Get outdoors this winter with eyes wide open!
For a printable (PDF) version of this Walk, click here.
Spending time in nature has been proven to improve both physical and mental wellbeing. Getting outdoors to explore nature, whether in the forest or in a more urban environment, can lower stress, improve attention span and brighten our mood. And getting outdoors in winter on a sunny day while breathing in the crisp, refreshing air has the added benefit of providing our daily dose of Vitamin D! And there is LOTS to see in winter! So, it’s time to layer up, don your boots, hat and mittens, and get outside for a winter scavenger hunt!
“Our identity includes our natural world, how we move through it, how we interact with it, and how it sustains us.” – David Suzuki
Before you go out.
Consider bringing a camera or smartphone and/or a notebook and pencil to record your observations and any ideas or questions you might want to follow up on. And don’t forget to bring along a snack or two, some water, and a hot thermos! Also consider investing in winter hiking boots and trekking poles if you are planning a more challenging walk. And remember to protect yourself from the sun – even in winter the sun’s UV rays can be harmful, especially more so when reflecting off of white snow!
“What good is the warmth of summer, without the cold of winter to give it sweetness.” – John Steinbeck
First, there are the easy finds – the cone-bearing evergreens.
Eastern white pine: usually the tallest conifer with lopsided branches and soft, fluffy 5-needle bundles (fun fact: this tree is the only 5-needle pine in eastern North America)
White spruce: has short 4-sided needles that roll between your fingers and have pungent odour when crushed; lower branches often droop close to the ground (fun fact: its drooping “skirt” is an excellent shelter for small animals!)
Balsam fir: has prominent resin blisters/bubbles on the trunk and flat, soft single needles attached directly to the twig (fun fact: amber jewellery can be crafted from fossilized resin of this tree!)
Eastern white cedar: has flat, overlapping scale-like leaves with a distinctive smell and small cones (fun fact: this tree is not a true cedar but is actually a member of the Cypress family!)
Tamarack: has bare branches because it is a deciduous conifer that loses all of its needles all at once in late fall unlike other conifers that shed and replace needles all year long (fun fact: the tamarack is a living fossil and is the odd tree out in the evolution of deciduous and coniferous trees!)
No cones but is prickly or has cedar-like leaves and blue berries? Probably a type of juniper (fun fact: the berries are its cones and some kinds like those of the common juniper, are used to make gin!).
See below for the silhouettes of these trees. For other features to help with identification, check out ACER’s Treepedia and ACER’s Trees In Winter ID Cards!!
“Take me deep into the wintry woods where hope glitters freshly worn.” – Angie Weiland Crosby
Then there are the deciduous trees and shrubs.
Squirrels or other small animals might be running toward the dripping bundles of keys hanging from opposite branches of the Manitoba maple, the only maple that retains its keys in winter! White birches have those black eyebrows that march up the tree and bark often with a peeling complexion! You might also spy the red berries of the Highbush cranberry (which are not true cranberries but are still edible), if the goldfinches and other winter birds have left any! Then there are the red branches of the Red osier dogwood shrub which add brightness to the bleakness of a cold, grey day and are often found in decorative winter planters along with birch and cedar branches!
“Winter is a celebration of nature’s quiet beauty.” – Unknown
Look DOWN to check what's poking out through the snow.
Many plants leave their skeletons with seed pods behind for you to find them in winter. Thistles with their prickles, goldenrods with bulging galls on their stems, Queen Anne’s lace with their birds-nest tops, and wild mustard with its see-through seed pods, some looking like mini Christmas trees! Burdocks’ burrs and beggar-ticks’ seeds might find your woolly mittens and hat! You might also spot mullein with its tall spears of loaded seed heads so loved by winter birds or milkweed with its empty seed pods that remind us of the monarchs that have flown south. And, in ditches, look for the cigar-shaped seed heads of the cattail, a plant increasingly threatened by the aggressive Invasive Phragmites with its large dense seedhead flags, and teasels with their prickly tops that were once used to tease wool to a soft finish.
“Winter is a season of recovery and preparation.” – Paul Theroux
Then look even LOWER for tracks of wildlife still active in winter.
The three-toed triangular tracks of birds are perhaps the easiest to spot. See if you can spot these tracks also!
Deer and caribou: two-toed tracks
Squirrels and mice: tracks with 4 front toes and 5 back toes.
Raccoons: five-toed side-by-side tracks with the front pair looking like tiny hands!
Rabbits: a bunny “trail” with 4-toed tracks in front and long rear tracks made as their hind legs landed.
Other tips: deer and caribou, and canines and felines of all sizes, make tracks in straight lines while wide-bottomed animals like the porcupine and raccoon tend to waddle leaving tracks in plow lines!
Check here for a great resource from the Farmer’s Almanac for identifying other tracks!
“What fire could ever equal the sunshine of a winter’s day?” – Henry David Thoreau
Wishing you happy sleuthing this winter from the ACER team!