4.1) Animal Hibernation and Immigration

Another sign of the winter months, that nature changes as well when animals react to the upcoming plummeting temperatures, which is why in the fall the start to gather their winter food stores. 

We will have the bears as an example of an animal which hibernates.

Bear Hibernation facts:

During hibernation, the bears body temperature drops about five degrees, its heart rate drops from 40 to 70 beats per minute to 8 to 12 beats per minute, and its metabolism lowers by half. Incredibly, they do not eat, drink, urinate or defecate for the five to six months spent hibernating.

Hibernation is a way of adapting to short food supplies in winter. During the fall, brown bears eat practically around the clock, stocking up for the next four to seven months. They may eat 90 pounds of food per day. Bears may dig their own den or they may hibernate in natural caves.

Bear hibernation is part of a bear's annual cycle of activity, when its metabolic systems change and activity pauses for a period of time varying with the habitat's climate.

Another adaptation method is Immigration, mainly birds do this, as they fly south for the Winter, yet return in the spring.

Bird Migration

We look to blackbirds as a study of bird migration in winter.

Blackbird migration in winter

The blackbirds that live in northern Europe such as the Scandinavian countries, will fly south-west to spend the winter. The colder climate further north will make food hard to come by, so these birds may appear in the UK during autumn for our less severe winter. Some of the UK blackbirds do tend to migrate west and south between the fall and winter months to avoid the extreme weather temperatures in the winter.

Some birds visit us in the winter

Below is a list of many of the commonly seen birds of winter that will frequent backyards throughout the country during the snowy season:

House Finches.

House Sparrows.

Tufted Titmice.

American Goldfinches.

Pine Siskins.

Downy Woodpeckers.

Black-capped Chickadees.

Northern Cardinals.

Nature truly adapts to the seasons differently the ways to survive when there's slim pickings when looking for food.