Underline the known spellings of how fish spend the winter. Wintering carp in ponds

Summer feeds winter. It's hard to disagree with this proverb. All living beings prepare in advance for this harsh time of year. A person stocks up on fuel, insulates his home, and prepares food for future use. Animals, insects and fish are preparing for winter. However, everyone does it differently. Animals gain fat, and with the onset of cold weather they change their summer coats to winter ones. Insects and reptiles huddle in shelters and fall asleep, fish become lethargic, bury themselves in silt, fall into suspended animation, or look for deep bottom holes in which to wait out the winter.

Winter is a real test for river inhabitants. The surface of the reservoir is covered with ice, which does not allow the water to become saturated with oxygen. Sunlight is also becoming more scarce. Not only are winter days incredibly short, but the ice, covered with a thick layer of snow, prevents light from penetrating into the pond. The water becomes cold, which significantly reduces the activity of river inhabitants. Their movements become sluggish and slow.

In such conditions, most fish cannot lead an active lifestyle. They sink to the bottom, bury themselves in the silt, and fall into suspended animation. Life processes in their bodies slow down. They exist only due to the reserves that they were able to accumulate in the summer.

However, not all fish hibernate. Some of their species look for deep places (wintering holes), gather in flocks, and wait out the winter in such a sedentary state. Only predators, fish that spawn in winter, and those species that make seasonal migrations remain active.

But let's get back to those river inhabitants, which winter in their reservoirs. Let's see what happens to water when its temperature decreases. The answer is quite simple - its density increases. It becomes maximum at four degrees. Denser layers sink down, and less dense layers rise up. Natural convection of water occurs. Only its upper layers freeze. In order for a reservoir to freeze to the bottom, all the water must be cooled to four degrees. But this happens quite rarely, and only affects small and shallow bodies of water.

As the temperature drops, all life processes in the reservoir slow down. Aquatic plants stop growing and plankton do not reproduce. At the same time, the amount of food consumed by fish decreases. This forces fish of the same type and size to search deep holes, gather in them, and spend the winter like that. Their life processes slow down, their body becomes covered with mucus. According to existing opinion, it performs a protective function, which boils down to scaring away predators. At least until it gets warmer, they don’t touch them.

This is how all heat-loving fish, such as tench, carp, bream, and crucian carp, overwinter. In winter, they practically do not consume food, but subsist only on summer reserves, which are sufficient for three winter months. The fish are practically motionless, as evidenced by bedsores on their abdomens.

Winter has virtually no effect on predatory fish. They practically do not react to a decrease in water temperature. Perch and pike continue to hunt actively, which is what ice fishermen take advantage of. At the same time, pike prefers deep and dark places, where roach, bleak and ruffe usually spend the winter. Active in winter time There remains also pike perch, which hunts at great depths, in dark places, far from the shore.

With the onset of winter, catfish leave deep holes and rise closer to the surface, trying to choose places with fast current. This is due to the fact that it is here that the water is maximally saturated with oxygen. Burbot does the same. It's not called winter fish for nothing. At this time of year he is very active. Burbot does not tolerate warm water well. At 27 degrees it dies. In summer, this fish is sluggish and inactive. It sinks to the bottom and gets buried under snags. It becomes active only in autumn, when the water temperature drops to 15 degrees. Fishermen say that it is at this time that the burbot begins to eat. Spawning for this fish also coincides with the winter period. Females select areas of the bottom with a rocky surface and lay eggs.

In fresh water bodies of the northern part of Russia, including Far East, there is whitefish. It is also considered winter. Its spawning period coincides with the end of autumn and the beginning of winter. Whitefish feed on organisms that live on the bottom, as well as on the eggs of spawning fish.

Fish that migrate seasonally can live in both salt and fresh water. These include, for example, sturgeons that live in the Azov and Caspian seas. With the beginning of winter, they enter rivers and swim in huge flocks to their spawning grounds.

The Azov anchovy behaves somewhat differently. With the onset of winter, it migrates to the warmer waters of the Black Sea. Other fish make similar migrations. Caspian herring is moving closer to the south. The Far Eastern flounder does the same. Arctic fish simply descend to depths of up to 300 meters and practically stop consuming food.

