’re unfazed by venomous prey.

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4:00

Through a Fraught History, Golden Eagles Endure in...

Nature Notes ·

2025/01/24

Standing 2 and a half feet high, with wingspans of 7 feet or more, golden eagles are the apex avian predator of West Texas. The region is home to golden eagles that breed here and are year-round residents, as well as eagles that travel here from more northerly climes in winter.

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4:00

Hognose History: Cracking the Code of a Star Snake in...

Nature Notes ·

2024/12/10

West Texas is rich in reptiles, and the western hognose snake is one of the region’s stars. Its calling card is its shovel-like face, but the snake – which poses no threat to humans – also has a host of fascinating behaviors and adaptations.

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