Category: Winter

As the days grow longer and the sun feels a little warmer, it’s tempting to believe spring has finally arrived—until winter reminds us otherwise. Even so, the snow is melting quickly, the ground is beginning to thaw, and daytime temperatures are staying above freezing. Signs of the season are already here: water flowing beneath Hidden Brook, frogs calling on warm afternoons, and sandhill cranes returning overhead. Spring is on its way—winter just insists on one last dramatic goodbye.

The forest teaches us many things; we just need to know where to look and how to listen. The winter season brings the lesson of life and allows us to see movement of animals in a way that no other season can. While most animals are elusive and not always seen while hiking, the ground cover of snow allows us to understand activities of active, resident animals in our area through deer beds, middens, scat, and tracks.

Now that the snow is flying, so too are Snowy Owls. This highly mobile species breeds and winters further north than any other owl. Most people encounter them only when the birds have dispersed far south of their arctic breeding range. Indeed, the causes and patterns of their movements are not understood with certainty, though decades of banding, telemetry, and satellite tracking efforts, in conjunction with environmental data, are shedding new light.

Reconnecting with the Natural World Throughout the Winter Season By Anna Foster Program Director Going outside in the winter can sometimes seem like more trouble than it’s worth. When the […]

Tips for a Sustainable Holiday Season By Amy Shook, Naturalist Some of my favorite memories growing up are getting everyone loaded up into the car and driving to the Christmas […]

Nature Notes: Lake Level Changes: The Impact of Unpredictability in a Warmer Winter By Anna Foster, published February 4th, 2024 As we delight in above-average temperatures this January, it’s easy […]

Nature Notes: Snow Science By Anna Foster, published on December 1st, 2022 If you’re anything like me, you might have groaned when you saw the first dusting of snow two […]