Nature Net News
Your source for tips
& tricks for exploring nature with your kids
November 2010
Preparing for Winter
"'Hear! hear!' screamed the jay from a
neighboring tree, where I had heard a tittering for some time, 'winter
has a concentrated and nutty kernel, if you know where to look for it.'"
Henry David Thoreau
Dear Reader, Have you ever been scolded by a scurrilous squirrel for getting too close to its cache of nuts? Have you seen the birds gathering in flocks to move where the warm weather is? Have you noticed your pets' and other animals' fur lengthening or thickening to protect them from the winter temperatures? It's the time of the year when everyone is getting ready for the air to chill and the snow to start falling! Yes, it is that time of year when everyone starts preparing for winter. In this issue of Nature Net News, learn about different adaptation techniques--from hibernation to migration, make a birdfeeder, and read some fun books for the season. Enjoy! Kathe & Brenna |
Mice, voles, and shrews live under the snow during winter. They travel through tunnels they make. That is why sometimes you'll see foxes jumping headfirst into the snow. The foxes' sensitive ears can hear the scurrying of rodents underneath!
What to Do This Month:
Try and spot animals preparing for winter. Where is that squirrel storing its nuts? Is your pet growing longer fur for winter? Has the rabbit started changing colors yet?
Tricks of the Trail for Parents:
Nippy Weather
Winter is close in coming! Make sure when you take observation walks that you and your little ones are properly dressed for the weather. Hats and scarves help protect small faces from the winter winds!
Instant Outdoor Expert:
What Do Animals Do When Winter Comes?
Some animals, like many birds, caribou, elk, fish, and butterflies, move to warmer climates. This is called migration. Other animals, like rabbits and weasels, grow new coats of fur or added fat to help them cope with colder temperatures. Still others hoard food that will be scarce later, like squirrels and beavers. Some start eating new foods entirely (for example, bark instead of grass), like deer, foxes, and rabbits. These processes are called adaptation. Some animals, such as bears and skunks, eat a lot of food before winter and then sleep straight through. This is called hibernation. Aquatic animals, such as fish, frogs, & turtles, usually burrow in the mud or under logs at the bottom of a lake, becoming dormant. Cold water has more oxygen than warm water, so they breathe by absorbing oxygen through their skin and do not drown.
Featured Nature Net Site
Nature Craft
City of Madison Parks
The
City of Madison Parks Division Conservation Section
has fourteen different and unique conservation parks. Conservation parks differ
in how they are managed and why the land was acquired. Their goal is to restore native plant and animal communities while providing education areas and opportunities for everyone.
Visit a conservation park near you to see animals preparing for winter!
Feed the Birds
What you need: pinecones, birdseed, peanut butter
(Crisco works if you are allergic to peanut butter), butter knife, paper
plate, and string.
1. Tie 8" string around middle of pinecone. Make a loop.
2. Pour birdseed on plate.
3. Take knife and spread peanut butter or Crisco over the pinecone. Be sure not to get peanut butter on the loop part of the string!
4. Roll peanut butter-covered pinecone in plate of birdseed, making sure to cover all the peanut butter with seed.
5. Hang your bird feeder on a tree branch, preferably
outside a window so you can see the birds come and enjoy it!
Suggested Reading:
"Winter Lullaby" by Barbara Seuling (baby-preschool)
"Time to Sleep" by Denise Flemming (baby-8)
"When Winter
Comes" by Nancy Van Laan (preschool)
"The Busy Little Squirrel" by Nancy Tafuri (preschool)
"Every Autumn Comes the Bear" by Jim
Arnosky (preschool-8)
"How and Why
Animals Prepare for Winter" by Elaine Pascoe (4-8)
"What Do Animals Do in
Winter?: How Animals Survive the Cold" by Melvin Berger (4-8)
"Nuts to You!" by
Lois Ehlert (4-8)
"Waiting for Winter" by Sebastian Meschenmoser (4-8)
"Animals in the Fall" by Gail Saunders-Smith (9-12)
