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Local News


Getting Ready for Winter
By Douglas H. Domedion


Bald eagles migrate to open water areas.

Bald eagles migrate to open water areas.

Fall is here and a whole different set of activities has started for both nature and humans. The weather is cooling off and the days are getting shorter. These conditions trigger wildlife to start their preparation for winter.

Furbearers such as the foxes, raccoons, coyotes and etc. have begun to develop their winter “coats.” They won’t get their top prime fur until the beginning of November, but others such as the beaver and muskrat really don’t get their prime coat until even later. They all are getting their bodies in the best possible condition for the harsh weather to come. They seek the fall’s bounty of food to lay on the fat reserves to help them carry through the period of lower available food and harsh winter conditions.

Foxes and coyotes, although they don’t put on as much fat reserves that the raccoon does, are aggressively catching mice, rabbits, birds and even consuming nuts and fruits.

Beavers and muskrats go a step further and construct caches of food and winter homes. The muskrat either digs a burrow back into a high bank with the entrance being underwater so he can safely come and go from his den which is still under the ground but above the water level. Lacking a high bank, he will build a pile of cattails and vegetation from the marsh that goes above the water level. He will then chew an entrance into the center of this pile and then up above the water level where he will chew out a den. Here he can sleep, eat the food he hauls in and be protected from the weather and predators during the winter. When the water freezes over they can still come and go and swim under water to find food.

Beavers do the same thing if there is a high bank, or they will not build a house out in the water. They build their house from sticks, limbs and brush they have cut with their teeth and pack mud on it. They also construct a “feed bed” of limbs, from the preferred type they like to eat, under the water near the house so when things freeze over they will still be able to eat. Kind of like a outdoor refrigerator!

Deer have also started to grow their winter hair, which is hollow and will help them conserve heat during the winter. They are gorging themselves now on acorns, apples and other fruits to build up a layer of fat and tallow to sustain them during the winter when only poor-quality food is available to them.

Waterfowl handle winter by flying south to an area that has open water and abundant food. That’s pretty simple if you can fly. Some people do that too!

Other animals cope with winter by sleeping it off, usually in a protected area such as in a den in the ground or in a hollow tree. Bears, woodchucks, chipmunks and to a certain extent raccoons do this. Their heart rate and metabolism goes down and their bodies survive off the fat they accumulated before winter. Some, like the raccoon, become active during warm spells.

Reptiles and amphibians bury themselves in the ground and mud or under other ground cover to sleep off the winter. Insects go into a dormant stage sometimes actually freezing and then thawing out in the warmth of spring.

Even deer go into a period of very little activity during extreme cold weather to conserve energy. I have seen where deer have not moved from their bedding area for 3 or 4 days, only getting up to stretch and defecate. This is of course why it is important not to disturb deer during the bitter winter conditions; the energy they burn up when being spooked may not be replaced and could be the very calories that could help them survive until spring.

Birds of prey will generally fly to areas of better food conditions but some remain on their summer ranges if they can find food.

Turkeys are amazing winter survivors, using their long legs and large feet to scratch down into deep snow to find food. During period of extremely harsh storms they will stay roosted in the tree until the conditions improve.

Humans have it so much easier of course. When we need food we go to the refrigerator or store. If we get cold we put on more clothing or turn up the heat. When it’s nasty outside we stay in and watch TV and eat snacks!

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