Outdoor Almanac

As the year comes to an end, we're treated with natural clues of adaptation and transition all around us. Some animals are fully hibernating, while others emerge every few weeks. Great Blue Herons are migrating, while Long-tailed Weasels and Ermines adapt new coats to blend in with their snowy environments. The Geminid Meteor Shower will streak through our skies, and the winter solstice marks the peak of dark days. 

What will you discover this December?

Visit a nearby sanctuary or join us for a program to experience the best of December.

December 

1

Look for the white, waxy bloom on raspberry and blackberry canes that helps the plants retain water and protects them from dirt and bacteria. This same bloom is also found on a variety of fruits, including plums, grapes, blackberries, and apples.

3

Both Long-tailed Weasels and Ermines molt from brown to white in the fall. In winters with little snow cover, their white pelage makes them easy to see if they are out and about in the daytime.

9

Most Great Blue Herons have migrated, but you can still find a few where the water is not completely frozen. They used to all be gone by January as their access to fish froze over, but with warmer winters, a few of them remain year-round.

10

On cold nights at the beginning of winter, damp or wet areas of the ground can form ice needles.

11 

Not true hibernators, skunks, opossums, and raccoons may emerge from their shelters every few weeks. Other mammals, including coyotes, foxes, bobcats, fishers, deer, squirrels, rabbits, and porcupines, remain active all winter.

14–15

It’s the peak of the Geminid meteor shower, with as many as 120 shooting stars per hour visible in the dark sky from midnight to dawn. Learn more about winter stargazing 

17

Black bears may still be out and about until nights are consistently below freezing. If you live in an area with bears, it’s best to wait until the full winter cold to put out bird feeders.

18

Most Asian lady beetles are hibernating outside, often in clusters of hundreds or even thousands in tree crevices or under bark, but you may find a few overwintering in your home.

19

Tufted Titmice, chickadees, nuthatches, and small woodpeckers remain active in the colder weather. These different species form mixed flocks throughout the winter.

21

Today is the winter solstice. It’s the shortest day and longest night of the year, and the official start of winter. Even though daylight increases from now until June, our coldest weather is still to come. 

25

Look for shiny, leathery, evergreen Christmas ferns in the snowy woods.

26

Full moon.

28

Keep an eye out for Giant Silk Moth cocoons on your winter walks. Cecropia caterpillars spin a gray-brown, spindle-shaped cocoon along the length of a small branch, while Polyphemus cocoons are rounder, less securely attached, and often covered with a leaf.