Nature Net News
January 2008
Winter Adaptations
"It is a wholesome and necessary
thing for us to turn again to the earth and in the contemplation of her
beauties to know of wonder and humility."
Rachel Carson
Dear Reader, It is truly amazing. In the snow and on the ice, birds perch on the feeders, hop on the ground and grip frozen branches, seemingly oblivious to the frigid temperatures. How do they do it - without benefit of warm boots, a roof, and central heating? Our animal friends have some amazing ways to survive winter's woes. Check out this month's Nature Net News to find out more about animals' amazing abilities to survive the season and what you can do to make yourself winter-worthy as well! Enjoy! Kathe & Betsy |
When winter sets in, many animals adapt to the cold, including the red fox who becomes more diurnal (active in the day), changes its diet (from insects and fruit to rodents), and caches food for later consumption?
What to Do This Month:
Find fun ways to attract and feed birds this winter.
Figure out who's been trekking through your yard or local park by looking for tracks in the snow.
Pick up a Winter Nature Passport and explore your favorite Nature Net sites!
Learn about winter storms.
Check out the Nature Net Calendar of Events for family fun this month.
Tricks of the Trail for Parents:
Layers for Winter Players
Not enough fur to keep you warm in the outdoors this season? Unfortunately our bodies are not naturally adapted (like animals') to being outdoors for long periods of time. We need a little help. The best way to dress for winter is to wear layers, giving you flexibility to add or remove layers depending on the weather and your activity. In general, the three main layers are:
Wicking layer: Worn next to your skin, classified as long underwear, the wicking layer should fit snugly next to the skin in order to effectively wick moisture. Look for thermal underwear made of a synthetic fiber that will draw moisture away from the skin and pass it through the fabric to evaporate.
Insulating layer: This middle layer, which includes sweaters, sweatshirts, vests or pullovers, should keep heat in and cold out by trapping air between the fibers. Fleece maintains its insulating ability even when wet and dries quickly and wool naturally wicks away moisture. But, avoid cotton as it tends to retain moisture.
Protection layer: A warm, waterproof coat and snow pants should repel snow, sleet or rain and block the wind. And don't forget a hat, gloves and toasty socks!
Instant Outdoor Expert:
Surviving the Cold
Ask a classroom of third graders what animals do in the winter and you'll inevitably get knowing responses of "hibernate" or "migrate". Often the many animals who "tough out" the winter are overlooked. And while hibernation and migration are indeed amazing feats of energy amassment, storage and use, animals who spend winter bearing temperature extremes and food scarcity are equally amazing. Masters of adaptation, many mammals, like bats, moles, shrews and opossums, will accumulate brown fat which actually produces heat without muscle movement (shivering). Some mammals, like hares, deer and weasels, change their coat to include hollow (and in some cases white) hairs which provide a greater insulative value. Others, like squirrels, deer mice, foxes and weasels, become master cache-makers and keep nourishment stored for dire times.
Birds also accomplish some amazing feats of adaptation in order to survive our blustery winters. Not only are they champion feather fluffers (which provides an insulating layer of air), they also grow up to 50% more feathers from their summer-time plumage. While birds cannot produce brown fat as some mammals do, they can put on an insulative layer of energy-packed white fat - and they are expert shiverers. Near constant shivering actually helps regulate their body temperature to just over 100°F through a process called thermogenesis. And in the cold of night, birds will go into a self-induced state of unconsciousness (torpor), using hypothermia to their advantage, in order to conserve heat and save up to 20% of energy consumption.
Learn more about how animals survive winter from the Canadian Encyclopedia.
Ready for a Winter Wildlife Quiz?
Eco-Exercise:
Animal Antics
Children love to imitate animal behavior. Ask your child to observe winter birds and then try hopping around in the snow like a chickadee. Keep the activity going by asking "How many times can you hop?" "Can you hop from the porch to that tree and back?" etc. Now imitate other winter animals like the fox, the rabbit or great horned owl. How will you keep warm?
And don't forget, now is the perfect time for special outdoor activities: ice skating, sledding, and making snowmen! - the snow won't be around forever, so go out and take advantage of these neat activities before its too late!
Featured Nature Net Site
Nature Craft
Lussier Family Heritage Center
The Lussier Family Heritage Center is a year-round
Dane County Parks facility located in the heart of Lake Farm Park. The
Heritage Center is available for education, recreation,
volunteerism, meetings and special events. It provides families access to the Capitol City State Biking
& Hiking Trail and the Nine Springs E-Way and Ski Trails. Be sure to
visit the Centers' observation deck overlooking expansive wetlands and
a magnificent native prairie. Though summer-time offerings include a boat
launch, picnic grounds
and campgrounds, winter-time at the park also offers ample opportunities,
including hiking, bird watching, animal tracking, wildlife observation, and
the use of miles of well-groomed cross-country ski trails.
For more information about skiing the trails at Lake Farm Park, call (608) 242-4576 or plan your route with the Ski Trails Map (.pdf)
Seed Feed for the Birds
When winter birds awake from their night-time torpor,
they are in critical need of replenishing their stored fat in order to
make it through the following night. Make breakfast a cinch for your
feathered friends with these easy-to-make bird feeders.
With a pencil, poke a hole in the pointed end of an
ice cream cone. Twist a knot in the end of a pipe cleaner and thread
it into the ice cream cone and out the hole (the knot will hold the pipe
cleaner in place). Use the table knife to spread the peanut butter on
the outside of the cone (use soy nut butter or suet if you are concerned
about nut allergies). Now, press circle cereal (like Cheerios) into the peanut butter to cover the cone. Sprinkle birdseed over the the
entire thing, pressing it into the peanut butter with your fingers. Hang
in an area where birds can safely perch nearby.
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Suggested Reading:
"Oh!" by Kevin Henkes (age 2-4)
"When It Starts to Snow" by Phillis Gershator (age 2-6)
"Grandmother Winter" by Phyllis Root (age 2-8)
"In the Snow: Who's Been Here?" by Lindsay Barett George (age 3-6)
"When Winter Comes" by Nancy Van Laan (age 3-6)
"Backyard Birds of Winter" by Carol Lerner (age 4-8)
"Bird Watch" by Jane Yolen (age 4-8)
"Animals in Winter" by Henrietta Bancroft (age 4-8)
"Big Tracks, Little Tracks: Following Animal Prints" by Millicent E. Selsam
(age 4-8)
"Time to Sleep" by Denise Fleming (age 4-8)
"It's Winter" (Celebrate the Seasons) by Linda
Glaser (age 4-8)
"What Do Animals Do in Winter?: How Animals Survive the Cold" by Melvin
Berger (age 4-8)
"Winter Moon" (Seasons of the Moon, Vol 2) by Jean Craighead George (age
9-12)
