What Do Wildlife Eat in the Winter?

By Jade Greene

It has been a very harsh and cold winter – one for the record books! Us lucky humans have heated shelters and grocery stores, what is wildlife doing during these frosty days? Read on to learn how some of our hardy animal neighbors survive the winter!

Some of Bucks  County’s active local year round, residents include:

• Small mammals (squirrel, chipmunk, vole, mice, rabbits): these little creatures do not get the luxury to hibernate all winter long and instead remain active. Many rodents make burrows in the insulated warm soil and leaf litter. Squirrels build warm nests called dreys. They eat berries, tree bark, and food from their fall caches and sleep more in the winter.
• Songbirds: these energetic little critters remain active all winter, as we can see and hear! Their diets shift from mostly insects to foraging berries and seeds. They also find insects and their eggs which are tucked away in the leaf litter.
• Hawks and owls: For these raptors, it’s business as usual. They continue hunting rodents and small birds throughout the season.
• Butterflies and insects: Surprisingly, many are still here, just in different life stages. Butterflies, moths, and other insects often overwinter as eggs or in their chrysalises or cocoons, hidden in leaf litter or nestled into the stems of perennial plants.

How do animals survive the winter:

• Seeds and berries: Perennial herbs and grasses offer protein-rich seeds and berries that help sustain birds and small mammals.
• Brush Piles: These simple structures provide essential shelter for birds and small mammals.
• Leaf litter: this is the hidden space for many overwintering insects. The leaves provide insulation and warmth for small mammals. As they break down, they provide nutrients to the soil and feed spring growth.
• Perennial plant stalks: Many solitary bees and insects overwinter inside these hollow stems. The roots also help stabilize soil and prevent erosion.
• Tree bark: Bark shelters insects and serves as a valuable winter food source for small mammals.
• Caches: many small mammals and birds will bury or hide food from the fall to eat all winter long (like acorns and nuts). Forgotten caches may sprout into new plants come spring.

Great plants to add to your garden next spring to support wildlife in winter:

• Little bluestem
• Arrowwood viburnum 
• Wild Bergamot
• Mountain mint
• Swamp Rose
• Sunflowers

How best to manage your garden in the winter:

Leave your perennial plants standing tall. If you must cut them back, try to leave them as tall as possible, 12 inches or more. I prop up my sunflower heads in a tomato cage hidden in my backyard and it is frequently visited by song birds!