What to look for in the winter woods

Admittedly, lots of the “wonders of the winter woods” stories out there depend on snow — which most of the time we don’t have much of. But our leaves drop, and as they do, they reveal things we don’t see in summertime.

I recommend you collect a kid or two and maybe a notebook or a camera and head out to Lynch’s Woods or one of the other nearby sections of the Palmetto Trail and start recording what you see. Traveling with a “short person” is advantageous in this enterprise, because someone lower to the ground will see more than us taller folks.

First, look up. Even in your own backyard, with the leaves gone, you will see bird nests that you didn’t know were there. Look at how many architectural styles are represented — some are messy piles of twigs, some carefully woven baskets. Some are big and some are tiny. And some are not bird nests at all. You will probably recognize a wasp nest if you see it — don’t bring it home! There are stories of folks doing that, and when the nest warmed up the wasps inside began to emerge and they weren’t too happy. I don’t expect the people in the house were that happy either.

If you see something that looks like a really big ball of leaves, generally wedged in between two branches, you are probably looking at a squirrels nest, which is known as a “drey.” If the ball seems to be falling apart, it may be a “summer drey”— not used for raising young, but just to hang out. Here’s something to think about: Researchers have found that the temperature inside squirrel dreys is significantly higher than the outside temperature when the squirrel is inside generating body heat. Dreys are made of sticks and twigs, lined with leaves. Wilderness survival advice suggests following the lead of the squirrel if you’re caught outside unprepared — make a shelter of sticks, line it with leaves and warm it with your body heat.

And speaking of squirrels, shift your attention to the ground and look for the small holes they leave when burying nuts or locating the ones they buried. The more squirrels you have, the more holes you will find. The local squirrels here also put a little bit of food in each location, so that means way more holes! Scientists have also determined that squirrels remember where they bury their food, which is pretty amazing considering how many holes they dig!

If you are lucky enough to be outside after we’ve had a rare dusting of snow, look for tracks. The Palmetto Trail is home to deer, raccoons, opossums, foxes, coyotes and even a bear or two. Don’t confuse coyote prints with a regular old dog…we have lots of them on the trail, too. Even without the aid of snow, it is easy to find tracks in mud or even damp earth. If you’re near water, keep an eye out for webbed tracks, as well as the big pointy tracks of large wading birds like herons.

So far, we’ve been talking about animals in the woods. Winter is a great time to notice more about the plants out there, too. When the leaves drop, you can really appreciate the shapes of trees. Are they tall and straight? More shrubby? Some trees have a beautiful fan shape that you really don’t notice in the summer. Winter is a good time to study tree bark too. Is it smooth, rough, peeling off? Can you find insects taking shelter in its crevices?

One of the charms of the winter woods is the way our focus shifts from deciduous trees to the evergreens scattered throughout. In summer, everything is green, but when the leaves on the deciduous trees fall, you really notice the evergreens — trees like our red cedars, and pines that tower over the rest of the forest, as well as southern magnolias and evergreen shrubs.

Lichens are another interesting thing to look for in the winter woods. They look plant-like but aren’t technically plants. They are a combination of a fungus (a separate kingdom from both plants and animals) and an algae species. The fungus provides a base for the algae, and the algae, which can photosynthesize, or make their own food, share food with the fungus. The North American Mycological Society, (yes, there is such a thing), which studies fungi, calls lichens “fungi that have taken up farming.” They come in an amazing variety of shapes and styles. Some form what looks like a crust on rocks. Some, called British soldiers, look almost like moss. According to Amanda McNulty, of SCETV’s “Making It Grow,” lichens are a sign of good air quality and we should be glad to see them.

Just in case spring comes early, get out onto the trail and see what you can find that you didn’t notice last summer. And, as always, contact me if you want to volunteer or set up a walk on the trail. Reach me at [email protected]