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  • Writer's pictureOutdoorsy Anna

Snow - a beauty for us, but is it a beauty for the wildlife?

Updated: Feb 15, 2021


Silence.

In all my life I don't think I've ever experienced so much snowfall where I live, and it was beautiful. Snow almost softens the edges of life, a smooth blanket enclosing the earth around us, covering the fine blades of grass in a clumps of soft snowflakes that melt into each other underfoot.


I woke up that morning, wrapped up warm with my trusty beanie and headed out for my daily walk- but it soon turned into a run! I just couldn't help myself, running in the snow felt absolutely magical with the snowflakes wafting into my face, ordaining my beanie and normally, I run to exercise, but this, this was pure blissful joy.

So calm, and for just a moment everything felt so perfect I couldn't help myself so spent an extra half hour wandering in my local park afterwards, and it was here, where my world seemed to have been transformed.


I entered through the gates and where I usually see the young silver birch growing in a patch of soil in the centre of the footpath, I was instead met with a snow laden form among a sea of snow and leaves cocooned in these icy flakes.


True beauty. But it left me wondering, is this wonder reciprocated in the natural world? How helpful is snow to them?


Snowflakes form around dirt or dust particles in the atmosphere by attracting water droplets that have been supercooled (when water droplets are below freezing but not shifted into the solid state) and then freeze in a variety of different structures, increasing in size and changing in shape as they fall to the ground. Now what we in London have just experienced is that as ground temperature was below freezing, the snow didn't melt away unlike it normally does.

Luckily, this spell of snow wasn't long lived unlike the Beast from the East if you cast your mind back to 2018, which caused human disruption and also endangered the bird population due to the lack of supply of natural berries,seeds and nuts. This has unfortunately been a running issue since the Big Freeze in 1963 which resulted in many birds dying due to the unexpected cold conditions, and was similarly followed up by the freezing cold in the mid 1980's heavily affecting the blue tit and great tit population of Eastern England.

Our history is proof that ensuring that seeds are left out in our gardens and local parks for birds during winter (especially during the snow) is vital so that birds can still sustain their diet when nature's bounty takes a hit from the weather.

Birds, they need our input to help them through the winter, but what about the mammals, like the hedgehog, fox and rodents?

Well, around February time Hedgehogs are still in hibernation, so they have covered all bases in their warm underground hibernacula formed under hedges, in compost heaps or under sheds. However, if the temperature above ground falls dramatically and leads to the temperature in their hibernacula falling below freezing point, then ice crystals may form in their blood- slowing their circulation down even further and cause health problems.

Foxes however, with their bushy coat are able to survive in cold conditions without hibernation but as natural scavengers, the snow may make prey scarce as although hazel dormice hibernate, rats in the cold do not and may use buildings and sheds for shelter from the cold, and as most creatures move to protect themselves from the cold, it can be harder to find food for the foxes in the snow.

Snow doesn't make life any easier for our foxes, or quite frankly much of the wildlife but some are better adapted than others and dependent on their diet, some species are less harshly affected than others e.g the urban fox has adapted to scavenging in the cities and can take advantage of human leftovers compared to the red fox who has maintained a more natural diet may find less prey available to hunt.

There is no harm leaving out food for the wildlife, obviously ensuring that it is appropriate for the species (no milk for hedgehogs please!!!) and we all need to be mindful that nature doesn't have a tesco's nearby or a corner shop to pop into and as our planet is nature's home, we need to act as that local corner shop or tesco's throughout the year, and especially during the snow!

So here is your little feeding guide:

  • Birds – seeds, suet balls, mealworms, berries or chopped up fruits (apples, pears, plums)

  • Hedgehogs – minced meat, tinned dog/cat food (not fish-based), chopped boiled egg

  • Squirrels – hazelnuts, walnuts, chestnuts, sunflower seeds, chopped carrot

  • Badgers – Fruit (apples, grapes, pears), peanuts, dried dog food, mealworms

  • Small mammals – mixed seeds

  • Foxes- cooked or raw meat, tinned dog food, or specially-formulated fox food (Wild Things), or little treats like unsalted peanuts, fruit and cheese

Get feeding!


I hope you enjoyed this blog, and get outdoorsy!

Love,

Stefanie


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