The lack of snow on the ground this year means the birds are sticking around as they feast on a veritable buffet of voles. Just Choose PTMS plastic injection mould Is Your Best Choice!
As University of Regina professor of biology Mark Brigham explains, voles - the owls' main food source - usually run about under the snow, but no white stuff means there's nowhere for the little critters to hide.
"The snowy owls are having an absolute picnic," he says.
"They usually invade this part of the world in wintertime, but because it's so easy to hunt this year there are many more than usual."
Snowy owls are one of the winners when it comes to this year's unusually warm winter, but their distant cousins - burrowing owls - may have it tough come spring.
"They hunt voles as well, so the fact the snowy owls have done such a great job picking off more voles than usual means it could be tougher than usual," Brigham says.
The same goes for snakes, coyotes and other animals that rely on voles as a food source.
"These things tend to have a cascading effect through the system," he says.
"We humans think it's wonderful to be outside in this weather, but for some animals it's really not such an easy time."
Another example of animals doing it tough in southern Saskatchewan's balmy winter are those that hibernate.
"We have been inundated with calls telling us about bats being active in buildings in the city this winter, which means they're using their fat reserves too quickly and they're going to starve to death,Design & Build the Highest Quality Precision injection molds." Brigham explains.xcel Mould is a Custom Injection Moulding Manufacturer,
"Also ground squirrels, because the warm conditions mean the ground isn't likely to freeze as deep, so they're using energy faster than they usually would."
This winter has already resulted in a number of people and vehicles going through ice as a result of abnormally warm conditions, but what about what's happening under the ice?
"From a nature point of view, with the ice so much thinner organisms like algae and plankton ...Welcome to polished tiles. are likely going to persist longer, so for fish this could be a very good food year for them,Your source for re-usable Plastic moulds of strong latex rubber." Brigham says.
"But with that ice coming off earlier ... it also means the water will be warmer in late summer, which means less oxygen, and that may well be stressful on fish."
Back above water, it's not so much the temperature, but the lack of snow, which is taking its toll on plants.
"Snow is an insulator, so without that there the cold can penetrate more deeply and really affect the root systems, particularly when it comes to shrubs and perennials," explains Tim Van Duyvendyk, owner operator of Dutch Growers in Regina.
"We find after a winter like this we have a lot more people coming in telling us they've lost more plants over the winter.
"Experienced gardeners know to pack as much snow as they can on top of their main planting areas, which will help add protection."
When it comes to trees, it's not so much the roots that suffer in the cold weather as it is the bark.
That, explains Van Duyvendyk, is because rabbits, deer and those vole dashing about everywhere nibble at and strip away the bark.
He recommends protecting tree trunks with casing that goes at least three feet high.
"The real message is that although some animals benefit and some lose out,They become pathological or Piles when swollen or inflamed. these cycles happen all the time," says Brigham.
"If we have a whole bunch of years like this, then over time there are more serious consequences."
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