The winter gets colder, days get shorter and leaves change colour amd fall off the trees. Soon, winter is here. Snow covers the group. People live in warm houses and wear heavy coats outside. Our food comes from the grocery store. But what about animal?
Migrating to new places
Animals do many different, amazing things to get through the winter. Some of them migrate. This means they travel to other places where the weather is warmer or they can find food. Many birds migrate in the autumn. Because the trip can be dangerous, some travel in large flocks. For example, geese fly in noisy, "V"-shaped groups. Other kinds of birds fly alone. How do they know when it is time to leaves for the winter? Scientists are still studying this. Many see migration as part of a yearly cycle of changes a bird goes through. The cycle is controlled by changes in the amount of daylight and tge weather. Birds can fly very long distances. For example, the arctictern nests close to North pole in the summer. In autumn, it flies south all the way to Antarctica. Each spring, it returns north again. Most migrating birds travel shorter distance. But how do they find their way to the same place each year? Birds seem to navigate like sailors once did, using the Sun, Moon and Star for direction. They also seem to have a compass in their brain for using the earth's magnetic field. Other animals migrate, too. There are a few mammals, like some bats, caribou and elk, and whales that travel in search of food each winter. Many fish migrate. They may swim south, or move into deeper, warmer water. Some insects also migrate. Certain butterflies and moths fly very long distances. For example, monarch butterflies spend the summer in Canada and the Northern US. They migrate as far south as Mexico for winter. Most migrating insects go much shorter distances. Many, like termites and Japanese beetles, move downward into yhe soil. Earthworm also move down, some as far as six feet below the surface.
Adaptation to New year
Some animals remain and stay active in winter. They must adapt to the changing weather. Many make changes in their behaviour or bodies. To keep warm, animals may grow new, thicker fur in the autumn. On weasels and snowshoe rabbits, the new fur is white to help them hide in snow. Food is hard to find in the winter. Some animals, like squirrels, mice and beavers gather extra food in the autumn and store it to eat later. Some, like rabbits and deer, spend winter looking for moss, twigs, bark, and leaves to eat. Other animals eat different kinds of food as the season change. The red fox eats fruit and insects in the spring, summer and autumn. In the winter, it cannot find these things, so instead it eats small rodents.
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