Today, we’re thrilled to have a guest edition of #NatureZen by Dr. Sinlan Poo, a Research Scientist at the Memphis Zoo. Dr. Poo is a behavioral ecologist who is broadly interested in parental care, predator-prey interactions, reproductive ecology, and reintroduction biology. Though her research is primarily focused on
words and photos by Melissa McMasters Today we’re looking at some tiny jumping insects: the leafhoppers. Despite the name, they’re not closely related to grasshoppers–the main distinctions are size (leafhoppers are only a few centimeters long) and the way their mouths work. Grasshoppers bite and
words and photos by Melissa McMasters For this edition of #NatureZen, we’re traveling a bit beyond the borders of Overton Park. To find the delicate creatures we’re admiring today, we need access to water, especially rivers and streams. Choose a spot along the Wolf River
words + photos by Melissa McMasters; comic by Rosemary Mosco of Bird and Moon In your recent outdoor wanderings, you may have come across one of spring’s great gifts: the baby bird! Many of our resident songbirds are busy raising their young right now, training
by Melissa McMasters, Conservancy Director of Communications “Everything’s connected.” This phrase is never more true than when we’re examining ecosystems, and how every organism depends on another for its survival. Trees and flowers need insects to carry their pollen to other plants in order to
To celebrate #GivingTuesdayNow, Melissa and Fields held a birding Big Day with a goal of identifying 65 bird species in the park in a single day. Here’s an archive of what we found. (Remember to make your gift to support the care of our incredible
Today’s edition of Nature Zen will be short and sweet, as our staff prepares for #GivingTuesdayNow, coming up next week on May 5. This annual day of giving usually falls on the Tuesday after Thanksgiving, but organizers have added a second call for donations this
words and photos by Melissa McMasters, Conservancy Director of Communications I’ve been thinking a lot lately about emergence. When we’re all able to come outside of our homes again, how will we have changed? It seems certain that our concept of safety and security will
words and photos by Fields Falcone, Overton Park Conservancy Visitor Services Coordinator When you enter the Old Forest, what senses are first engaged? Where in space do you focus? Admittedly and immediately I fall into a lifelong visceral habit of focusing upward with my ears
Words and photos by Melissa McMasters If there’s one question I’m asked most often as a birder, it’s “What’s that bird that sings [distinct whistling song]?” The answer–the singer of the melody often translated as “Oh, sweet Canada Canada“–is the white-throated sparrow. (Listen to it here. To my ears,
