Tag Archives: amphibians

Episode 128: Frogs and Snails and Salamander Tales with Kristiina Ovaska

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Hello everyone! This episode features Kristiina Ovaska, a biologist based on Vancouver Island up in British Columbia. Kristiina came to the Peru on one of our expeditions, and we spent some time hiking in the rainforest in search of frogs, and photographing frogs, and talking about frogs and having a lot of frog fun. In this episode, we cover some of Kristiina’s many projects over the years involving frogs, salamanders, land snails, and fossorial snakes. It took some fancy editing to pull this one together – we recorded this on a rainy day, and our talk was cut short a bit by torrential rains that were too loud to talk over, and you’ll hear some of the caretaker’s kids here and there as they run around the field station.

PATRONS: As always, I am grateful to all the show’s patrons who help to keep the show moving forward. And if you’re out there listening and you would like to kick in a few bucks, there are several ways to do so – you can make a one-time contribution via PayPal or Venmo (please contact me via email to somuchpingle@gmail.com). You can also provide support the show using Patreon, via the So Much Pingle Patreon page. You can support the show for as little as three bucks a month – less than a fancy cup of coffee.

MERCH!!!  T-shirts and other swag are available now at the SoMuchPingle Threadless Store. More designs are in the pipeline. Thank you in advance!

POD BLOG! You can find the first of my supplemental blog posts that support podcast episodes at Notes From The Field. Let me know your thoughts!

And thanks for listening everyone! And as always, please keep the comments and suggestions coming, and please take time to rate the show on your podcast platform! The show email is somuchpingle@gmail.com, and there’s also a So Much Pingle group on Facebook, for discussion, comments, feedback, suggestions, herp confessions, tips for herping better, etc.

-Mike

 

Episode 127: Tales from the Tambo with Zach and Jeffrey

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Hello everyone, and welcome to the first episode of Season Seven! Today’s episode features Zach Kaminski and Jeffrey Niemeier, and was recorded down in the Peruvian rainforest earlier this year. To date I’ve made 22 trips to the Peruvian Amazon, and while I still enjoy everything the region has to offer, what keeps it extra fresh and interesting is the folks that come down with us. It’s fun to be a part of the experiences they are having, and to see the rainforest through their eyes, so to speak. And often I learn from them – even old dogs like me can learn new tricks once in a while.

As mentioned in the show, here’s some music links featuring Jeffrey:

Fauxgrass – “What Do We Grow Up For”   Instrument: Violin (live)
Heavy Color – “Two Serpents”  Instruments: Acoustic and Electric Violin

PATRONS: As always, I am grateful to all the show’s patrons who help to keep the show moving forward. And if you’re out there listening and you would like to kick in a few bucks, there are several ways to do so – you can make a one-time contribution via PayPal or Venmo (please contact me via email to somuchpingle@gmail.com). You can also provide support the show using Patreon, via the So Much Pingle Patreon page. You can support the show for as little as three bucks a month – less than a fancy cup of coffee. While I’m at it, I want to give a shout-out to the show’s most recent patron, Torben Platt!  Thank you so much, Torben.

MERCH!!!  T-shirts and other swag are available now at the SoMuchPingle Threadless Store. More designs are in the pipeline. Thank you in advance!

POD BLOG! You can find the first of my supplemental blog posts that support podcast episodes at Notes From The Field. Let me know your thoughts!

And thanks for listening everyone! And as always, please keep the comments and suggestions coming, and please take time to rate the show on your podcast platform! The show email is somuchpingle@gmail.com, and there’s also a So Much Pingle group on Facebook, for discussion, comments, feedback, suggestions, herp confessions, tips for herping better, etc.

-Mike

Episode 126: Kevin Messenger and the Venomous Snakes of China

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Hello everyone, and welcome to the last episode of Season Six! I have several pending episodes recorded in Peru earlier this year, but I felt the need to bump this one up in the queue. Kevin Messenger’s new book on the Venomous Snakes of China was published recently, and it’s an amazing publication. I reached out to Kevin to schedule an interview the same day I received my copy.

To find out more about the new book, tours, and much more, visit the Herping China website. You can also follow Kevin on Facebook and Instagram. It was fun to talk with Kevin again and I hope to herp in China sometime.

The seventh season of the podcast starts in May, and I want to say thank you, to all of you, for listening. Whether you listened to just one, or some, or all of the episodes, I thank you.  Additional thanks to those of you who reached out with feedback.

