February On the Marsh
As the cold wind sweeps across Collins Marsh, it may appear lifeless and a bit
desolate, there is still activity to be seen and heard for those who take the time to
observe. Eagles and hawks grace the top of trees overlooking the snow-covered fields.
Late in the day, white-tailed deer visit the clearings and move about to search for food.
Squirrels are busy looking for food that they hid in the fall and cottontail rabbits feed late
in the day and through the evening hours to avoid predators. At night, if you listen
closely, owls may be talking from woodland to woodland, and you may hear coyotes in
the distance. Life continues, no matter how much snow we get or how low the
temperatures fall, the birds and animals that inhabit the marsh and local area have
adaptations that allow them to survive in this inhospitable winter season.
For birds, that adaptation is feathers, for mammals the secret to their ability to
survive is hair, several different kinds of hair that allow them to function and thrive using
the heat that their body can produce. They must continue to forage every day in order to
fuel and maintain their body heat no matter what the weather conditions. To survive
when the temperatures plunge, they have ways to stay warm. Hair or fur is a modified
trait that mammals use for survival.
White tailed deer, cotton tailed rabbits and squirrels are often seen on the
landscape even in the most extreme temperatures and it is because of their fur coat that
they seem quite comfortable even in the worst weather. They have different types of
hair or fur for different purposes. All of them have whiskers that allow them to sense
their environment even in the dark. They have a thick undercoat with hair that is very
fine and dense, able to trap air as insulation close to their skin.
They also have guard hairs that may be hollow, trapping even more air and
giving them a waterproof covering to stay dry in all kinds of conditions. These guard
hairs buffer the effect of wind, driving snow or rain. Mammals shed their coats
throughout the year and winter coats are often darker in color, allowing the animal to
take advantage of sunshine for daytime warming. Some mammals actually change color
to fit in with the white landscape as camouflage, for instance weasels that may be white
in winter.
It might seem surprising but cooling temperatures in fall are not the main signal
that tells these animals to grow a warmer winter coat. It is in fact the amount of daylight
that triggers the release of hormones signaling the need for hair growth to produce a
warm, thick, weather resistant winter coat. Nature is amazing and these animals are
proof of continuous adaptation to survive temperature and environment extremes.
