Posts by Bates Whitaker
High Hopes: North Carolina Treefrogs
As the season shifts towards warmer weather and longer days, many wildlife species emerge from hibernation and begin the search for food and mates. This emergence looks different across species,…
Read MoreDigging in the Dirt: March Chapter Highlights 2024
North Carolina Wildlife Federation staff and Community Wildlife Chapter volunteers did a whole lot of tree planting, soil digging, nest installing, creek cleaning, moth viewing, invasive plant removing, environmental educating…
Read MoreGet Squirrely: What You May Not Know About NC’s Five Squirrel Species
Eastern gray squirrels are a constant presence throughout the state, appearing in suburban yards, town parks, and even in remote backcountry areas. This omnipresence even earned them the spot as…
Read MoreTreetop Wildlife and Forest Habitats Face Threats from Invasive Species
Nature operates in a delicate balance, where each species has a specialized role to play in its ecosystem. But this balance is threatened by many modern-day factors that have impacts…
Read MoreNorth Carolina Wild Turkeys – Wildlife in the Overstory 2024 Revised Edition
What do you know about wild turkeys and their treetop roosting habits? “For the Truth the Turkey is in Comparison a much more respectable Bird [than the bald eagle], and…
Read MoreRemembering Dale Mosteller, NCWF Board Member and Champion for Wildlife
NCWF is saddened to report that Dale Mosteller, of Lincolnton, North Carolina, passed away earlier this year. Mosteller was a stalwart Federation board member and board officer, and a longtime…
Read MoreCatch The Buzz – Cicadas and the Wild Phenomenon of Dual Emergence
It would be easy to believe that they originated from a distant planet, boasting robust and armored bodies, glistening eyes ranging from crimson to ebony, wings reminiscent of a character…
Read MoreRooted in Purpose: NCWF’s Chapter Impact for Tree Canopy Wildlife Habitat
“The best time to plant a tree was twenty years ago. The second best time is now.” – Richard Powers, The Overstory Trees are not just silent witnesses to the…
Read MoreLooking Up: NCWF Scholarship Winner Michelle Kirchner, Rare Ants, and Tree Canopy Ecology
Climbing trees is a uniquely exploratory activity, one that many of us learned to appreciate during the outdoor adventuring of childhood. All it took was a branch close enough to…
Read MoreWildlife in the Overstory: North Carolina Species in the Treetops
This April, explore Wildlife in the Overstory. Throughout history, we have depended on the natural world for sustenance, shelter, and resources essential for our survival. Yet, this dependence has often…
Read More