This week on Field Stories, we’re joined by Mike Mills, a wildlife biologist at the Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation (SCCF). Mike’s journey began with a B.S. in wildlife biology, followed by fieldwork across the globe, from tracking king cobras in Thailand to sea turtle conservation in Costa Rica. In 2019, he joined SCCF as a nighttime sea turtle intern, eventually shifting his focus to Florida box turtles while completing his Master’s in Conservation Biology. Now, as a full-time...

This week we welcome back Nick as a special guest/host to discuss his summer in Suriname and Uganda. We hear about the conservation differences from country to country as well as some of the main reasons Gorilla trekking is a viable option in Uganda 🇺🇬 Nick tells two field stories with a more in depth look at a disastrous adventure in the Amazon rainforest involving a dog… as well as playing football with a rather large opposition player 👀 Guests to return for next week but we hope you enjoy...

This week we chat with bat biologist Carlos Restrepo! He shares insights into his fascinating research investigating how smooth surfaces, such as solar panels, can appear to be water surfaces to bats. This research is particularly relevant in Mexico where he currently works, as water is a finite resource in arid regions across the country. Finally Carlos shares his field story with us, which is one of the craziest stories we’ve heard yet! Follow Field Stories -  Instagram -...

On this episode of Field stories, the three co-hosts are FINALLY all back together! This week sit down with Jamie Clark (@seaturtleager instagram), a Sea Turtle Biologist who is working towards her PhD at the Unviersity of North Carolina Willmington. Today we dive into Jamie’s PhD work, which investigates size-at-age relationships and population dynamics of various fish and sea turtle populations using skeletochronology - Fourier Transform Near InfraRed (FT-NIR) and DNA methylation methods....

In this week’s special episode of the Field Stories podcast we dive deep into the forest fires across South America that continue to burn unabated, leaving people around the world feeling confused and hopeless. We speak to Peruvians Clemencia Pinasco and Juan Diego Shoobridge about their thoughts and opinions about the causes and potential solutions to stopping these fires. Our two guests, along with host Chris Ketola have, have years of experience working in the lowland Amazon in addition...

This week we speak to bat ecologist and researcher Jessica Dangerfield! Jessica spoke to us about bat conservation in England and why it’s arguably the most bat crazy country in the world! Her extensive work with bats includes monitoring and research projects in addition to bat rehabilitation. She also shared stories about some of her exciting international projects, including a doozy of a field story involving the rainy season in Malawi and spending a night with colleagues inside of a stuck...

This week we speak to ornithologist, author and tour guide Phil Chaon. Phil’s career has taken him literally across the world, first for research and more recently as a tour guide. Phil also recently co-authored the amazing book Habitats of The World, and is hard at work on a follow up called Habitats of North America. Phil spoke about the differences between the life of a field biologist versus a tour guide, and also the responsibilities of leading ethical ecotours. Finally Phil shared the...

This week sees the return of an OG guest, several field stories and an in person chat at Snake Patrol Suriname about all things snakes and Suriname live from the country 🇸🇷 Follow Field Stories - Instagram - @field_stories_podcastHosted by Chris (@chrisketola), Michela (@michiganbiologist) and Nick (@nick_smith_wildlife_photos)Theme Music:"Honey Bee" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons:By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

This week we spoke to Miriam Boucher, a Canadian Herpetologist who specializes in researching crocodilians. Miriam talked about her work with crocodilians across the Americas, and discussed her current PhD project focusing on bioaccumulation within alligator populations in the United States. She also explained her groundbreaking device used to prop open crocodilians mouths for research. Finally she shared her field story with us, and let’s just say it invoked a massive American Crocodile...

Michaela is born and raised in Beverly, MA and has been involved in whale conservation since 2016. Starting as an intern on a whale watch, she found all sorts of channels to get people excited about whales!! Currently she is working for a UK based whale and dolphin charity called ORCA where she lives aboard passenger ships to take data on whale and dolphin hot spots and critical habitats while hosting lectures and workshops relevent to the species and locations visited. When she is home she...

Our guest this week is Alex Troutman! (@n8ture_al on IG). Alex is a Fish and Wildlife Biologist and Environmental Educator, and his work has taken him across the United States, with an amazing stop in Asia working with bats as well. Alex is a prominent voice for the black in STEM community, and he shared some of his experiences and perspectives on this extremely important topic. This episode touched on some very intense subjects and is very much worth the time to really take in what Alex had...

This week we speak to Jody Allair! Jody is the Director of Community Engagement at Birds Canada. Through fieldwork and educational initiatives, Jody has been dedicated to bird conservation for the past 20 years. Jody and Chris spoke about the important role of environmental education and how it has evolved over the last decades. Jody also gave his insights into how young people with a passion for wildlife can contribute to conservation and find a successful career path. Finally Jody shared...

