The next time you go on a wintry exploration, take along this list and see what you can find!

stock photo graphic of deer, squirrel, rabbits, and birds in wintry woods against a blue sky

©depositphotos.com, Mikhaylova

{ } birds fluffed up against the cold
{ } frost patterns on a window or windshield
{ } the longest icicle you can find
{ } wildlife scat of any kind
{ } snowshoe hare tracks
{ } mountain ash berries
{ } ski or snowshoe tracks
{ } rosehips
{ } look at a snowflake up close!
{ } bubble trapped in ice
{ } a snowperson or snow fort
{ } your breath
{ } deer tracks

And if you want a little more of a challenge:

{ } snowfleas (they look like pepper on the snow–but, unlike pepper, they jump!)
{ } wolf lichen (it’s bright green–you can’t miss it!)
{ } look at hoarfrost up close, and see if you can find two–or more–differently shaped kinds
{} black treehair lichen (makes good beards and mustaches)
{ } shrew or vole tracks on the snow
{ } shrew or vole tracks leading beneath the snow (tree wells are great places to look)
{ } a cat track (housecat…or bobcat, lynx, or mountain lion!)
{ } a dog track (domestic dog…or fox, coyote, or wolf!)

Want a printable image? Click here!

 


 

This article was originally published in the Winter 2015-2016 issue of Montana Naturalist magazine, and may not be reproduced in part or in whole without the written consent of the Montana Natural History Center. ©2015 The Montana Natural History Center.

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