Rudd

All living things prepare for the onset of winter in their own way: migratory birds fly south forest animals stock up on warm fur coats and food supplies, and some even have cozy places for hibernation. How do fish winter? After all, rivers and lakes for a long time winter months covered with thick ice!

Wintering pits

Different types of fish experience this difficult period differently. Many species of heat-loving fish, such as bream, carp, tench, already in October-November gather in huge schools and go to wintering pits. Here they spend about 3 months with virtually no movement, like herring in a barrel! Those fish that are at the very bottom even develop bedsores on their belly. In this case, fish of the same species and age spend the winter together. The fish cuddle up to each other, and the cold becomes less scary for them.

Catfish perch higher, near wintering pits. This is explained by the fact that in the pit itself, already a month after the formation of the ice cover, there is less oxygen, which catfish really do not like.

Ice hunting

Predator fish do not hide in wintering pits. But for some reason the inhabitants of such pits are not touched, although in this way they could ensure a satisfying existence for themselves throughout the winter. Perhaps predators also have their own concepts of justice?

For the most part, pike, perch and pike perch hunt for those fish that do not care about the ice shell above their heads, and they do not leave their usual habitats - these are roach, bleak, verkhovka and ruff.

The semi-darkness formed under the ice layer creates especially favorable hunting conditions for predators. In the first days of winter predatory fish They hunt especially actively, and fishermen call this glutton of predator “first ice.”

Winter is a joy

There are also fish for which winter is not a burden, but on the contrary - the most best time of the year! This is what burbot is like. Warm water depresses him. In summer, when the water temperature is above 15 C, burbot stops feeding and hibernates, hiding under coastal burrows, under large stones or snags. And if the temperature is above 27 C, this fish will die altogether! Only in the fall, when the rivers noticeably cool down, do the burbot awaken and begin to fatten up.

Pisces travelers

Some fish do not want to change their usual lifestyle in winter. They prefer to move to warmer waters. For example, anchovy, which lives in the Sea of ​​Azov, feeds intensively in the summer, accumulating fat. As the water cools, it migrates through Kerch Strait into the Black Sea and winters there, diving to a depth of 100 - 150 meters, where the water is warmer.

Frozen fish

What if the reservoir is shallow, stagnant and freezes through in the winter? There are such lakes in the Arctic. Their inhabitants are common crucian carp and black fish Dallia burrow into the mud with the onset of winter. When such reservoirs freeze to the very bottom, fish often find themselves frozen into the ice. But even being in ice captivity, they do not die. In the spring, when reservoirs thaw, dalliya comes to life and during the short polar summer manages to fatten up and leave offspring. This is how incredibly hardy the inhabitants of the water are!

IN winter period carp, like many members of its family, becomes lethargic and inactive. This is explained by the fact that in any body of water the water temperature decreases and there is less food. In addition, in aquatic environment very little oxygen is supplied. All this forces the fish to look for special places for wintering.

To ensure a good catch of carp in winter, you should take into account changes in its behavior during this period

What happens to carp in winter

For a long time, many fishermen naively believed that carp hibernate in the same way as crucian carp, burying themselves in silt or falling into a sleepy state (which only allows it to stand motionless near the bottom), and wakes up only with the onset of spring, when the water warms up to 8-10 °C. However, this is not true. After all, the carp continues to feed and even move short distances, although it mainly lives in the so-called wintering pits. At the same time, certain metamorphoses occur with the fish, which allow it to adapt to difficult conditions.

As can be seen from everything said above, carp do not hibernate in winter. Yes, he tries to move around the reservoir less, staying close to the places he has chosen for the winter. However, a slight thaw or a high concentration of oxygen in the water contributes to its activity and appetite.

