This winter, it was all about the hoar frost and the hair ice. The hair ice captured our eyes for sure – but if you’re anything like us, hearing the word “hoar” got your attention too!

Check out our video to learn the difference in these two types of winter phenomena as well as a third one – rime ice – and to see some awesome up close footage of these beautiful and somewhat rare natural wonders!

Or watch it on our YouTube channel here. To learn more about our videographer Hannah, click here!

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The night sky world has been abuzz with talk of the great Planet Parade of 2025! January skies brought us FIVE bright planets: Saturn, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Neptune, and Uranus! And into February the skies will add one more to the list – Mercury!

We had some clear skies in late January and were able to capture distant Uranus, Jupiter and even two of Jupiter’s moons: Europa and Ganymede! Sky and Telescope has an excellent tool for locating and identifying Jupiter and its moon given the time and date – check it out here!

Ganymede is largest moon in our solar system and the only one with its own magnetic field. Europa is the moon often depicted as our second home in many sci-fi movies – that’s because there’s evidence showing it has a large saltwater ocean and just might be our best bet to support life outside of Earth.

You can see most of these visible planets, including Jupiter, with the naked eye. But to see Uranus and Neptune, as well as Jupiter’s moons, you’ll need some strong binoculars or a telescope. We were able to capture our images with our Canon 100-500mm telephoto lens. While our photos aren’t high def or detailed, it was no less thrilling to be able to see our solar system’s largest planet and some of its moons.

Due to our location, we weren’t able to get Saturn – but you may still be able to just after sunset. Here’s a throwback to when we did capture Saturn back in 2023 with that same Canon lens. You can even see the rings! So exciting!

Did you see or capture any of the planets or other celestial bodies during the great planet parade? We’d love to see your photos! Tag us on socials and tell us how you were able to capture these distant neighbors!

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I spent a couple of days scouring the park for the best views to the West, holding up my phone to align the sun with the planner in my PhotoPills app and framing some potential compositions. I’m sure hikers thought I was desperately searching for a cell signal.

The first night, I settled next to a small pullout on the side of the road near the Arch Rock trail. The wide open expanses with minimal obstructions seemed the most promising for guaranteed comet sightings. The sunset was magnificent but seemed to drag on for eternity.

Then, after about 30 minutes, a ghostly white tail emerged, and I gasped in bewilderment! Finally, after 80,000 years, I got my first glimpse of comet Tsuchinshan–ATLAS! This icy solar body flies towards us from the cosmographic boundaries of our home system in the Oort cloud. It’s a leftover from the formation of our solar system, as all comets are believed to be, and it was finally in my field of view.

This particular night, October 12, was the comet’s closest approach to us Earthlings – a mere 44 million miles away. Sadly, this “long-period comet” didn’t linger very long. After about 20 or 30 minutes, it vanished behind the distant mountains on the horizon.

The next morning, I discovered an even more dramatic comet-viewing point – the base of Ryan Mountain. There I found a field of tall old growth Joshua Trees, with their spiny fingers curling up towards the stars. This would surely make for some striking foreground subjects in my comet photos. I returned about an hour before sunset to scout my ideal viewing spot, set up my gear, and practice framing some shots.

I didn’t mind the wait. Desert sunsets are glorious transformations. As the sun falls, the fiery hues of the day give way to the deep violets of the night. The fury of the burning air shifts to gentle cool breezes and the desert’s nocturnal inhabitants begin to emerge. The pressing silence of the stifling daytime temperatures is interrupted by the fluttering of bat wings here and there which gives way to occasional sounds of scurrying in the sand by the bunnies and various desert rodents and reptiles.

Venus is the first to greet me as we descend into darkness, a bright beacon to my left. Next, the bright orange star Arcturus begins to glimmer faintly to my right and I have my markers! I shift my focus to a small area between them, where I expect the comet to appear. And I wait with even greater anticipation than I did the night before.

Tsuchinshan–ATLAS appeared much higher in the sky this time – almost exactly halfway between Venus and Arcturus.

Its tail seemed to grow longer and the comet was more generous with its time on this second night – giving me the opportunity to explore my creativity AND work on getting some closeup shots!

This carbon depleted, cyanide emitting behemoth has a head or “coma” about 130,000 miles in diameter, with a tail reaching out about 18 MILLION miles! Just what causes the tail you ask?? Well, as the giant ball of ice passes by the sun, it gets roasted and baked. This causes gasses to blast off of the comet, dragging dust particles behind it and giving us quite a show!

After about 45 minutes, my time with Tsuchinshan–ATLAS began to wind down as it slipped closer and closer towards the mountainous horizon. I put away my camera and admired the comet while I pondered what those archaic homo sapiens thought when they saw Tsuchinshan–ATLAS blazing through the sky. What were their lives like, what worries did they ruminate over while staring up at the cosmos? Did they ever stop to look up that long? Did they even delve into philosophical issues such as the meaning of life like me and so many others?

I stood in this vast ancient desert, staring up into the sky with awe, as a member of that distant species – ancestor to us all – possibly did some 80,000 years ago and felt connected to them and to this timeless landscape. The comet has not only bridged space, but the centuries as well.

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Come with us as we take you up over 8400 feet elevation and through a magnificent alpine wonderland on this incredible Utah hiking trail – as a thank you for reaching 600+ subscribers on YouTube!

