Nature News
December 31, 2024
Nurturing Nature
By: Carol Suits
Liberty Wildlife Volunteer
What does wildlife do when it's cold?
Now that winter is here, Kid Stuff asks, what does wildlife do when it gets cold out? Have you ever heard of hibernation or migration or brumation? This list explains some of the actions animals and insects need to take to survive in winter.
Hibernation: Some animals enter a deep sleep for the winter, where they use very little energy. Bears, skunks, chipmunks, and some bats hibernate.
Migration: Some animals move to warmer places where food is more plentiful. Birds often migrate south for the winter.
Adaptations: Some animals grow thicker fur or feathers to keep warm.
Storing food: Some animals store food for later in the winter, such as squirrels collecting nuts or mice and beavers storing food in their homes.
Making dens: Some animals make warm dens, such as skunks, or burrow underground where the soil doesn’t freeze.
Staying active: Some animals, like deer, squirrels, and rabbits, stay active in the winter. They may live in holes in trees or under the ground to stay warm.
Brumation: Cold-blooded animals like reptiles and amphibians enter a state of inactivity called brumation
Diapause: Some insects stop all body processes and freeze until the weather warms up.
Watch these videos! I especially like the one that shows how animals slow down their breathing and heart rate during hibernation!
Superhero Club News
December’s meeting was all about FEATHERS and the many ways birds use them.
Using the book, Feathers, Not Just for Flying by Melissa Stewart, with pictures by Sarah Brannen, we talked about feathers birds use to make nests soft, keep birds dry, and in the winter, keep them warm.
We visited the Liberty Wildlife Non-Eagle Feather Repository and Director, Robert Mesta, where we could touch feathers and learn more about them.
Robert shows how a bird’s down feathers help keep it warm in the winter.
After the visit, the Superheroes made feather holiday ornaments.
They were careful to use only non-native feathers approved by Robert.
Puzzles!
Enjoy a feather jigsaw plus a new year jigsaw!
Meet our Education Ambassadors!
The Red-tailed Hawk (RTH) is one of the most widespread soaring hawks throughout North and Central America. They are the most common hawk found in Arizona. Odds are that large raptor you see sitting on a telephone pole is a RTH. There are 14 different subspecies color variations, the most common in Arizona is the Western RTH with brick-red tail, dark bar at the leading edge of the underlying, and a light buff-colored body with dark streaks across the lighter belly. They weigh 1-1/2 to 3 pounds.
The RTH is one of the most-commonly injured raptors admitted to Liberty Wildlife, with a variety of injuries. Liberty has 8 nonreleasable RTH Education Ambassadors.
Duncan
Duncan came to us in 2002 as a 1st year bird. He was found with a broken wing along the side of a road in Duncan, AZ. The break was not repairable. He has become a favorite for his proud good looks and cooperative demeanor.
Chaco
Chaco came in 2003. She had been taken illegally from her nest and raised by humans, therefore she is imprinted. Chaco is called a rufous-morph RTH, her dark coloring occurs in about 10% of the RTH population. She is fully flighted and part of Liberty’s on-site flight program as well as our flight program at the Hyatt Gainey every Friday at 4 p.m.
Scout
Scout came to us in 2013 as a 1st year bird with an impact injury to his head from a golf ball at a golf course. The head trauma had a lasting influence on his behavior, becoming unafraid of humans plus lingering effects from the damage.
Others
Other RTH Education Ambassadors you will meet at Liberty are: Arya (arrived 2014), Ryder (arrived 2020)), Skye (arrived 2004), Bagheera (arrived 2009), and Emmit (arrived 2015).
Come on down to visit and hear their stories!!
**previously published November 2022
Winter Nesters
By: Gail Cochrane
Liberty Wildlife Volunteer
In December you find many humans stringing glittering lights, drawing up gift lists and attending holiday parties. In the parallel universe of nature, a few species of wild birds are already making equally fevered preparations for mating season. These desert species find it advantageous to breed in the winter months, and experts see the season getting earlier every year.
Great horned owls are among the most conspicuous early nesters, hooting repeatedly at dusk and dawn, advertising their territories and wooing mates. It’s a bit of a misnomer to call this impressive predator a nester though, as great horned owls generally don’t build nests. Instead, they make use of nests built by other species, often red-tailed hawks. The hawks will be nesting soon though, so it’s a good plan for GHOs to move in early.
In urban and suburban areas of the Valley of the Sun, palm trees and man-made structures often provide what seem to be ideal nesting ledges. But these nest sites may lead to trouble when the fledglings begin “branching”. Great horned owl fledglings get adventuresome and start pushing and shoving a bit in the nest as they grow, often ending up on the ground. The parents continue to feed and guard them during this awkward stage, but if there is a busy street or other hazardous situation nearby, a baby owl may require rescue.
Great horned owls mate for life and hold the same territory year after year if possible. Courtship begins in late November or December, with the two owls bowing to each other and hooting duets. The male brings tasty morsels to the female in attempts to further impress. Sometime between January and March the eggs are laid and the female settles in to incubate while her mate takes over hunting duties.
Another December nester from the opposite end of the size spectrum is Anna’s hummingbird. This tiny bird engages in dynamic courtship displays, with the male hovering, giving a buzzy song, then shooting high in the sky before diving back toward the female. He may also zoom back in forth in front of her, impressing his potential mate with his stellar flight abilities.
Anna’s that winter in cold weather areas benefit from the extremely well insulated nests they build. Temperatures inside the nest can be 40 degrees warmer than outside. This keeps the eggs warm and helps the female conserve energy. Within two weeks of hatching a baby hummer has grown a downy coating of feathers that allows it to maintain its own body temperature.
Other winter nesters begin the mating process in January and February, including Harris’s hawks, red-tailed hawks, barn owls, Costa’s hummingbirds and members of the dove family.
More from Nature News
© 2025 Liberty Wildlife - Privacy Policy