Ecology Blueprints

Where Wildlife, Humans, & Ecology Meet

Ecology Blueprints explores the interconnected systems that link wildlife, humans, and their habitats—through science, observation, and hands-on learning.

Start with the systems below.

Why start with systems instead of species?

Because no organism exists alone. When you understand food webs, habitat, and pressure, the species make sense. Ecology isn’t about memorizing animals—it’s about understanding relationships and outcomes.

Nest Sites: Owls Don’t Build Nests—They Choose Them

Owls don’t build nests, they choose them. This lesson reframes nesting as a survival strategy, showing how different owl species select sites that protect owlets from weather and predators, stay close to food, and reduce disturbance, and why those choices can decide whether chicks survive to fledge.

February 23, 2026
By Chris Anderson
What Is That “Worm” on My Pellet?

When you open an owl pellet and find a tiny “worm,” it’s not a mystery monster. It’s a clothes moth larva, turning hair and fur into its lunch, and revealing that an owl pellet isn’t just evidence of a food web, but a tiny habitat of its own.

February 11, 2026
By Chris Anderson
Black Bear Day: If Winter’s Forecast Came From the Forest’s Real Heavyweight

What if Groundhog Day had a better forecaster? Instead of a groundhog guessing at shadows, this post explores how the American black bear actually “reads” winter using real ecological cues like food availability, snow, temperature patterns, and day length, turning folklore into a smart lesson about adaptation, energy budgets, and seasonal survival.

February 06, 2026
By Chris Anderson
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