April 2025, western Montana, USA. Sounds of spring in the forest…

A male Williamson’s sapsucker (Sphyrapicus thyroideus) taps on a shrubby juniper trunk as the evening light fades. He flies to a wood fencepost along the gravel road that climbs west into the forest, drums hesitantly.

It’s breeding season for owls. Later that same night, I’m cooking dinner over my tiny camp stove when a northern saw-whet owl (Aegolius acadicus) begins singing. I drop dinner and grab my microphone.

This is a podcast about birds, nature, and local food. It follows the thread of last month’s episode, A familiar voice a long way from home, with more experiences of local food from the United States to Mexico, from a northern saw-whet owl among the Douglas-firs to the leafcutter ants eating my garden. As always, the voices of the birds accompany us throughout the story.

I depend on the support of you, my listeners, to continue doing this work. Please share these podcasts, leave a rating, and, if you’re able, support me through Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/wildwithnature. Thank you!!!

You can find the written, illustrated version of this story here: https://wildwithnature.com/2026/06/01/the-owl-and-the-leafcutter-ants/

abril de 2025, al oeste de Montana, EU. Los sonidos de la primavera se escuchan en el bosque…

Un carpintero elegante macho golpetea el tronco de un enebro arbustivo mientras la luz de la tarde noche se disminuye. Vuela a un poste de madera en la orilla del camino de gravillas que sube hacia el oeste por el bosque. Tamborilea levemente.

Es la temporada reproductiva de los búhos y tecolotes. Más tarde esta misma noche, estoy cocinando mi cena en mi pequeña estufa de acampar cuando un tecolote oyamelero norteño empieza a cantar. Abandono mi cena y agarro mi micrófono.

Este es un podcast sobre las aves, la naturaleza y la comida local. Sigue el hilo de mi episodio del mes pasado, Una voz familiar muy lejos de mis tierra, con más experiencias de la comida local desde Estados Unido hasta México, desde un tecolote oyamelero entre los ayarines hasta las arrieras comiéndose mi jardín. Como siempre, las voces de las aves nos acompañan a lo largo de la historia.

Como siempre, dependo del apoyo de ustedes, mis oyentes, para seguir con este proyecto. Favor de compartir estos podcasts, dejarme un rating y (si puedes) hacerme una cooperación a través de Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/wildwithnature. Muchísimas gracias!!!

Puedes encontrar la versión escrita con la historia aquí, con muchas fotos del campo: https://wildwithnature.com/2026/06/01/el-tecolote-y-las-arrieras/

Dusk at the end of March in the pines of Oaxaca’s Sierra Norte. An American robin sings to the twilight and I ache with homesickness. The mountains roll northwest in vast blue silhouettes. Montana is incomprehensibly far away. The song of the robin carries me the thousands of miles in an instant and I’m home, Missoula at the cusp of spring, the cottonwood buds swelling along the river, the pileated woodpeckers calling. I could hop on a jet, worsen the climate crisis, and be home tomorrow. But my decision is made. This year I won’t be going back.

This is a podcast about the connections of birds, the gravity of this moment in history, and something hopeful: an agroecology project, tending the earth for food and wildlife habitat.

As always, I depend on the support of you, my listeners, to continue doing this work. Please share these podcasts, leave a rating, and, if you’re able, support me through Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/wildwithnature. Thank you!!!

You can find the written, illustrated version of this story here: https://wildwithnature.com/2026/05/01/a-familiar-voice-biodiverse-agriculture/