This time of year can be hard on our wellbeing. With early sunsets and gray days, maybe you find yourself nesting down into your couch and keeping cozy. Well, animals are doing the same!
In a leafless, bare prairie, a bald-faced hornet nest reveals itself.
With all the leaves falling, nests that have been here all summer are now noticeable.
Bald-faced hornet nest in the prairie, mourning dove nest above the boardwalk, Baltimore oriole nests in the tall cottonwoods towering over the wetlands, and leafy squirrel dreys perched in every tree.
Naturalist Pete standing below a squirrel drey—this one is made of moss.
Most nests are artifacts from a warmer time when birds were incubating eggs and raising their young. Now abandoned, they fall prey to the elements.
But some animals—like red and grey squirrels—will continue to work on and inhabit their dreys throughout the winter.
A squirrel holding nesting materials in its mouth.
If you’re asking, “Hey—what’s a drey?”, learn a little bit about squirrel homes in this Nature to Go video from naturalist Teresa Root. Nests aren’t just for the birds and bees!
A view of the wetlands at Dodge on a November morning.
And don’t forget to venture from your nest for a walk in nature—look up and down to see whose homes are around. Your mind and body will be grateful for the movement, too. The winter solstice will be here before you know it and our days will grow brighter!
Contributing author: Naturalist Pete Cleary
From the Trails is originally shared in our monthly news & activities emails. Join our email list here.