PATRONS: As always, I am grateful to all the show’s patrons who help to keep the show moving forward. And if you’re out there listening and you would like to kick in a few bucks, there are several ways to do so – you can make a one-time contribution via PayPal or Venmo (please contact me via email to somuchpingle@gmail.com). You can also provide support the show using Patreon, via the So Much Pingle Patreon page. You can support the show for as little as three bucks a month – less than a fancy cup of coffee. While I’m at it, I want to give a shout-out to the show’s most recent patron, Torben Platt!  Thank you so much, Torben.

MERCH!!!  T-shirts and other swag are available now at the SoMuchPingle Threadless Store. More designs are in the pipeline. Thank you in advance!

POD BLOG! You can find the first of my supplemental blog posts that support podcast episodes at Notes From The Field. Let me know your thoughts!

And thanks for listening everyone! And as always, please keep the comments and suggestions coming, and please take time to rate the show on your podcast platform! The show email is somuchpingle@gmail.com, and there’s also a So Much Pingle group on Facebook, for discussion, comments, feedback, suggestions, herp confessions, tips for herping better, etc.

-Mike

Episode 125: Tales from the Tambo: Arkansas Conquers the Amazon

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Hello everyone, it’s great to be back!  This episode was recorded in February on our second trip, at the Santa Cruz field station. Nine of our fourteen clients were from Arkansas, and since I couldn’t talk to all nine at once, they appointed some representatives, and I found myself talking with Gabrielle Hargrove, Thomas Belford, and Brad Birchfield. We had an excellent conversation and I do want to give a shout-out to the whole Arkansas crew – Cyndi Porter, Caden Porter, Jeremy Sloan, Brad Birchfield, Reagan Birchfield, Gabby and AJ Hargrove, Thomas Belford and Anthony Belford. So much fun hanging out with this crew and of course, the other folks on the trip as well.

PATRONS: As always, I am grateful to all the show’s patrons who help to keep the show moving forward. And if you’re out there listening and you would like to kick in a few bucks, there are several ways to do so – you can make a one-time contribution via PayPal or Venmo (please contact me via email to somuchpingle@gmail.com). You can also provide support the show using Patreon, via the So Much Pingle Patreon page. You can support the show for as little as three bucks a month – less than a fancy cup of coffee. While I’m at it, I want to give a shout-out to the show’s most recent patron, Torben Platt!  Thank you so much, Torben.

MERCH!!!  T-shirts and other swag are available now at the SoMuchPingle Threadless Store. More designs are in the pipeline. Thank you in advance!

POD BLOG! You can find the first of my supplemental blog posts that support podcast episodes at Notes From The Field. Let me know your thoughts!

And thanks for listening everyone! And as always, please keep the comments and suggestions coming, and please take time to rate the show on your podcast platform! The show email is somuchpingle@gmail.com, and there’s also a So Much Pingle group on Facebook, for discussion, comments, feedback, suggestions, herp confessions, tips for herping better, etc.

-Mike

 

Episode 120: A Conversation with Zeev Ginsburg

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I met Zeev Ginsburg at Snake Road in southern Illinois a few years ago, and it’s been a pleasure getting to know him and spending some time herping together. We’ve had some interesting conversations, and I’ve been wanting to get him on the show for some time, but we put it off for a bit until he was ready to restart his excellent podcast, Wood Fired Herping. Zeev has released his first post-hiatus show and so the time was right to have a chat about his podcast, about herping, and much, much more as the cliché goes.

As always, I am grateful to all the show’s patrons who help to keep the show moving forward. And if you’re out there listening and you would like to kick in a few bucks, there are several ways to do so – you can make a one-time contribution via PayPal or Venmo (please contact me via email to somuchpingle@gmail.com). You can also provide support the show using Patreon, via the So Much Pingle Patreon page. You can support the show for as little as three bucks a month – less than a fancy cup of coffee.

I want to give a shout-out to all the folks I saw down at Snake Road last weekend. Way too many to name everyone, but it was nice to see old friends and new friends down there, some coming great distances, and these days that is the primary reason I keep going down to the Shawnee National Forest every October somewhere around my birthday. I haven’t missed a year since 1994 and I think I want to keep that streak going. Two special shout-outs, one to Jake Scott, for his birthday poem, brilliant stuff, Jake, thank you my friend.  I also want to thank Scott Albert, old school herper and the owner and winegrower of the Holotype Wine Company down in the Shawnee hills. Scott gifted me with several bottles of his fine product, which incorporate herps in the names and labels. and I’ve been enjoying them this week.

