Outdoor Almanac

This month, spot Tufted Titmice flitting through bare branches and enjoy the spectacle of the Geminid meteor shower. Look for fascinating seasonal changes, from weasels donning their white winter coats to skunks and raccoons occasionally venturing out from shelter. Celebrate the winter solstice on the 21st, marking the shortest day of the year, and search for Christmas ferns and Giant Silk Moth cocoons on snowy woodland walks. Whether it’s birds, mammals, or celestial events, there’s plenty to discover this season!

What will you discover this December?

Visit a local wildlife sanctuary or join us for a program to make the most of your December. 

DECEMBER

1 

Look for gray crests of the Tufted Titmice and listen for their harsh, scratchy calls as they flit between bare tree branches. Occasionally, you may see them with chickadees, nuthatches, and small woodpeckers. 

3

Both Long-tailed and Short-tailed Weasels molt from brown to white in the fall. In winters with little snow cover, their white pelage makes them easy to see if they are out and about in the daytime. 

9 

Most Great Blue Herons have migrated, but you can still find a few where the water is not completely frozen. They used to disappear by January as their access to fish froze over, but with warmer winters, a few of them remain year-round.  

10

On cold nights at the beginning of winter, damp or wet areas of the ground can form ice needles.  

11

Not true hibernators, skunks, opossums, and raccoons may emerge from their shelters every few weeks. Other mammals, including coyotes, foxes, bobcats, fishers, deer, squirrels, rabbits, and porcupines, remain active all winter.   

13 

It’s the peak of the Geminid meteor shower, with as many as 120 shooting stars per hour visible in the dark sky from midnight to dawn.  

15 

Full Moon. 

17 

Black bears may still be out and about until nights are consistently below freezing. If you live in an area with bears, it’s best to wait until the full winter cold to put out bird feeders.  

18 

Most Asian Lady Beetles are hibernating outside, often in clusters of hundreds or even thousands in tree crevices or under bark, but you may find a few overwintering in your home. 

19

Black-capped Chickadees, White-breasted Nuthatches, Tufted Titmice, Downy Woodpeckers, Brown Creepers, and Golden-crowned Kinglets can all be found foraging in mixed species flocks throughout the winter. 

21 

Today is the winter solstice. It’s the shortest day and longest night of the year, and the official start of winter. Even though daylight increases from now until June, our coldest weather is still to come.  

25 

Look for shiny, leathery, evergreen Christmas ferns in the snowy woods.  

28 

Keep an eye out for Giant Silk Moth cocoons on your winter walks. Cecropia caterpillars spin a gray-brown, spindle-shaped cocoon along the length of a small branch, while Polyphemus cocoons are rounder, less securely attached, and often covered with a leaf.