Connecticut
Nature
Common Core Standards
PK.3.a. Daily and seasonal weather conditions affect what we do, what we wear and how we feel.
K.3.a. Daily and seasonal weather conditions affect what we do, what we wear and how we feel.
K.4.a. Humans select both natural and man-made materials to build shelters based on local climate conditions, properties of the materials, and their availability in the environment.
3.2.a. Plants and animals have structures and behaviors that help them survive in different environments
4.2.a. When the environment changes, some organisms survive and reproduce, and others die or move to new locations.
WILDLIFE IN WINTER
Written by Roaring Brook Nature Center, 70 Gracey Rd, Canton CT
When we think of winter in Connecticut, we think of cold, snow-covered
landscapes, short days and long nights, and hot soups and beverages to help us
keep warm. While most of us can go into a house or building to warm up, what
about the animals that must spend the entire winter in the out-of-doors? It turns
out that wildlife is well equipped to survive the winter season. Some animals
hibernate (sleep through the winter), some migrate (fly south to warmer climates),
while others remain active throughout the winter season. Some animals have
developed unique adaptations that allow them to survive.
Family
Did You Know?
In late fall, the wood frog, a common
Connecticut amphibian, crawls under leaves
where it freezes and thaws depending on the
air temperature. How does a frog freeze?
As its skin begins to freeze, special proteins
in the frog’s blood cause the water in the
blood to freeze, and water is drawn from the
cells into the body cavities. The frog enters
a state of suspended animation. When the
air temperature warms, the frog thaws,
blood flows and the frog becomes active
again. Scientists have been studying how
wood frogs freeze and thaw. Humans don’t
have these special proteins, so when our
skin freezes we get frostbite.
WHEN DO BEARS HIBERNATE?
Most mammals are active for all or at least
part of the winter season. Connecticut mammals that do hibernate
include woodchucks,
bats, jumping mice and,
of course, black bears.
Bears do not enter into
a state of hibernation
until temperatures drop
well below freezing for
an extended period of
time and snow covers the ground. Do not
be surprised to find bears knocking down the
backyard bird feeder well into January or until
winter weather conditions arrive.
Activities
Owls in Winter - Owl Moon by Jane Yolen is a wonderful story about a little girl
who goes out with her daddy to listen for great horned owls calling. The great
horned owl begins looking for a mate by the start of the New Year. Its deep,
resonant call can travel for a mile or more. By March, great horned owls in
central Connecticut may be sitting on eggs. They do not build a nest, but rather,
use an abandoned crow, hawk or squirrel nest in which to lay their eggs. Nesting owls should never be disturbed!
Owls can also be found by looking for owl pellets. Owls swallow their prey
whole, but cannot digest the fur and bones. Instead, these undigested parts
are rolled into pellets that are regurgitated. If you find owl pellets on the snow,
look up. There may be an owl in the tree branches digesting last night’s meal.
For an interesting activity, put on a pair of gloves and dissect the pellet to find
out what the owl has been eating!
Or, watch for crows calling loudly and dive bombing a pine tree or other tall evergreen. Owls will roost in these trees by day. If they are discovered, the crows
call loudly, attracting other crows, that will harass the owl in an attempt to force
it to leave the area.
Where to find Tracks - While it is easiest to find tracks in the snow, they can
also be found in sand or mud near ponds, streams and other wet areas. Take
a family field trip to Roaring Brook Nature Center (Canton), Westmoor Park (West
Hartford) or Northwest Park (Windsor) and look for tracks in the forests and fields.
WINTER ROBINS?
People are often surprised to
find robins in the yard in the
midst of winter. The robins
that can be found pulling
worms out of your lawn and
nesting in backyard shrubbery
during summer fly south and spend the winter season in the southeastern states. They
are replaced by hardy “winter robins” that
migrate south from Canada and northern New
England. As the ground freezes and worms
become unavailable, these robins feed on old
fruits and berries. In a good berry-producing
year like this one, thousands of robins may
spend the winter here in Connecticut. Watch
for them wherever there are old crabapples
and other fruit producing trees and shrubs.
TODAY’S RIDDLE
Q. How do you tell if a twig has been chewed
by a deer or a rabbit?
A. If the twig appears to have been cut (on a
slight angle) by a scissors, it is a rabbit. Deer
do not have any upper incisors (front teeth),
so they gnaw off the twig giving the end a
ragged look.