If you think a winter season can be tough on people, imagine what it’s like for wildlife that’s exposed to it 24/7.Obviously over the eons the majority of species native to the northern climate regions such as ours have evolved to survive the coldest season, but occasionally a winter comes along that can severely test even the most hardy species.
While most wildlife is well equipped to handle below freezing temperatures, finding adequate food can become a far larger challenge. Since the majority of food wildlife depends on is located at or near ground level, deep snow makes finding and accessing it difficult. And if a heavy layer of crust forms on top of the snow, it makes it doubly difficult, plus wildlife must expend far more energy to find it, which is something they can ill afford to do in winter.
Our current winter season, although cooler than normal early on, hasn’t produced any major snowfall events locally, but rather small amounts almost daily of the fluffy kind that doesn’t impede wildlife from traveling or feeding. However this recent thaw and rain will no doubt cause a hard crust to form atop what snow we have, and that may spell trouble for many species of wildlife.
Although we often think of deer struggling to survive a harsh winter, they often fare better than other species since as long as they can reach browsing material such as briars and living softwood twigs such as poplar and maple, they can survive until spring. As many birders know, deer will often start visiting area pedestal-style bird feeders to gobble up leftover seeds such as black oil sunflower. They’re also partial to several types of decorative bushes such as yews and dwarf cedars.
Rabbits and hares are other species that do quite well during deep snow winters. With each fresh snowfall, they’re lifted a bit higher where they can nibble on a fresh supply of the bark and small branches of various saplings and bushes such as spruce, honeysuckle, willow and alder.
Most bird species do very well in harsher winters, the exceptions being wild turkey and ruffed grouse. Deep crusted snow prohibits turkeys from being able to uncover the buried seeds and acorns they prefer. And grouse can no longer seek warmth and shelter by diving into the soft snow, but must roost in conifers near aspen (the buds of which they feed on), making them more vulnerable to raptors and owls. The last resort winter survival food for turkeys is sumac. When you see more turkey flocks in sumac stands than fields, you can bet many won’t survive until spring.
Deep snow is a mixed blessing for predator species. A hard crust allows coyotes and foxes to remain atop without breaking through, but also makes locating and catching mice and voles more difficult. It may also allow coyote family packs to occasionally catch deer when the deer’s sharp hooves break the crust and slows its escape capabilities.
Of course some wildlife species survive by hibernating. Black bears, woodchucks, and chipmunks simply sleep the winter season away. Others, such as gray squirrel, raccoon, and skunk don’t truly hibernate but rather sleep in their dens during the coldest weather, but will also venture forth briefly whenever the temperatures rise. In this sense, those species somewhat remind me of some people I know.

Palin Keynote Speaker At Pro Hunting Convention
Sarah Palin will be the keynote speaker at the Safari Club International (SCI) convention on Jan. 29 in Nevada. The annual event sponsored by SCI, a pro-hunting group, is expected to draw approximately 20,000 spectators. The organization's website said that Palin will talk about her past hunting experiences, as well as how politics affects hunting and fishing industries.
Palin has been the target of several left-wing accusations following the Jan. 8 shooting in Tucson, Ariz., but the controversy is not keeping the Tea Party favorite from advocating for 2nd Amendment rights.
Tucson Tragedy- Another Example of Ignored Warning Signs
When an obviously deranged 22-year-old Jared Loughner opened fire on the crowd in Tucson, few knew anything about the man. But as increased investigation into his life became available, it should have been obvious that this was a tragedy just waiting to explode in violence. It seems that far more people knew of Loughner’s unstable and violent behavior long before the tragic events occurred. So why weren’t any steps taken that may have avoided it?
Sadly, we’ve seen this far too many times in the past. It seems that people, including some officials, “don’t want to get involved” or be the first to “blow the whistle” when they should know a person is tittering on the edge of insanity or committing violence. Rather they ignore all the warning signs until incidents like Tucson and Virginia Tech explode. Only afterwards do we begin to learn all the ignored warning signs leading up to those events and hear more finger-pointing to ban guns. Kind of reminds me of what would happen if the Stop DWI programs took a similar stance and demanded a ban on vehicles rather than stopping drunks from driving them.