We had been portaging canoes through ephemeral swamp channels for two days after crossing from oil palm plantations into virgin forest along the east coast of Sumatra. We used the skeletons of dead trees to gain footing in mud that pulled us down to our waists and the tropical heat caused the mud to dryContinue reading “Rare Crocodilian Skull in the Jungle”
Category Archives: Uncategorized
Great Migration
October 9, 2023 12:20 pm Massive rivers and kettles of raptors are migrating over the Texas A&M University-Kingsville campus. Tens of thousands of birds swirling like black clouds. Swainson’s hawks, broadwings, black vultures and other unknowns are mixed in the groups. One of the most incredible migratory spectacles I’ve ever seen. They are headed downContinue reading “Great Migration”
Western Diamondback Rattlesnake
Due east of Las Vegas, New Mexico, the southern Rocky Mountains drop off into the Great Plains. Yellow and brown grasses bend to the harsh winds that flow across the landscape daily. Although the grasslands seem to extend unobstructed for hundreds of miles, there is another dramatic change in the landscape, where grasslands give wayContinue reading “Western Diamondback Rattlesnake”
A Butterfly Emergence in Nuevo Leon
In mid-september, after many weeks of 100+ degree temperatures, the summer temperatures finally broke. A storm front brought cooler temperatures and the first bit of rain that we had seen in weeks. We lived at the base of mountain range on the south side of Monterrey, Mexico, just a five minute walk from hills coveredContinue reading “A Butterfly Emergence in Nuevo Leon”
Idaho Panhandle Elk
November 5, 2022 The day before brought in three or four inches of snow, followed by rain and sleet in the afternoon. During the night a windstorm swept through the forest, and the logging roads were blocked by the snapped tops of douglas fir, grand fir, and western larch. The larch needles were beginning toContinue reading “Idaho Panhandle Elk”
New Mexico Black Bear
Black bear in New Mexico’s backcountry. Sangre de Cristo Range, August 2021.
Welcome to Empty Forests
Welcome to the new blog and podcast. We will be providing science communication and discussions on wilderness, wildlife and human-wildland relationships and the challenges of natural resource management in a changing world.
Empty Forests 