Country: Nature Notes
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.HARD WEATHER such as we had last weekend does both good and harm in the countryside. The beneficial effects of frost are to kill off those field and garden pests that might otherwise survive the winter, and to break down lumps of soil into friable tilth. Cold also benefits predators by weakening prey species and making them sluggish. When snow lies, it renders animals such as rabbits, rats and mice more visible, and therefore easier for hawks to spot. A white blanket also has the effect of extending daylight hours, giving buzzards and kestrels - which do not operate at night - more time in which to hunt.
On the other hand, for small seed-eaters, and insect-eaters such as hedge sparrows and wrens, frost is a potential killer because the birds have a struggle to find enough food to maintain their body temperature. Frost also creates dangerous patches of black ice in little-used lanes and has a deadly, astonishingly powerful effect on field walls.
Rain, driven into a wall by wind, penetrates cracks in the stone. When the water freezes, it expands, and literally explodes the stone, shattering it into fragments and often causing whole walls to collapse in ruins.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments