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The Wisdom of Tribal Culture

Mention the word 'tribalism' and most people will respond with disparaging remarks about this mostly bygone era of human existence, typically labeling it as primitive, archaic, or backward. In its opening paragraph on the subject Wikipedia states, "With a negative connotation...tribalism can als...

by Lee Burton - The Outside Professor — May 24, 2025 anthropology hunter-gatherer kids in nature tribal culture

Raptors and Wake Hunting

After a brief introduction on the basics of bird language, I led fifteen students down a trail at a nature preserve to perform what is known as a bird language ‘sit’ (a term coined by Jon Young, author of What the Robin Knows). Not wanting to overwhelm anyone with too many instructions, I had as...

by Lee Burton - The Outside Professor — May 24, 2025 animal behavior bird language

Animal Tracking Video Tutorials

If you wanted to identify an animal that was accessing your your yard, moving through a hunting trail you frequent, or rummaging through your campsite at night, would you know how to confidently determine the species based solely on the tracks it left behind? For the vast majority of people liv...

by Lee Burton - The Outside Professor — May 24, 2025 animal behavior nature awareness wildlife tracking

Avian Territorial Aggression

Breeding season has begun in the southern parts of North America, where birds are now defining and defending territories. If you want to know where a mating pair's territory begins and ends, playing a song of a local species can tell you very quickly, as detailed in this article and audio from N...

by Lee Burton - The Outside Professor — May 24, 2025 animal communication bird language

Common Edible Yard Plants

Most people never realize how many food resources are literally right at their fingertips, especially with regards to edible plants and how straight forward it can be to prepare them. But with the right instruction, in a short period of time you can actually be in your yard or nearby green space...

by Lee Burton - The Outside Professor — May 24, 2025 edible plants foraging

What is Bird Language?

Defining animal language When we speak of animal language, we are referring to a coarse way of interpreting and understanding the inter-species communication around us. All higher animals/mammals communicate and depend upon messages and cues from each other for their survival. They do so in orde...

by Lee Burton - The Outside Professor — May 24, 2025 animal communication bird language nature awareness

When Outside Put Down Your Smartphone

In the 1980 movie The Gods Must Be Crazy, a member of the San Bushmen hunter-gatherer tribe stumbles across a Coke bottle that was tossed out the window of a small plane. He takes it back to his village where it immediately garners everyone’s attention; at first villagers simply marvel at its ap...

by Lee Burton - The Outside Professor — May 24, 2025 mindfulness nature awareness

Understanding Animal Communication

For humans and other mammals, the process of learning language begins in the womb. Scientists know that even at an early stage of development, embryos pick up on the sound of their mother’s voice and others who are nearby. In the case of homo sapiens, having a complete understanding of what is b...

by Lee Burton - The Outside Professor — May 24, 2025 animal communication anthropology bird language

Guide to Best Survival Books

A strange phenomenon often happens with survival training; people just don't approach it like they would any other topic. If they want to understand how they can be more healthy or treat a medical condition, they seek the advice of a doctor. When they want to buy or sell a house, they hire a rea...

by Lee Burton - The Outside Professor — May 24, 2025 survival training wilderness survival

Wildlife Tracking and Awareness

Today the majority of people who live in the western world visit the outdoors for recreational pursuits (hunting, fishing, birding, exercise, etc.) or just for the purpose of relaxation. Whether it be in a park, local nature preserve, or a wilderness setting, we relish taking in beautiful vistas...

by Lee Burton - The Outside Professor — May 24, 2025 animal behavior nature awareness wildlife tracking

How to Survive Winter Storms

In February of 2023, we had a major ice storm where I live in central Texas that caused much disruption including power outages, downed trees, and other problems. This came on the heels of a major winter storm two years prior that included an ice storm, two large snowfalls, and ten consecutive d...

by Lee Burton - The Outside Professor — May 24, 2025 survival training winter storms

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