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A “snag” is a standing dead tree. If it does not have the potential to fall on any buildings, a snag can be a good thing to have. And, the removal of any tree can be very expensive. Snags make excellent habitats for owls, bats, insects and other fascinating creatures. All the residents of your [...]

Our forests are finely attuned to seasonal changes in weather. Cold damage, like fire damage, is a natural disturbance that strongly affects ecosystems. Ice storms may break the branches of trees or cause them to fall completely. Winter rains soften the ground so that tree roots loosen their grip, ice weighs heavily upon their upper [...]

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Mid-winter is the perfect time to put out a birdhouse. Even though there is still snow on the ground in many places and many bird species are still far to the south, it’s not too early. Chickadees, bluebirds, screech owls and woodpeckers are among the bird species that will [...]

Plants have evolved very unique and diverse ways of surviving cold weather. Most flowering plants in North America’s temperate climate lose their leaves or die back to the ground and live off of stored food. Water plants are a slightly different story. On the surface of the water, there is no protection from freezing temperatures. [...]

On February 2, Punxsutawney Phil – the famous weather-predicting groundhog – will emerge from his burrow at Gobblers Knob in Pennsylvania to make his prediction about our winter weather. Scientists know that groundhogs in Pennsylvania hibernate for about 100 days, from November to February.  But what if Phil lived in South Carolina…or Maine? Believe it [...]

There are several easy ways to ensure that your landscape can support native bird populations in winter. One thing that birds look for in winter is a large supply of high-energy foods. These are easily provided by plants that produce edible berries, nuts and seeds. Some great native berry-producers are Viburnums, Sumacs, Dogwoods, Waxmyrtle, and [...]

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Winter is a great time to get outside and go wildlife watching!  Some wild animals migrate south and some hibernate until spring, but a lot of creatures tough out the weather and are easy to see at this time of year.
Viewer Tip: With no leaves on the trees, your [...]

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Monday, December 14 marked the beginning of Audubon’s annual Christmas Bird Count. The Count runs through January 5, 2010.
The first Christmas Bird Count (CBC) took place on December 25, 1900 – 27 participants counted and identified about 18,500 birds, mostly in the northeastern U.S. Last year, over 2100 counts were completed and [...]

The southeastern United States is one of the most highly populated areas in the nation. As more people move to the area, there is increased pressure on our freshwater resources. Pollution from rain water runoff is perhaps the most significant threat to freshwater.  Eroded soils clog fish gills, smother eggs, destroy aquatic habitat and generally make a river [...]

All animals need food, water and shelter throughout the year. Constructing habitat boxes is a great way to help. New England Wild Flower Society added several of these hanging, open-ended boxes to the Wildlife Garden at Garden in the Woods in Framingham, MA, this year. They are partially filled with objects like branches and broken [...]

Many people believe that late fall and winter are times of scarcity for wildlife, which may prompt them to leave feed out for deer. The reality is that local wildlife is well-adapted to our climate and capable of surviving without our help. In fact, feeding deer can be harmful to them by enticing them to [...]

When it’s chilly, we pile on thick coats and wool socks to keep warm. But what do the creatures living on our beaches do to cope with the cold? Intertidal invertebrates like starfish and sea anemones can be exposed to very cold air during high tide. Between high and low tide, they experience large changes in [...]

Invasive plants are species of plants that are not native to a specific region. Often they grow fast, spread easily and displace other plants. Invasive plants tend to grow in places where vegetation has been removed and the most aggressive invasive plants can actually invade existing ecosystems. Invasive plants are generally undesirable because they are [...]

Insects are cold-blooded. Without the ability to generate heat like mammals do, they must rely on other ways to keep from freezing to death. When days shorten and temperatures drop, insects begin preparing to survive the cold. They fatten up, stop moving, slow their metabolisms and live on stored energy until spring. Ants and termites [...]

We don’t often associate the desert with trout habitat, but the gila (HEEL-a) trout, or “trout of the desert,” is a unique species that lives in the arid climate of Arizona, New Mexico and Utah.  Unfortunately, the gila trout has suffered severe population declines over the past 100 years and currently occupy only a fraction [...]

Fall is here and wild animals are prepping for the winter. Some species migrate to warmer places, and not just birds. Monarch butterflies, dragonflies and even some mammals migrate south in the fall. Other species grow thick winter coats to stay warm. In the case of the artic fox, snowshoe hare and short-tailed weasel, those [...]

The change of seasons is an important influence on animal behavior. Whether it’s the hot season turning cold or the dry season turning wet, wildlife has to adapt to survive. One strategy is migration. Songbirds, waterfowl, raptors and hummingbirds travel north and south each year, some as far as the tropics! Caribou and pronghorn shift [...]

The change of seasons is an important influence on animal behavior. Whether it’s the hot season turning cold or the dry season turning wet, wildlife has to adapt to survive. One strategy is migration. Songbirds, waterfowl, raptors and hummingbirds travel north and south each year, some as far as the tropics! Caribou and pronghorn shift [...]

The change of seasons is an important influence on animal behavior. Whether it’s the hot season turning cold or the dry season turning wet, wildlife has to adapt to survive. One strategy is migration. Songbirds, waterfowl, raptors and hummingbirds travel north and south each year, some as far as the tropics! Caribou and pronghorn shift [...]

The change of seasons is an important influence on animal behavior. Whether it’s the hot season turning cold or the dry season turning wet, wildlife has to adapt to survive. One strategy is migration. Songbirds, waterfowl, raptors and hummingbirds travel north and south each year, some as far as the tropics! Caribou and pronghorn shift [...]