For our thank you videos, we like to break from our normal content style. So we hope you enjoy this Utah hiking trail asmr. All the sounds you hear – from the abundant birdsongs and wind shaking the aspen leaves to all the waterfalls – was recorded on the trail as we hiked. So it’s real-time, blissful, peaceful immersion! That being said, please excuse the few moments where you can hear our videographer breathing – the trails are real butt-burners with lots of elevation gain LOL!!

The prominent birdsong you’ll hear is the Warbling Vireo and a little MacGillivray’s Warbler except where otherwise noted in the video itself. (Spoiler alert: we got some great audio of the very elusive Hermit Thrush!) And be sure to keep an ear out for all the croaking frogs!

This area ended up being one of our ultimate favorite hiking destinations of all time! Let us know your favorite trails in the YouTube comments. Maybe we’ll feature it in our next thank you video (and give you a shout out of course)!

We truly are so grateful for everyone’s support of our little channel! Thank you so much for subscribing and we look forward to sharing more nature content and student conferences with you as we go along!

Or watch it on our YouTube channel here. To learn more about our videographer, Hannah, click here!

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Birding’s biggest day was May 11, 2024 and we had a special treat for everyone! We revealed a brand new birding hotspot! We were the first birding team to EVER bird at this location on a Global Big Day! Our team was lucky enough to do our bird count at California’s newest nature preserve and had the place to ourselves all morning!

We saw all of our target species and tons of others as well. This spot truly is a vital and vibrant stop for these migratory birds making their journey along the Pacific Flyway. Check out our videos below to get a glimpse of California’s latest wild space as well as our stats and favorite pics from the day!

So just in case you don’t follow along on all our socials – here’s our reveal video:

And if you’re curious about our stats and highlights from the Global Big Day count, here’s our results video that includes a look at the new preserve and some of our favorite bird photos of the day!

Or check out the videos on our YouTube channel here! To learn more about our lead birder, photographer, and videographer Hannah, click here!

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Tomorrow is birding’s biggest day – Global Big Day – and we’ve got a big surprise for you: a new location for a birding hotspot that’s NEVER been birded before on a Global Big Day!

Here’s a little sneak peak…can you guess where this new hotspot is? Let us know what you think in the comments and be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel and stay tuned to find out where we’ll be on tomorrow’s big birding adventure!

This year’s Global Big Day theme is insects and how important they are to birds. Join our birding team – The CurioCat Conservation Team – and bird with us virtually, even from your own backyard for a chance to be the top birding team of the day! Email hannah@thecuriocat.com for details. (more about our birding guru and media manager Hannah here!)

Here’s some helpful links if you’d like to learn more about Global Big Day (which is also World Migratory Bird Day) and other ways to participate!

https://ebird.org/news/global-big-day-2024

https://www.migratorybirdday.org

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Hundreds, if not thousands, of people flock to witness the splendor of the desert wildflowers. But humans aren’t the only super bloom enthusiasts that come out when Mother Nature bursts into life!

Get up close and personal with the wildlife that depend on these beautiful blossoms for spring feasts in our video!

We take you on a journey beneath the wildflowers to examine the lives of the White-lined Sphinx Moth larvae (aka Hummingbird Moths) and then up to the skies for a look at hundreds of migrating Swainson’s Hawks that visit during these abundant seasons – all in stunning 4k!

We’d like to give a huge shout out to Alicia and Hal with the Borrego Springs Hawk Watch – they (and their team) are incredibly knowledgeable and enthusiastic about the Swainson’s Hawks and the desert – it was truly a pleasure meeting you and learning from you! Thank you for all that you do for the wildlife! Learn more about them here!

Or watch it on our YouTube channel here. To learn more about Hannah, the videographer, click here!

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As a huge THANK YOU to our 500+ subscribers, here’s a behind-the-scenes look at a research adventure fail! We’ve spent countless days scouring the remote bogs of New England in search of the elusive and mighty moose.

We didn’t find any moose (yet!!), but we didn’t walk away empty handed either. Check out our latest video to see what it’s like to hit the trails with The Curio Cat and learn a little about these mysterious and crucial wetlands!

Dedicated to all our subscribers and followers – without you, this footage would’ve been locked away forever most likely! Thanks so much for all your support – this one’s for y’all!

The beginning quote comes from our photographer’s (Hannah) favorite photographer, Guy Tal – thanks for inspiring me to get out there, hit those trails, and live life to the fullest! See his work and get more inspo on his website: https://guytal.com/

Or watch it on our YouTube channel here. To learn more about our videographer, Hannah, click here!

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This compilation shows Elephant Seal life in all its wild, cute, chaotic glory in vibrant 4K! From moms and pups cuddling on the beach to giant bulls roaring and chasing each other around – these are some of our favorite clips that really capture the playful magnificence of these wonders of nature that we’ve grown to love!

We created this video as a thank you to everyone for helping us get to 400 subscribers – we truly appreciate all your love and support and taking time out of your day to watch our content! Y’all keep us going!

This footage probably never would’ve been published if it wasn’t for y’all so thank you again and we hope you enjoy watching them as much as we do!

Or watch it on our YouTube channel here. To learn more about our videographer, Hannah, click here!

The post Elephant Seal Chaos! appeared first on The Curio Cat.

Come with The Curio Cat as we take you around Bowdoin’s beautiful campus in idyllic Brunswick, Maine. The college boasts some famous graduates and presidents!

Considered one of the “little ivys”, Bowdoin is ranked 6th in the nation for Liberal Arts colleges by US News & World Reports. Learn more in our latest video while watching our tour of the stunning grounds and architecture in brilliant 4K!

Or watch on our YouTube channel here. To learn more about our videographer Hannah, click here!

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