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What's the difference between a groundhog and a woodchuck?

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Two round, russet and tan colored groundhogs gaze out over a rock in St. Louis County on June 19, 2021.
Contributed
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iNaturalist user ampatent
Two groundhogs gaze out over a rock in St. Louis County on June 19, 2021.

Heidi Holtan and Charlie Mitchell discuss detailed observations, the joy of pursuing a snake, and the calming sound of nature names.

Send us a voice memo through SpeakPipe!

Groundhogs, woodchucks, and whistlepigs are all common names for the same critter - Marmota monax. (A WoodChuck's legal name is, of course, TimberCharles.)

Co-hosts Heidi Holtan and Charlie Mitchell enjoy a discussion of critter names, talk about their fall goals, and preview a busy September ahead.

We hear from Stella Mayerhoff, kids visiting Sugar Lake Lodge, and John Latimer.

Attributions

  1. Blue Jay call by Len Mizutowicz via iNaturalist.
  2. Stella's voice memo was submitted through KAXE's SpeakPipe site.
  3. The Sugar Lake Lodge phenology talkbacks and John Latimer's phenology report originally aired on KAXE.
  4. This episode was produced by Charlie Mitchell and Heidi Holtan.

Love the podcast? Have any favorite species names? Let us know! Send us a voice memo through Speak Pipe!

Email us at seasonwatch@kaxe.org.

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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.)
For more than two decades, Heidi Holtan has helped shape the sound of KAXE. Since joining the station in 2002 as a volunteer music programmer, she has worn many hats including the weekly book program, Realgoodwords, hosting the Morning Show, creation and host of the weekly call-in program Between You and Me, serving as Outreach Producer. Program Director, News Director and currently Director of Content and Public Affairs.
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