Walkin' on the Wild Side

Walkin' on the Wild Side

A podcast dedicated to exploring nature all around us and hopefully instilling in our listeners a curiosity and appreciation for the wildlife around us. Join us as we share some amazing observations, interesting and educational facts, and stories about the incredible diversity of flora and fauna found here in the Southeastern United States. Your hosts are Marvin and Gabrielle Bouknight, and Marvin has been a professional naturalist and wildlife biologist for over 30 years and he and his wife, Gabrielle have shared many adventures exploring habitats and observing the amazing flora and fauna of the southeastern United States. To contact us, you can follow us on Facebook at Nature Nook Wildlife Photography (https://www.facebook.com/NatureNookWildlifePhotography), or email us at walkingonthewildside21@gmail.com. To SIGN UP/SUBSCRIBE to our podcasts, simply download your favorite podcast app on your mobile device (we can be found on all the Apple iOS and Android OS apps) and look up "WALKIN'ON THE WILD SIDE" or you can visit our website at https://walkinonthewildside.buzzsprout.com and click on your favorite app (see below, if you're viewing this from our web site). It will take you to the site and our podcast. Click "subscribe" and you're ready to go WALKIN' ON THE WILD SIDE!

Episodes

July 1, 2025 24 mins

It's time for another episode and this time, we're talking about a bird that is so often heard but not seen.  Often called rain crows, due to being heard calling before approaching storms, these birds get a bad rap as nest parasites, but our yellow billed cuckoos don't that that too often.  Join us on the backporch, along with the lightning bugs, chucks, whippoorwills, and even a screech owl stops by, all to listen a...

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While sitting on the porch last night, preparing to record another episode,  we heard chuck-wils-widows and whippoorwills calling and thought, why record another episode when we can bring back a blast from the past and re-post "Goatsuckers Galore", one of our first podcasts from 2021!  Join our trip down memory lane and learn about these amazing birds collectively called goatsuckers or nightjars, which include some of the...

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It's time for another episode of Walkin' on the Wild Side and our second part of Wandering in Yellowstone!  Part 2 takes Gabrielle and I into the hot springs, geysers, and thermal areas of Yellowstone, as well as wandering through Lamar Valley, the Serengeti of North America.  We'll share observations of these amazing areas, some of the wildlife we saw,  as well as  some of the historic sites like Mammoth Hot Springs...

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Yellowstone is America's first National Park and they couldn't have picked a better one to start off the amazing resource we have as the National Parks. It has been a dream of ours to get to this area, and here we are!  Join us for a multiple part series as we travel the beauty and natural wonders that is Yellowstone National Park and the Grand Tetons National Park.  For part 1, we travel the Grand Teton Loop Road and wit...

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Monarch butterflies are probably one of the most well known butterflies but are also have secrets that scientists have yet to crack!  Join Gabrielle and I on the back porch with special guest, Gabrielle's long-time friend from gradeschool and flower extraordinaire, Jamie Bourquin.  After planting pollinator plants in our new pollinator yard, we chat about this amazing butterfly, their incredible journey, and other fun facts th...

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April 16, 2025 46 mins

It's time for another episode of Walkin' on the Wild Side!  It's hard to believe, but we've never really explored the amazing alligator.  An incredibly well adapted species that hasn't changed much from its ancestor over 200 million years ago, the American Alligator has survived two extinction events and human persecution to once again survive and thrive.  Join Marvin and Gabrielle as they chat about this m...

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April 1, 2025 23 mins

Hey everyone, it's time for another episode of Walkin' on the Wild Side Podcast!  For this episode, we're ringing in Spring with the bells, the OCONEE BELLS (Shortia galacifolia)!  Spring has sprung, as you learned from our last episode.  However, it wouldn't be spring without the Oconee Bells!  This beautiful but small wildflower is one of the earliest blooming spring ephemerals in the Appalachians, is quite ra...

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March 15, 2025 41 mins

Spring has sprung here in the Southeast and the chan changes are all around us!  Have you ever stopped to think why spring even happens?  What are the changes happening and what triggers these changes around us?  Join Marvin and Gabrielle on the back porch as they talk about the changes around them and what causes the blooming, frogs calling, birds singing, and more as spring is, well, springing!

Here are some websites for more info...

