Another Maine winter has finally settled in. Most hunting seasons are over though a few persist. While we’re huddled in front of the wood stove reading the Sunday paper, the game animals we pursue are still out there, surviving.

Some, like bears have settled in for a long winter’s nap. Despite what you might think, they’re not true hibernators. During hibernation, animals lower their body temperature, heart rate and metabolic rate and fall into a deep sleep that can last days, weeks or even months. Bears enter a lighter sleep state called a torpor where heart, breathing and metabolic rates are lower, but not as low as in hibernation. In fact, sows give birth and suckle their young in their winter dens, which might be a hole in the ground or a tree, or simply a brush pile.

Waterfowl migrate. Some make lengthy sojourns to the mid Atlantic, the Gulf Coast or even Central and South America. Others merely move to the coast in search of open water. Sea ducks like scoters, eiders and long-tailed ducks migrate south, to winter off our coast, where they’ll raft up and feed on shellfish and marine crustaceans.

Upland game birds like grouse and turkeys stay home for the winter, though they may shift their range slightly. Cover becomes more important and grouse spend more time in the softwoods than they did during fall. Turkeys coalesce into larger flocks and often seek out concentrated food sources like silage piles at the local dairy farm or backyard bird feeders. Woodcock, on the other hand, follow the waterfowl south to softer soil where they can find preferred food like earthworms and invertebrates.

Deer and moose are still out there, though like the game birds they may shift their range to find more favorable conditions. With their long legs and big bodies moose can make their way through the deepest snow so food is more important than cover. They seek out places with abundant woody browse, like regenerating cuts. Cover is more important for the smaller deer and they often concentrate in wintering areas dominated by older softwoods, which reduce snow cover and wind, allowing for greater mobility and protection.

Snowshoe hare don’t change their range but they do change color. The brown pelage that concealed well during spring, summer and fall is replaced with a coat of white, which blends nicely into a snowy background. For the furbearing predators that pursue them – like bobcats, lynx, coyotes and foxes – it’s pretty much business as usual. Some even become more active as prey becomes harder to find, and later when mating season comes around.

Two-legged predators utilize a range of strategies to survive winter. Some fly south where they can dip their toes rather than their bills into soft, sandy soil. Some enter their dens and a state of reduced activity and metabolism. Others brave the cold, donning a coat of white, brown, red or blue and venturing forth into the outdoors.

Bob Humphrey is a freelance writer and Registered Maine Guide who lives in Pownal. He can be reached at: bob@bobhumphrey.com

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