Carp behavior changes when small changes temperature indicators

Where to look for carp in winter

Long before the ice begins to form, the carp begins to choose places where it can spend the winter. Usually, already at the end of autumn, this fish moves to areas with a depth of 5 to 10 m (English carp fishermen call them “hot spots”). Naturally, if the body of water allows it. However, even in a small and not very deep-water pond, carp for wintering always look for places where the distance from the surface to the bottom is at least 2 m. Therefore, it is almost impossible to meet it in shallow water at this time of year, because it is cold there and there is little oxygen.

Wintering of carp mainly takes place in deep and at the same time warm areas of the reservoir, where the water temperature is at least 4-6 °C. In general, the warmer it is in any part of the reservoir, the more of this fish there will be in winter. Carp also loves various shelters, where they can feel safe and where they are not disturbed by the underwater current. Therefore, he tries to stay within such deep-sea places that contain:

• driftwood;
• trees fallen into the water;
• bottom with dense vegetation;

In winter, carp stick to the bottom with vegetation

• reed or reed thickets;
• hole or edge with algae;
• flowing warm springs or stream;
• steep banks or slopes;
• areas with muddy bottom, etc. etc.

Carp almost never go to shallow water in winter. Unless during periods of severe thaws or the last ice to warm up a little. Whereas in the middle of winter, even the smallest carp avoid shallow areas of the reservoir. This is due not only to the low temperature of the environment, but also to poor aeration.

If there is less than 3 cm³ of oxygen in 1 liter of water, then the carp may even die.

Favorite habitats of carp in winter

Remember that if the reservoir does not freeze in winter, then you can catch carp here all year round. After all, the behavior of the fish changes little. It lives in the same favorite pits and moves along the same paths as in the summer. Of course, due to the low water temperature (8-10°C), the carp is inactive and not too keen on food. But when the right approach you can safely hope for a catch.

To catch carp in winter, you need to choose the right places

Carp remains more “mobile” in winter and in reservoirs where there are no great depths (up to 4-5 m), holes, dumps and other shelters, and the thickness of the silt at the bottom does not exceed 5 cm. Here the fish simply cannot find a place to winter. She is forced to constantly move in search of food and more aerated areas.

There is a false belief that carp always stay in deep water during the winter months. And on the very great depth. However, the experience of most anglers suggests the opposite. A significant amount of this fish was caught where the depth starts from 2 m and ends at 5-7 m. Apparently, the carp still avoids the deepest areas in winter. So he rarely chooses places for wintering holes in which the distance from the bottom to the ice layer is more than 8 m. Why? Apparently again due to the minimum oxygen content and low temperatures.

At the same time, contrary to popular belief, in winter carp are not always located at the very bottom. After all, it is often colder there than in the middle layers. For example, on frosty days, when the air temperature for a long time stays at -25°C and below. Then it moves a little higher - about a meter from the bottom. All this again confirms the fact that in winter carp tries to stay in the warmest areas and places.

In winter, carp often stay in the middle layers of water

That is why in winter this fish often lives near streams or springs flowing into the pond, as well as where underground springs flow from the bottom or water enters from a hydroelectric power station. After all, the temperature here is several degrees higher than in the entire reservoir.

For fishermen, these are very promising places for catching carp. Finding them is not difficult - just pay attention to the thickness and color of the ice, which here is usually thinner and almost transparent.

Some fishermen note that in winter, carp also try to live in the more southern part of the reservoir or stand on the leeward side of the pond. He also likes it where, before the onset of winter, everything was surrounded by algae and water lilies. Often the fish specifically stays in those places that attracted it in the summer. After all, if in extreme heat and heat the carp found shelter in such areas, then why not hide here in winter too.

By the thickness of the ice, you can determine the presence of underground springs, near which carp often live

There are many places where carp spend the winter. However, the fish approaches their choice thoroughly. The main thing for her is that it is warmer and safer there than in other parts of the reservoir, and that the water contains a sufficient amount of oxygen. In this case, the presence of food nearby plays a secondary role. After all, in winter, carp consume little food, and, if necessary, go to feeding points.

