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Last week I pruned an apple tree and let the cut limbs lay scattered around the trunk.
Four days later, the succulent buds were nipped off and the bark was gnawed away, exposing the greenish-white cambium layer.
The hard crust of frozen snow and ice yielded no tracks, but droppings scattered around the branches indicated that rabbits quickly took advantage of the late winter food source.
While much of our focus during a hard winter is on the survival of big game species, such as deer and turkeys, the smaller species of wildlife have it just as tough.
Or easier.
A deep pack of snow and ice that cements the winter landscape actually benefits rabbits, from what I’ve seen. Their tight dens trap body heat and provide a cozy respite from the cold and, as long as the entrances are kept clear, a safe haven from predators.
The hard-crust layer of ice on top of the snow actually benefits the lightweight rabbit, allowing them to maneuver freely on the surface while other heavier predators may punch through the white stuff.
Better yet, the deep snow benefits rabbits by elevating them higher off the ground so they can reach the buds on low-hanging limbs. Rabbits also use the gradual snow accumulation through the winter to feast on new food sources. Rabbits love to eat the tender bark off of saplings such as sumac. They’ll eat everything as high as they can reach, and when a few inches of new snow packs the ground, they’ll reach even higher and keep taking advantage of the valuable food source.
With warm dens, easy maneuverability on the snowpack and plenty of reachable food source, rabbits do pretty well in a harsh winter.
But I’m not so sure the same could be said for other small game species.
Grouse come to mind.
With appendages on its feet that help it traverse across the snowpack, grouse usually aren’t too restricted in winter. But if that snowpack is frozen solid and capped with a layer of ice, like it is now, it could take away a top winter survival technique.
When the snow is deep, grouse will dive into the white powder and burrow down as far as 10 inches or more. Inside the deep snow they’ll remain safe from predators and sheltered from the elements, emerging briefly throughout the day to feast on buds.
It’s easy to identify a grouse burrow if you should happen upon one. It’s simply a hole in the snow with wing imprints on each side. It’s amazing to think that an animal can actually find warmth and safety by submerging its body in the snow, but for grouse it’s a proven survival tactic.
But if the snow is frozen too hard to allow grouse to burrow, they are vulnerable to predators and exposed to the elements, which requires them to burn even more precious calories.
Gray squirrels also have a tried and true survival technique. They rely on cached mast such as acorns for a winter food source, and they will also den for periods when the weather turns bad.
But there is a balance that is critical to a squirrel’s survival. It takes energy to retrieve those hidden stashes of mast, and digging through deep snow and ice burns a lot of calories. If it takes more energy to retrieve the acorns than the cache provides, squirrels could face some tough times.
Pheasants, such as the wild ones established in the Wild Pheasant Recovery Area in Montour and Columbia counties, do a pretty good job of surviving a bad winter. As long as there is adequate cover, pheasants can hunker down during bad winter and wait things out. They are able to go without food for long periods, relying on stored energy reserves until the weather breaks.
And hopefully it will soon.
In the meantime, I’ll prune a few more apple trees and let the rabbits feast.