POD BLOG! You can find the first of my supplemental blog posts that support podcast episodes at Notes From The Field. Let me know your thoughts!

MERCH!!!  T-shirts and other swag are available now at the SoMuchPingle Threadless Store. More designs are in the pipeline. Thank you in advance!

And thanks for listening everyone! And as always, please keep the comments and suggestions coming, and please take time to rate the show on your podcast platform! The show email is somuchpingle@gmail.com, and there’s also a So Much Pingle group on Facebook, for discussion, comments, feedback, suggestions, herp confessions, tips for herping better, etc.

-Mike

Episode 119: Herper’s Campfire: Not a Big Year, But Still a Good One

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Hi folks! This episode was recorded in the mountains of North Carolina over the Labor Day weekend. I made a long day’s drive over to Josh’s place east of Asheville, ostensibly to look for mole kingsnakes and salamanders, but also just to hang out with Josh Holbrook and Alex Krohn and Jake and Lindsey Scott while doing so.  Josh and Jake are having interesting field herping years, and of course a campfire is the perfect venue to find out more about it.

POD BLOG! You can find the first of my supplemental blog posts that support podcast episodes at Notes From The Field. Let me know your thoughts!

MERCH!!!  T-shirts and other swag are available now at the SoMuchPingle Threadless Store. More designs are in the pipeline. Thank you in advance!

As always, I am grateful to all the show’s patrons who help to keep the show moving forward. And if you’re out there listening and you would like to kick in a few bucks, there are several ways to do so – you can make a one-time contribution via PayPal or Venmo (please contact me via email to somuchpingle@gmail.com). You can also provide support the show using Patreon, via the So Much Pingle Patreon page. You can support the show for as little as three bucks a month – less than a fancy cup of coffee.

And thanks for listening everyone! And as always, please keep the comments and suggestions coming, and please take time to rate the show on your podcast platform! The show email is somuchpingle@gmail.com, and there’s also a So Much Pingle group on Facebook, for discussion, comments, feedback, suggestions, herp confessions, tips for herping better, etc.

-Mike

 

Episode 117: In Belgium with Jeroen Speybroeck

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Hi folks!  Thanks for your patience, I’ve been called away so much this spring and summer. I first talked with Jeroen Speybroeck in Episode 27, way back in Season One. Jeroen is all the things, he’s a conservation biologist, author, field herper and life lister, and for that first conversation we talked about his fire salamander research, conservation efforts with Spadefoot Toads, herping in various places around the globe, and we also talked about the very good field guide to the herps of Britain and Europe of which he is a co-author. If you haven’t heard that episode you might want to listen to it first. This show was recorded outside at a lovely abbey near Brussels, where Matt Cage and I had lunch with Jeroen, and a few absolutely killer local brews before heading to the airport.

MERCH!!!  T-shirts and other swag are available now at the SoMuchPingle Threadless Store. More designs are in the pipeline. Thank you in advance!

I want to give a shout-out to someone who wishes to remain anonymous, who recently made a one-time donation to support the podcast. Thank you so much, anonymous person, I appreciate ya! As always, I am grateful to all the show’s patrons who help to keep the show moving forward. And if you’re out there listening and you would like to kick in a few bucks, there are several ways to do so – you can make a one-time contribution via PayPal or Venmo (please contact me via email to somuchpingle@gmail.com). You can also provide support the show using Patreon, via the So Much Pingle Patreon page. You can support the show for as little as three bucks a month – less than a fancy cup of coffee!

Thank you again, Jeroen and Matt!

And thanks for listening everyone! And as always, please keep the comments and suggestions coming, and please take time to rate the show on your podcast platform! The show email is somuchpingle@gmail.com, and there’s also a So Much Pingle group on Facebook, for discussion, comments, feedback, suggestions, herp confessions, best beers for podcasting (Belgian ales, duh), tips for herping better, etc.

-Mike

 

Episode 115: Snake Week with Rachel Pikstein

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This is a special episode, in support of Snake Week, which is next week, July 13th thru the 19th . It’s also special because it’s the return of Rachel Pikstein! Remember the tegu episode? Rachel and I go over the basics for Snake Week, which is shaping up to be a terrific event, and we also talk about some of the projects she’s working on. If you listened to Episode 88, you know that Rachel is a high energy ball of fire, so get something to drink, and fasten your seatbelts!

I want to give a shout-out to the show’s newest patron, Kathy Woody from out California way! Thank you so much for supporting the show via Patreon, Kathy! Much appreciated.

