January 6th, 2007
a taste of summer
Yesterday, I spent part of the afternoon looking through last summer’s insect photos. I’d received a request from a book publisher who wanted a particular shot of a spider, so I scanned through a couple of months of photos picking out all the images that might fill the bill. While doing so, I couldn’t help noticing how certain days seemed to be filled with wonderful creatures. The last week of July was particularly image rich.
Anyhow, that got me thinking about summer, but I guess the weather has also had something to do with that. As everyone in the northeast will know, we’ve been having unseasonably warm weather here. Temperatures the last couple of days have been around 10C (50F). It rained occasionally yesterday, and today we’re getting a heavier rain similar to something we might get on a spring day in late April or early May — and that’s just how it looks out in the garden. The recent snow has entirely melted away and the grass is looking quite green. The brush and trees are even starting to have that rosy look that they get in early spring before the leaves begin to bud out.
So, what are the animals doing during this warm weather? A couple of days ago, a friend informed me that he has a Gray tree frog (Hyla versicolor) occasionally calling from a utility room area of his house. Obviously, it has decided to forego hibernation. Then from yesterday — I belong to The NatureList (the Eastern Ontario Natural History list-serve) where members discuss natural history sightings and other topics of interest. Yesterday, a member posted about having seen a Leopard frog hopping about and jumping into a pool of water on the front lawn. Later in the day, Dr. Fred Schueler of the Bishops Mills Natural History Centre, posted this link to a page that they’ve just put up containing the BMNHC’s observations of unusual winter activity by frogs and Cepaea nemoralis snails around the village.
Yesterday, CBC News posted a piece entitled Warm winter could hurt hibernating animals: researcher. The article contains comments made by Professor Ken Storey who studies hibernation at Carleton University’s department of biochemistry. In essence, what he has to say is that animals that normally hibernate, but that are hopping or crawling around instead, are burning off their energy reserves and won’t be able to refuel due to lack of food at this time of the year. In all likelihood, that will have a harmful effect on their survival. If you’re interested, definitely give this brief article a read.
In its daily reader’s poll, this morning’s online edition of the Globe & Mail (Toronto), asks: It’s been unseasonably warm in Canada this week. What do you think is going on?. As of this moment, there have been 7,948 votes. The results break down as follows:
Global waming caused by man = 4322 votes (54%)
Global warming, natural causes = 2007 votes (25%)
Nothing, it’s just nice weather = 1619 votes (20%)
So, what do you think? What’s the scoop on the weather? Anomaly or trend? Is it the shape of things to come? Any cause for concern?
Tags: Leopard frog, Rana pipiens, Gray tree frog, Hyla versicolor, Cepaea nemoralis, Bishops Mills Natural History Centre, The NatureList, Kenneth Storey, Frederick Schueler, weather