By James Reddoch
Webinar - February 21, 6:30 pm
Meet super heroes who can survive fourteen-hour nights and below zero temps.
Humans, like birds, must maintain their core body temperature within a remarkably narrow range. We all know what happens if we have a fever of just a few degrees. It doesn’t take much of an increase for it to be dangerous. The same is true for a drop in temperature. As hypothermia sets in, a host of bodily processes start to unravel and shut down. Now imagine we, like birds, must make it through a February night in Maine; a night that starts at 4:40 p.m. and doesn’t come up for over 14 hours, a night with an average low temperature of 17 degrees but can drop to -17 degrees.
As humans, our adaptive superpower is our ability to change the environment we operate within. We can sheath our bodies in temp controlling clothes. We build homes and offices that we regulate at a comfortable level. We forage for food by moving down the grocery store aisle. What are the superpowers birds have adapted to survive long winter nights in Maine?
Who are these creatures and how do they do it?
Like humans, some birds head south for the winter. But those who stay employ a host of strategies and adaptations to not only survive but even thrive. Join James Reddoch for a webinar on February 21 at 6:30 pm to meet some of these avian super heroes and learn how they are uniquely adapted to survive the winters of Western Maine.