Watershed Animals In The Winter
By Robin Brick
Stratford Ecological Center Stream, photographed by Annie Stimmel on 12/4/25.
It’s the time of year in Ohio that often graces us with picturesque winter snow. However, you may be hard pressed to find wildlife other than the warm-blooded birds and mammals. Even among those, many hibernate or migrate. But what about all those other animals that disappear? They come back in the spring, so they’re clearly surviving. How? Are there any animals that are especially common this season? It’s time to learn!
If you go out on a winter walk and find a frozen pond, you may just be lucky enough to see an amphibian at this time of year! Species like the leopard frog, American bullfrog, green frog, red-spotted newt, and marbled salamander larvae are Ohio species that can be seen swimming below frozen ice. Their metabolism slows down significantly, so they aren’t very active, but there’s just enough oxygen in the water for them to breathe (by absorbing it into their skin!), and the bottom of these pools are just above freezing temperatures, warm enough to keep their bodies safe (Micacchion, n.d.) Turtles make use of this same strategy (Nelson, 2016.)
Many amphibians that do not spend their winters underwater, along with snakes (LENSC, 2022,) will spend them underground, digging deep enough to be below the frost line, or inhabiting abandoned burrows of other animals. However, many species of frogs go to neither the warmth of underwater nor underground. Instead, they’ll be found under rocks, logs, or leaf litter. You may be wondering how they avoid freezing. Their vital organs have high concentrations of glucose that prevents freezing. The exposure to freezing temperatures does often lead to their hearts and breathing stopping, but this is not death! They will resume function when temperatures warm, making it appear as if these frogs have been reborn! (Micacchion, n.d.)
A groundhog standing in snow, photographed on the Wikimedia Commons by user Ladycamera on February 20th, 2014
Hibernation is a complicated process, and like all things in this world, observations that challenge one’s prior understandings are always being made. FLOW super-volunteer Ellie Nowels reported seeing a groundhog out and about in the middle of December, and was curious as to why. I had no answer for her, so I reached out to an expert, Dr. Stam M. Zervanos, who has spent nearly 30 years studying groundhog hibernation. I reported what Ellie saw through email, and asked if he had an explanation for the behavior. Dr. Zervanos responded with the following:
“True mammalian hibernators do arise several times during the hibernation season but rarely exit their burrow. As far as we know, these arousals must be related to maintaining physiological functions. Hibernation is very stressful to the body. So, arousals are an opportunity to repair or adjust various functions. In fact, they try to avoid torpor as much as possible; the more stored energy available the longer the arousals. As for your question, I wish I had a definitive answer. We have observed groundhogs out in the middle of winter on some rare occasions. So, why? There may be 2 possible reasons. To enhance reproductive success or to enhance survival. In the case of reproduction, it may be to get a head start on mating. However, I feel this may be too early for that. February would be better at our main study location in Pennsylvania. There may be a survival value. For example, to synchronize their biological clocks or explore for possible food sources. I wish I had the true answer for you.”
While many insects may die in the winter, leaving their eggs to hatch in the spring, many others survive! One of the best examples of these is the woolly bear, the larval form of the Isabella tiger moth. If you see these bugs curled up in the winter, they’re not dead, they’re producing an internal anti-freeze just like the previously mentioned frogs. In fact, in the Arctic, they can survive 14 years this way! You may also associate woolly bears with the winter time because you’ve heard that their autumn coloration can predict upcoming winter weather severity. Unfortunately, this is only a myth. The amount of black vs brown fur seen in the caterpillar actually has to do with how long it’s been feeding, its age, and its species (NWS, n.d.)
Box elder bugs on the side of a house
One insect that you may see not only alive, but moving around just fine in the winter time is the Boxelder bug, easily identifiable by the red/orange markings along their black bodies. One of the most likely places you’ll see them is indoors. You may not like sharing your home with these bugs, but they’re harmless to both people and pets. If you still want to smash them, then think twice, because doing so can leave a red stain with their feces. They’re an important food source for other animals, so the best thing you can do is release them outside, or seal entry points so they don’t get in your home in the first place (Towne, 2025.)
Lastly, the Dark-eyed Junco is a bird species that is not only common during Ohio winters, but exclusive to it! While many birds find Ohio winters too cold for them and leave at this time, Dark-eyed Juncos will come down from Canada and make themselves at home here for the season! This has earned them the nickname of “snowbirds.” If you recognize these birds at your feeder or on a walk, take a moment to appreciate our visitors! If you travel in the holiday season, you may encounter a different subspecies of the dark-eyed junco, such as the Oregon Dark-eyed Junco of western North America, the Pink-sided Dark-eyed Junco of the Rocky Mountains, or the Red-backed Dark-eyes Junco of southwestern United States. (CornellLab, n.d.)
A male Slate-colored Dark-eyed Junco, photographed by Jocelyn Anderson on the Wikimedia Commons, and a female or juvenile Slate-colored Dark-eyed Junco, Photographed by Daniel Irons on AllAboutBirds.org. This subspecies can be found wintering in Ohio.