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Saturday, February 20, 2021
The Observer & Baker City Herald
W ILDLIFE
V ERSUS
W EATHER
Christopher Bruno/Contributed Photo
The common raven relies on carrion for much of its food during the winter.
■ Species use a variety of tactics to withstand wintry
conditions and adapt to the limited availability of food
H
ere we are again, on the
far side of the winter
solstice, hunkered beneath
a blanket of freezing fog and snow.
Our latitude offers approximately
eight hours of daylight early in
the calendar year. And, while most
humans seek winter shelter in our
heated homes and celebrate holiday
feasts, wildlife experience a greater
challenge, making due with what
Mother Nature provides (or doesn’t),
and relying on innate strategies to
see the winter through.
Animals are keenly attuned
to environmental cues like photo
period (day length) which drive their
responses to the changes in seasons.
Similar to putting on your winter
coat, mammals such as squirrels,
bear, deer and elk grow a coat of
hollow, insulating fur and seek to
fatten up, devoting more time and
attention to foraging. Bears go into
hibernation while elk and mule deer,
and songbirds, make winter migra-
tions to warmer climes and more
abundant food sources.
Nut-bearing trees in our local
communities feed populations of
non-native eastern fox squirrels.
Glancing around town, you will
likely notice these orange, bushy-
tailed tree rats scurrying, digging
and burying all fall. Squirrels can
stash up to 10,000 nuts for winter
forage, creating caches in hollow
trees and other convenient hiding
spots, like your home attic.
Songbirds that overwinter locally
feed tirelessly throughout our short
winter days. Weed seeds, nuts and
berries are typical wild food sources,
supplemented by our home bird
feeders. High-energy foods like
sunfl ower seeds are a staple in their
daily diets.
Songbirds reduce their body
temperature at night to avoid exces-
sive energy expense to keep warm.
As the sun rises, a fl ush of activity
occurs for several hours as they
National Park Service/Contributed Photo
A snowshoe hare spends its day hidden beneath snow-covered vegetation.
UPLAND
PURSUITS
BRAD TRUMBO
feed. Midday usually brings reduced
activity and short periods that will
have you wondering if the birds have
simply vanished, but the afternoon
rush will soon hit with another
fl urry of wings.
Critters like reptiles that cannot
regulate body temperature seek
winter shelter in burrows or covered
in mud where the ground tempera-
ture is warmer than the air. They
don’t require food, but must avoid
freezing. Some frogs even create
their own “anti-freeze” to avoid cell
damage.
Beavers stash food below the wa-
ter surface in case a freeze prevents
them from foraging, and their tails
store fat for the lean times. Chip-
munks cache food in their burrows
and remain below ground when the
weather is exceptionally rough.
The snowshoe hare may use a
burrow as well, and hares feed on
plants and twigs that they dig or
fi nd protruding from deep snow.
Brad Trumbo/Contributed Photo
A plump eastern fox squirrel gnaws on a walnut retrieved from its
winter stash.
Their large feet allow them to move
across the snow surface without
sinking in, reducing energy expense
for foraging and providing effi cient
predator avoidance.
While the hardships of winter are
evidenced by wildlife adaptations
for survival, these adaptations allow
species to thrive through freezing
temperature and deep snow, like the
snowshoe hare, which lives right
here in the Blues.
One of the more abundant and
well-distributed mammals in
North America, hares rarely starve.
Research suggests they maintain
consistent body mass throughout
the year. Their large feet, white
winter coats, and effi cient digestive
system allow hares to prosper on
minimal, and at times, poor-quality
food sources over the northern lati-
tude winter.
Ravens are another local example
of an animal that has adapted well
to winter living. During the warmer
months, ravens are active preda-
tors, as well as feeding generalists.
But when winter pickings become
slim, ravens turn largely to carrion.
Ravens have been documented fol-
lowing wolf packs, feasting socially
alongside them. Ravens are highly
intelligent and wary of novel food
sources, but trust the prey of wolves,
swooping in almost immediately as
the pack makes a successful kill.
Scientist and author Bernd Hein-
rich published a book titled “Ravens
in Winter,” presenting a surprisingly
captivating study on raven feed-
ing and social behaviors in New
England. Heinrich found that ravens
cache carrion when in abundant
supply and communicate openly
with fellow ravens, leading them to
new food sources.
While viewing the winter world
from the comfort of our heated
homes, it appears an inhospitable
place. It’s easy to anthropomorphize
the plight of wildlife from our under-
standing of discomfort and hardship.
Yet animals have the gig nailed,
surviving, adapting and thriving
with typical grace and beauty. Take
a snowy day walk in the forest or
even around town this winter. Stop,
look and listen to the feathered and
furred lives busy at work. And take
inspiration from their resilience and
resourcefulness, making the most of
what is provided every single day.
Brad Trumbo is a fi sh and wildlife
biologist and outdoor writer in
Waitsburg, Washington, where he also
actively serves the Walla Walla-based
Blue Mountain Pheasants Forever
chapter. For tips and tales of outdoor
pursuits and conservation, visit www.
bradtrumbo.com.
Sheep Shape
■ If you hope to hunt bighorns, you need to prepare in advance
Six bighorn sheep
stared down. All rams.
They had been bedded
when we hiked into
sight, watching us the
whole time. Now some
stood, some fed, turn-
ing their heads from time to
time, watching us watching
them.
Rocky Mountain bighorns,
lying in direct sunlight at the
very top of a rock slide in the
breaks of Hells Canyon. A
high, fi ssured cliff protected
the sheep from above and
six pairs of eyes watched for
danger’s approach from the
sides or below.
Two of the rams dwarfed
was carefully taken. A loose
stone might roll underfoot, a
ON THE
handhold could give way or
TRAIL
a rattlesnake might be coiled
beneath a ledge. We followed
GARY LEWIS
a sheep trail up, picked our
way across rock slides, clutch-
the rest. From their beds they ing at clumps of grass to keep
could watch the other sheep
balance on the treacherous
and our camp for signs of
slopes.
danger.
Up the canyon and high
But we were there to hunt above camp now, we scanned
black bear and soon our at-
the far hillside. More black
tentions turned to the green rocks and lightning charred
slope opposite. We loaded
stumps and green grass and
our rifl es and began the long fl owers. Not a bear to be seen.
climb around a cliff on our
We turned our attention to
side of the canyon to achieve our own slope once more.
a better vantage from which
Two more rams were feed-
to glass for bears. Each step
ing less than 200 yards away.
Gary Lewis/Contributed Photo
Bighorn sheep in their preferred rocky habitat in the Hells Canyon country.
We were above them this time 200 feet. From this range we
and they browsed along the
could see what they fed on,
hillside above a sheer drop of broad-leafed yellow fl owers,
bitterbrush and wild parsley.
See Sheep/Page 2B