WHERE DO OUR WHITE MOUNTAIN WILDLIFE HIDE DURING THE WINTER MONTHS?
By Matt Maloney
Once the cold air settles in and the snow-pack has thoroughly covered the frozen ground, a walkabout in the woods makes the existence of wildlife seem remote or even impossible. We emerge from our heated homes and cars, bundled up, ready to walk a trail, and perhaps wonder how an animal survives outside all winter. How does it find food and where does it go to survive? Wildlife survival in the harsh winter climate of these high mountains of New Hampshire is something to ponder.
Although not all individual animals make it through the winter, their species persist from winter to winter, showing the remarkable adaptability of life, even in an area where valleys can see 40 below while snow and ice cover everything in winter.
Here is a look at what some of our local wildlife does to make it through until spring. We’ve picked seven species to highlight a diversity of creatures.
WOOD FROG
OTTER
HERMIT THRUSH
BROOK TROUT
According to Clay Groves, a local fishing guide and chief executive fish nerd from the Fish Nerds podcast, “Brookies love the cold icy water; it’s high in dissolved oxygen and they get super active under the ice. Brookies are not hiding out waiting for spring—they are hunting and eating.
In lakes, they tend to cruise the shallows in small schools; they chase the bait fish into the corners under the ice and gorge themselves. We have seen trout through clear ice, swimming in water less than a foot deep in schools of up to 12 fish.” Groves adds that brook trout up in the high mountain streams of the region are also very active under the ice, looking for small fish and aquatic insect larvae to get them through to the next fish and insect hatches in the late winter, when they’ll have more available palate options.
MONARCH BUTTERFLIES
TIN MOUNTAIN CONSERVATION CENTER
SAVE THE DATE! 35TH ANNUAL FIRST SEASON BENEFIT SATURDAY, MARCH 20, 2021
Visit www.tinmountain.org to learn more about First Season, Nature Programs, and Field Trips.
TIN MOUNTAIN CONSERVATION CENTER
TMCC offers environmental education programs for school children, adults, and families that foster greater awareness, understanding, and appreciation of the natural environment. Programs, camps, and trails are offered at their 228-acre Field Station in Jackson, as well as the Nature Learning Center in Albany, NH, which also serves as headquarters. Call or visit the website for updates, plus changes in schedules and programs.
Bald Hill Road, Albany, NH • (603) 447-6991 • TinMountain.org
This article was taken with permission from The Mount Washington Valley Vibe.