As always, I am grateful to all the show’s patrons who help to keep the show moving forward. And if you’re out there listening and you would like to kick in a few bucks, there are several ways to do so – you can make a one-time contribution via PayPal or Venmo (please contact me via email to somuchpingle@gmail.com). You can also provide support the show using Patreon, via the So Much Pingle Patreon page. You can support the show for as little as three bucks a month – less than a fancy cup of coffee! IMPORTANT NOTE: up to now, Apple WAS slapping a ridiculous 30% fee on all Patreon transactions using an iPhone or iPad to access the Patreon app.  Apple lost a recent court ruling on this so the 30% fee should NOT show up at checkout.  As far as I can tell this is for users based in the United States, I am not sure if others are still seeing this fee, so please look carefully as you check out. In spite of this reversal  I am still actively working on better ways to support the show, and I appreciate your patience in the meantime.

And thanks for listening everyone! And as always, please keep the comments and suggestions coming, and please take time to rate the show on your podcast platform! The show email is somuchpingle@gmail.com, and there’s also a So Much Pingle group on Facebook, for discussion, comments, feedback, suggestions, herp confessions, tips for herping better, etc.

-Mike

Episode 114: Always Get The Full Coverage

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This episode was recorded back in April, at a campground somewhere in Louisiana, on the tail-end of a week-long herping trip with a bunch of friends. Various automotive mishaps while herping had come up several times during the trip, and I thought that might be a good just-for-fun topic to pursue before we all went our separate ways.  Many thanks to my friends with their goofy fake names for providing a nice cross-section of things that can happen behind the wheel, or to the wheels….

As always, I am grateful to all the show’s patrons who help to keep the show moving forward. And if you’re out there listening and you would like to kick in a few bucks, there are several ways to do so – you can make a one-time contribution via PayPal or Venmo (please contact me via email to somuchpingle@gmail.com). You can also provide support the show using Patreon, via the So Much Pingle Patreon page. You can support the show for as little as three bucks a month – less than a fancy cup of coffee! IMPORTANT NOTE: up to now, Apple WAS slapping a ridiculous 30% fee on all Patreon transactions using an iPhone or iPad to access the Patreon app.  Apple lost a recent court ruling on this so the 30% fee should NOT show up at checkout.  As far as I can tell this is for users based in the United States, I am not sure if others are still seeing this fee, so please look carefully as you check out. In spite of this reversal  I am still actively working on better ways to support the show, and I appreciate your patience in the meantime.

And thanks for listening everyone! And as always, please keep the comments and suggestions coming, and please take time to rate the show on your podcast platform! The show email is somuchpingle@gmail.com, and there’s also a So Much Pingle group on Facebook, for discussion, comments, feedback, suggestions, herp confessions, tips for herping better, etc.

-Mike

 

Episode 113: Tales from the Tambo with Matt, Alan, and Joe

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I don’t get to talk with everyone that comes on our Peru expeditions, but in February I did spend an hour talking with three of Chicago Land’s finest herpers – Matt and Alan Ignoffo, and Joe Cavataio. We talk about their experiences during their first Peruvian adventure of course, and we cover more interesting adventures and interests of these three naturalists (including Tully Monsters!).  As per usual, this was recorded on the back deck of my tambo in the Peruvian rainforest near Iquitos.

As always, I am grateful to all the show’s patrons who help to keep the show moving forward. And if you’re out there listening and you would like to kick in a few bucks, there are several ways to do so – you can make a one-time contribution via PayPal or Venmo (please contact me via email to somuchpingle@gmail.com). You can also provide support the show using Patreon, via the So Much Pingle Patreon page. You can support the show for as little as three bucks a month – less than a fancy cup of coffee! IMPORTANT NOTE: up to now, Apple WAS slapping a ridiculous 30% fee on all Patreon transactions using an iPhone or iPad to access the Patreon app.  Apple lost a recent court ruling on this so the 30% fee should NOT show up at checkout.  As far as I can tell this is for users based in the United States, I am not sure if others are still seeing this fee, so please look carefully as you check out. In spite of this reversal  I am still actively working on better ways to support the show, and I appreciate your patience in the meantime.

And thanks for listening everyone! And as always, please keep the comments and suggestions coming, and please take time to rate the show on your podcast platform! The show email is somuchpingle@gmail.com, and there’s also a So Much Pingle group on Facebook, for discussion, comments, feedback, suggestions, herp confessions, tips for herping better, etc.

-Mike