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Season Watch Podcast sponsored by Sugar Lake Lodge
Season Watch

The unsettling sounds of porcupines lull listener to sleep

By Charlie Mitchell,
Heidi Holtan
Published June 11, 2026 at 5:12 PM CDT
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A large brown porcupine with blonde quills, black eyes, and large orange teeth sits at three-quarters profile to the camera.
KAXE
/
Lorie Shaull via Flickr
"Dill Prickles," the unofficial porcupine mascot of Long Lake Conservation Center, gazes at the camera on Sept. 20, 2024.

Charlie Mitchell and Heidi Holtan laugh about porcupine sounds, learn about skinks, and delve into the nesting habits of robins.

Send us a voice memo through Speak Pipe!

Ever heard an animal that sounds like a squeaky, haunted door, or maybe a squeaky, haunted baby?

The North American porcupine is here to astound your eardrums with its wide and odd array of vocalizations.

Co-hosts Charlie Mitchell (phenology coordinator, field guide collector) and Heidi Holtan (Director of content and public affairs, robin savior) laugh about porcupines, learn about skinks, and get caught up talking about robins.

A dog in a car looks forward with a snout full of porcupine quills.
Contributed
/
Joni and Olly
KAXE listner Joni's dog Olly bravely rides to the vet on St. Patrick's Day in 2022.

This episode features a voice memo from Nicholas Schwarz, an interview with Pam Perry, John Latimer's phenology show, and a phenology report from Long Lake Conservation Center.

Attributions

  1. "Squeaky door" porcupine sound by Doug Hynes, XC991119. Accessible at www.xeno-canto.org/991119.
  2. Porcupine chewing sound by Brian Henderson, XC1040853. Accessible at www.xeno-canto.org/1040853.
  3. Goblin-like porcupine vocalizations by Brian Henderson, XC1040853. Accessible at www.xeno-canto.org/1040853.
  4. Pam Perry's skink and bird talk, John Latimer's phenology show, and the Long Lake Conservation Center phenology report originally aired on KAXE.
  5. This episode was produced by Heidi Holtan and Charlie Mitchell.

Love the podcast? Have an animal impression to share? Let us know! Send us a voice memo through Speak Pipe!

Email us at seasonwatch@kaxe.org.

Tags
Season Watch Season Watch PodcastKAXENorthern MinnesotaPhenologySummer phenology
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Charlie Mitchell
Charlie Mitchell (she/they) joined KAXE in February of 2022. Charlie creates the Season Watch Newsletter, produces the Phenology Talkbacks show, coordinates the Phenology in the Classroom program, and writes nature-related stories for KAXE's website. Essentailly, Charlie is John Latimer's faithful sidekick and makes sure all of KAXE's nature/phenology programs find a second life online and in podcast form.<br/><br/><br/>With a background in ecology and evolutionary biology, Charlie enjoys learning a little bit about everything, whether it's plants, mushrooms, or the star-nosed mole. (Fun fact: Moles store fat in their tails, so they don't outgrow their tunnels every time conditions are good.)
See stories by Charlie Mitchell
Heidi Holtan
Heidi Holtan has been involved with KAXE since 2002. Now as Director of Content and Public Affairs she manages and is the host of the KAXE Morning Show, including a variety of local content like Phenology, What's for Breakfast, Area Voices, The Sports Page and much more, alongside Morning Edition from NPR. Her latest project is Ham Radio: Cooking with Amy Thielen.
See stories by Heidi Holtan
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