On this weeks episode we speak to the director of Osa Conservation, Andy Whitworth! Andy has worked across the Neotropics for more than 10 years and is currently focusing his work on conserving the Osa Peninsula in Costa Rica while also supporting projects in Peru. Andy shared his thoughts on conservation in Costa Rica, why it’s such a biodiversity hotspot and how climate change in particular is such a major threat to biodiversity across the Neotropics. Finally Andy shared his field...

This week we speak to Liliana Tobar González. Lili is a Mexican biologist who specializes in ornithology, with a focus on two pretty distinct groups: grassland and pelagic birds! In addition to her fieldwork, Lili is also very active on social media through her @bioloversdelmundo IG account. We spoke to Lili about why she is so passionate about promoting environmental science education in Spanish and in Latin America. She also shared very personal insights into the state of the environment in...

In this episode of Field Stories, we're thrilled to welcome J. Spahr, a masters-educated professional scientific illustrator from New Hampshire. J. Spahr, creates stunning infographics and illustrations that highlight endangered habitats and animals from around the globe. Her passion for wildlife and conservation has taken her to diverse locations such as Norway, Sweden, the Netherlands, and across the United States. Throughout her travels, J. has worked closely with a variety of species,...

This week we speak to Zak Cole! Zak is a Marine biologist and wildlife filmmaker from Florida, with a background is in Sharks and Marine mammals. Straight out of college he plunged into the depths of commercial fish stock assessment as a fisheries observer in New England. After a back injury in the field, he transitioned to a protected species observer for wind farm projects. While repeated issues with his back prevented him from continuing work offshore, he now focuses on films about...

Philipp Kraemer is our guest this week! Philipp shared his story of completing his fieldwork in Antarctica, and while listening to him describe his experience you could really imagine what it would be like to visit the most remote continent on earth! Philipp also gave us a virtual seminar on seabirds, which isn’t surprising considering he will be studying them soon as a part of his upcoming PhD fieldwork in Chile. All in all another fascinating episode with an amazing guest!

Welcome back to field stories - today we speak with Emma who is a self proclaimed Orangutanologist and wow was it an interesting episode! Following on from our chat about the famous Orangutans with Jonah in a previous episode we get the insights from another perspective as we slowly transition into an "Orang" only podcast... Thanks a lot too Emma for the great podcast and top notch work in the field completing her PHD and we wish you all the best, if you enjoyed this episode, like, comment...

Welcome back to episode 15 and this week we learn about mixed species flocks in the Amazon rainforest and Australia. We also find out that Ettore has an obsession with Trumpeter's which he may explore with Chris. Oh and we also have one of the craziest stories yet told in the most casual way!

The Field Stories Podcast is back! After a brief hiatus, Chris and Michela are back in action, while Nick is off on an exciting adventure in France. On this week's episode, we have a special treat for you as we sit down with Ethan Tapper, a distinguished Forester, author, and educator hailing from Vermont, USA. Join us as Ethan delves into the rich history of the forests of New England. Ethan shares his insight on the vital work foresters are undertaking to break stigmas on silviculture and...

This week, join Chris and Michela as they sit down with Dr. Jay Lombardi, a distinguished carnivore population and landscape ecologist with extensive research experience spanning over 20 carnivore species across various continents. Listen in as Dr. Lombardi shares the compelling narrative of his journey into the realm of wildlife, learning how to break into the field on his own. On a personal level, he overcame many other hurdles including his speech disfluency during his graduate studies....

Today Nick is joined by fellow student and excellent filmmaker/photographer Emily Forster who shares lots of Belize stories as well as the incredible Whale encounters that are possible in the UK! It is a great episode which is free flowing and full of interesting information from Belize that may just surprise you. Big shame that Chris and Michela were unable to attend, through absolutely no fault of their own, the technical shambles continue but we roll on regardless. Hope everyone enjoys...

This week, Chris is joined in person by Hallie Cowan who is commonly referred to as the Halligator (mainly by Nick...) We tackle the issues of 'cowboy herping' in Florida and how the industry is male dominant. Hallie shares a heart warming story about a rattlesnake found on the roadside and a few insights into life in the rainforest. Yet another great episode and an enjoyable format with two guests in the same location. Like, comment and subscribe for more content just like this!

In this episode of Field Stories, we're thrilled to welcome a special guest, Alleigh Pagels, a Michigan Consulting Wildlife Biologist and a close college friend of our co-host Michela. Alleigh's deep connection with the outdoors and passion for nature shines through as she shares her expertise in sustainable hunting practices, focusing on deer and elk management, and the art of taxidermy. Join us as Alleigh provides valuable insights into the responsible utilization of hunting for...