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Something Wild

From the many birds that call our state home, to the trees around New Hampshire that have been granted "Big Tree" status, to stone walls that punctuate the state, we explain the behavior and science behind what we see and hear (and might take for granted) in our backyards.

  • Something Wild: How to co-exist with wasps and hornets
    They all sting, but you can figure out the differences in three common wasps by looking at their nests and how they overwinter.
  • Something Wild: Forest magic and fairy houses are not just for kids
    Chris and Dave make some fairy houses and discover how important imagination is in connecting kids, and adults, with nature.
  • Something Wild: Why we’re seeing more fireflies this summer
    Here’s why the third wettest spring on record in New Hampshire has made for a firefly renaissance this summer.
  • Something Wild: Appreciate the American beech
    It’s time to appreciate the iconic American beech tree; it comprises nearly 40% of our northern forests, and the species could be decimated by beech leaf disease.
  • Something Wild: What NH’s 'drowned forest' reveals about the past - and future
    Some relatively new discoveries, and new technologies, tell a remarkable story about New Hampshire’s ancient coastline and its rapidly-changing future.
  • Something Wild: Banding peregrine chicks in Manchester
    For 25 years, Something Wild host Chris Martin, a raptor biologist, has been banding peregrine falcon chicks as part of an effort to re-establish the population.
  • Something Wild: Rescuing NH's wild turtles
    Turtles are at high risk when seeking out nesting grounds, because they may have to cross roads. New Hampshire Turtle Rescue is the only facility in the state that rescues and rehabilitates injured turtles to return them to the wild.
  • Something Wild: Celebrate the swarms of black flies!
    Take solace in the fact that annoying black flies are a harbinger of clean water and abundant wildlife.
  • Something Wild: Home Tweet Home, a bird nest quiz
    How well do you know the nests of our feathered friends?
  • Something Wild: Big-toothed and trembling; some respect for poplars Player 2025-04-17 12:13
    Cottonwoods, along with related big-toothed and trembling aspens, are poplars, some of New England’s fastest-growing tree pioneers.
  • Something Wild: NH’s other foliage season
    Have you noticed the bright colors in the twigs and stems of early spring? It's subtle, but the wash of color on hillsides shows that some trees are getting a jump-start on photosynthesis.
  • Something Wild: Before the syrup comes the sap
    In addition to weather, the soil in which maple trees grow makes a difference in how much maple syrup can be produced and even how it tastes.