August 26, 2026 | Blog
As the leaves turn golden and the air grows crisp, Edmonton’s wildlife is busy preparing for the long winter ahead. For many animals, fall is a critical time to fatten up, find shelter, and adapt to the changing environment. But how exactly do they do it? And how can we, as humans, support them during this challenging season?
How Wildlife Prepares for Winter
Food Storage and Fattening Up
Many animals spend fall indulging in high-calorie foods to build fat reserves for hibernation, migration, or food scarcity.
- Squirrels: Busy burying nuts and seeds in caches for the winter. They rely on memory and scent to locate their hidden food stashes when snow falls. Fun Fact: A squirrel’s memory is so strong that it can remember the locations of thousands of buried nuts, even months later!
- Bears: Eating up to 20,000 calories a day to pack on weight for hibernation. They prioritize berries, nuts, and fatty foods like salmon.
- Chipmunks: Storing food in underground burrows to sustain them during torpor (light hibernation).
- Birds: Migratory species like warblers and hummingbirds fuel up for their long journeys, while year-round residents like chickadees and nuthatches cache seeds.
Finding Shelter
Shelter is just as critical as food. Animals seek out safe, warm spaces to ride out the winter.
- Small Mammals: Mice, voles, and shrews burrow under leaf litter or snow to stay insulated. They rely on thick vegetation or abandoned burrows for protection.
- Birds: Many species, like owls and woodpeckers, find refuge in tree cavities. Others, like sparrows, seek dense shrubs or evergreen trees.
- Bats: Hibernating in caves, mines, or attics to escape freezing temperatures.
- Amphibians and Reptiles: Frogs and snakes burrow into mud or leaf litter to avoid frost. Turtles hibernate underwater, buried in mud.
Did You Know? A single woodpecker can excavate a new cavity in a tree every year, providing shelter for itself and other species!
Adapting Behavior
Some animals change their behavior entirely to survive winter.
- Hibernation: Bears and bats enter a state of deep sleep, slowing their heart rate and metabolism to conserve energy.
- Torpor: Smaller mammals like chipmunks can enter short periods of torpor to save energy, waking periodically to eat.
- Migration: Birds like geese and ducks fly south to warmer climates where food is plentiful.
- Active Year-Round: Animals like deer and coyotes remain active but grow thicker fur to stay warm.
Challenges Wildlife Faces in Fall
While animals have evolved to prepare for winter, human activity can disrupt their plans. Common challenges include:
- Habitat Loss: Urbanization and land development reduce natural food sources and shelter options, and migratory rest spots.
- Climate Change: Warmer falls can confuse animals’ natural cues, leading to late hibernation or migration.
- Food Scarcity: In urban areas, natural food like berries and nuts may be scarce due to landscaping choices.
How to Help Wildlife Fatten Up and Find Shelter
You don’t need to be a wildlife expert to make a difference! Here are simple, impactful ways to support Edmonton’s wildlife this fall:
Provide High-Energy Foods
- Birds: Hang feeders with high-fat foods like suet, black oil sunflower seeds, and peanuts. Avoid bread or processed foods, which offer little nutritional value.
- Squirrels: Offer unsalted nuts (walnuts, almonds, hazelnuts) or specialized squirrel feeders. Avoid feeding them processed human foods.
- Ground Feeders: Scatter seeds or nuts in a quiet corner of your yard to help ground-feeding birds like sparrows and juncos.
- Butterflies and Bees: Plant native late-blooming flowers like asters and goldenrod to provide nectar.
Create Shelter Spaces
- Brush Piles: Pile up fallen branches, leaves, and twigs in a quiet corner of your yard. This creates a cozy hideout for small mammals and insects.
- Dead Trees (Snags): If safe, leave dead trees standing. They provide cavities for birds, bats, and insects.
- Evergreen Trees and Shrubs: Plant native species like spruce, pine, or juniper to offer year-round shelter and food.
- Insect Houses: Leave leaf litter undisturbed to insulate overwintering insects.
Leave the Leaves
- Instead of raking and bagging leaves, leave them in garden beds or under trees. Leaf litter provides insulation for insects, and small mammals. It also breaks down into nutrient-rich compost for your soil!
Avoid Pesticides and Chemicals
- Pesticides kill insects, which are a vital food source for birds and mammals. Opt for natural pest control methods like companion planting or hand-picking pests.
How WILDNorth Supports Wildlife in Fall
At WILDNorth, fall continues to be our busiest season as it spans from April to September. Our Summer Intensive Volunteers leave in late August, so we rely heavily on our staff to make it work. Here’s how we prepare for the patients and support local wildlife:
Intake and Care for Injured Animals
- All hands-on decks handle the volume in patients and provide the best care in hopes to release them before their migration.
- Prepare and plan to overwinter patients who need more extensive care and will miss their migration.
- Our team provides high-calorie diets to help animals fatten up before winter.
- We create species-specific enclosures to simulate natural habitats, reduce stress, and encourage natural behaviors.
Public Education
- Back to school season means all our educational programming is kicking back up for in person and virtual presentations like our Junior Wildlife Ambassador Program.
- Our social media channels share tips and stories to engage the community in conservation efforts.
Fall is a season of preparation for both wildlife and those who care for them. By understanding how animals adapt to winter, we can take simple steps to support their survival. Whether it’s leaving the leaves or providing high-energy foods, every action counts.
This fall, take a moment to observe the wildlife in your backyard. You might just witness the incredible resilience of nature and perhaps play a small role in ensuring it thrives.