A weekly feature on the timing of outdoor occurrences
Tree and shrub buds are truly incredible things. In the late summer and through the fall, while our eyes may be transfixed by the phenomenal shades of reds, oranges, and yellows that make that time of the year iconic in New England, there is an equally magical display happening in miniature. Now, you can unleash some of that magic indoors.
For the animals that stay active in winter, finding food, staying warm enough, and getting ready for mating season are the priorities. Any energy wasted on something else can be a fatal mistake. Knowing this, our black-capped chickadees have a complex social structure that helps prevent wasting energy from arguing in the winter.
Not all birds migrate away from Maine’s cold winter; some birds migrate to Maine as their winter respite from a much darker, colder season farther north.
Why are ice and snow slippery enough to allow skates and skis to glide over them?
There are few sounds that conjure up a feeling of profound wilderness quite like the yodel and cry of a lone loon in the pitch black of a summer night. But now, across our frozen lakes and ponds, echoes not a single mournful wail of a loon. Surely the air-breathing loon isn’t hiding under the ice like a fish, nor is a loon nest as fortified against the elements like that of a beaver. So all this begs the question: Where do our loons go in the winter?
Snow flies spend most of the year in the dark subterranean world, but on some of our coldest winter days, these adult flies come out to enjoy some sunshine and a brisk walk on the snow’s surface.
Learn about the science behind the delicate ghostly wisps of sea smoke appearing and disappearing in the arctic cold just above the ocean’s surface.
Like their local weasel relatives, minks stay active year-round. They are adept swimmers, allowing them to hunt for fish, frogs, and other aquatic animals underwater. But like us, they know the value of stocking up food for the winter and taking advantage of a big meal when they can.
Needle ice can take the rather banal form of crunchy ground on a cold morning, but it can also heave and deform the surface to reveal an explosion of ice crystals making elegant curls, sweeping arches, and even hold up a cap of frozen gravel.
Picture a wet duck standing on ice or paddling through sub-freezing ocean waters. How is it that their skinny feet, without fat or feathers for protection, don’t freeze? And what about the legs and feet of hooved mammals?