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February 17, 2025 32 mins

It's time for another episode of Walkin' on the Wild Side!  This time, we're chatting about good ol' Ricky Raccoon.  These little mammals are probably one of the most recognizable mammals in North America and most people either love 'em or hate 'em!  These little masked bandits are fun to watch and it's easy to be amazed at their ability to open almost any trashcan and figure out latches, locks, a...

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February 4, 2025 55 mins

It's time for another episode of Walkin' on the Wild Side Podcast and this one is special because it marks a milestone for Gabrielle Bouknight and me...it marks the trip to Minnesota and we FINALLY saw great gray owls!  Not only great grays, but two other species as well, a verifiable "HOOTAPALOOZA"!  Come with us  on our trip in this special episode from northern Minnesota and share our amazing experience!

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It's time for another episode of Walkin' on the Wild Side!  This last podcast of the year follows Marvin and Gabrielle on a mission.  When a group of soldiers are sent on a specific mission, it is called a sortie, and that's what we are doing.  We are on a mission to find short-eared owls and our "sortie" takes us to northeast Ohio to ring in the New Year with family!  This year, short-eared owls have desce...

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December 15, 2024 24 mins

It's that time of year and Christmas is just around the corner!  One of the symbols of Christmas is mistletoe and it is actually a fascinating plant and it's pretty interesting how it became a symbol of Christmas.  Join Marvin and Gabrielle as they usher in the holidays and spread Christmas cheer with some interesting facts about this amazing little plant. 

Here's some websites for further reading:
http...

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December 1, 2024 35 mins

It's time for another episode of Walkin' on the Wild Side!  This time, Gabrielle and I are talking about the successful reintroduction of Elk in the Southeast.  Hunted into extinction in the 1700's and 1800's, this second largest member of the deer family has been reintroduced to North Carolina in the 2000's, but not without headaches and issues.  Join us as we chat about the successes, challenges, and esse...

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Our final two days in Iceland are packed adventures and experiences as we go from Selfloss to Keflavik.  We went through a National Park, experienced a few more waterfalls, geysers, and interesting history.  We also baked bread in volcanic soil, took in a few more spas, and got up close and personal at the historic fissure and lava eruption on the Reykjanes Peninsula.  What a great trip and once in a lifetime experience Walkin&apos...

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Welcome back to Walkin' on the Wild Side!  We continue our adventure on the Ring Road in Iceland, from the northern area of Husavik to the southeastern town of Hofn.  We go from snowy fields to glaciers, icebergs, and volcanic beaches.  Join us to learn more about this beautiful country that truly is the land of ice and fire!  From hot geothermal fields, volcanic lava fields, and lava caves, to icy lagoons, glaciers, and icebe...

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We took a vacation and are back to share our adventures with you.  Gabrielle and I travelled to Iceland, the land of Fire and Ice!  Join us along our trip as we travel the Ring Road and experience the vast, rugged, and beautiful land with mountains, waterfalls, geysers, glaciers, and more.  Part one takes to the western coast all the way up to the northern-most part of Iceland.  This section was filled with sorcery, witchcraft, tro...

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September 15, 2024 28 mins

It's time for a little different episode of Walkin' on the Wild Side!  Join Marvin and Gabrielle for a foraging adventure to harvest, cook, and have Gabrielle try stinging nettle, a choice wild edible.  This nutritious wild plant needs to be harvested with care and positive identification, but once you do, you'll have a tasty green for the table!  We talk about harvesting this plant, how to handle, and then, off to t...

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September 1, 2024 28 mins

We're back for another episode of Walkin' on the Wild Side!  It's the time of year that we are starting to get hints of Fall and many animal behaviors are starting to change with the seasons.  Birds are migrating, squirrels are getting busy, but I always thing of the industrious beaver this time of year!  The careful observer who has beavers in the area will notice more activity from these semi-aquatic mammals as the...

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Hi and welcome back to Walkin' on the Wild Side!  This episode, we're going to the coast (figuratively) and talking about one of the rarest marine mammals, the northern right whale.  Taken to the brink of extinction by the whaling industry, this slow moving, surface dwelling whale faces an uncertain future as population numbers compromised during whaling continue to decline due to modern day vessel strikes, entanglement i...

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It's time for another episode of Walkin' on the Wild Side!  We have had a lot of rain lately and while sitting on the back porch during a heavy thunderstorm, Gabrielle and I thought back to 2021 for our episode on box turtles.  With all the rain we've been having, box turtles are once again on the move, and that means they are crossing roads and in danger of getting hit.  To remind all our listeners to be on the look...

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