What you need to know about carp fishing in winter

Fishing for carp in winter is not very popular. There are several reasons for this:

• For example, some fishermen believe that carp behave like crucian carp in winter and burrow into the mud, stopping feeding. Naturally, this is not at all true. It’s just that if in the summer this fish eats kilograms of food literally in a day, then in the winter a few grams per day are enough for it.
• Others ignore ice fishing for carp precisely because of its low activity and poor appetite. After all, few fishermen have the patience to wait a whole day for one weak bite, which they still need to try to realize.

For winter fishing for carp, you can use caddis flies as bait.

However, if you know where carp spend the winter, as well as what places they especially love in winter, then you can achieve success. True, we must not forget about others important points. For example, the number of baits and the volume of bait for catching carp in winter should be minimal. Otherwise, the fish will quickly get enough and the fishing will end in vain.

The best baits are bloodworms, caddis flies, maggots and boilies. Sometimes winter carp are caught well on green peas and corn. Apparently bright colors additionally attract him. Bait for winter carp fishing should contain a lot of proteins and proteins, and it is recommended that all its ingredients be finely ground. This again will not allow the fish to quickly get enough of large particles of bait.

Among other things, winter carp fishing will require a huge amount of patience. After all, compared to fishing in spring and summer, it is difficult to lure this fish with high-quality bait or surprise it with a tasty bait.

How and what to catch carp in winter - about this in the video:

Stories about winter for children

in winter

A quick-running hare trail stretched across the road and disappeared into the dense spruce forest. Foxy, stitched. paw by paw, winding along the winter road. The squirrel ran across the road and, raising its fluffy tail, quickly swung at the green tree.
At the tops of the trees there are clusters of dark purple cones. Lively forest titmice are jumping on the cones, crossbills are chatting. And below, on the mountain ash, red-throated bullfinches scattered. Having shaken off the silver frost, the whole flock took off and, like ruddy beads, settled on the branches of a bare birch.
A large well-worn road ran past the school.
Lumberjacks-collective farmers are going into the forest, and the lumberjacks have white beards and icicles on their mustaches. Children run to school, squeaking their felt boots, clapping their mittens:
- Oh, it's frosty!
And in the forest Frost hung laces - neither can be described with a pen, nor told in a fairy tale! If you accidentally catch it, light diamond dust flies onto your hats.

On the Lenin Hills

On Sunday, dad and mom took skis, I took a sled, and we went to the Lenin Mountains. From the Lenin Hills you can see all of Moscow and our house too.
On one mountain, the highest, white sticks with red flags were stuck right into the snow, and as soon as the uncle waved the flag at the top, the skier would run quickly, quickly between the sticks down the mountain. And my dad also went from this mountain. Mom shouted to him: “Faster, faster!”
On the other, very steep mountain, skiers jumped high, high, above the trees, then sank onto the snow and did not fall. I sledded so fast that my mother couldn’t catch up with me on skis. Once on a hill, the sled jumped high, and I fell, and the sled drove down to the Moscow River itself, and my mother and other skiers caught them. Below, by the river, music was playing, beautiful red and blue flags were fluttering. Many skiers were running there, overtaking each other. My dad was skiing ahead of everyone.

Who spends the winter how?

Look out the window. All the glass is painted with white patterns - the frost painted it that way. It's cold outside. Everything around is covered with snow - the ground and the roofs of houses, even on the trees there is snow.
January is the most cold month, mid winter. Ponds and rivers are frozen, fields and forests are covered with snow. The nights are long. At eight o'clock in the morning it is still dark, by nine the sun only rises. And the days in winter are very short. You can’t get around to going outside to run and play, and suddenly it’s dark again.
Look into the yard on a winter morning. Sparrows are jumping in the snow; from the cold they have become ruffled, fluffed up, and look like balls. They jump and pick up crumbs. It’s important here, crows waddle around, jackdaws scurry between them - just looking to see what they can profit from.
They bring out a bowl of food for the dog, they just put it down, and the jackdaws and crows are right there: the dogs are jumping around, trying to snatch a piece from right under their noses. The dog can’t stand it and rushes after the bird, while others are already climbing into the bowl. Some will grab the bread, some will grab a bone, and they will fly away.
In the village in winter, near the house, not only these birds can be seen. Tits, buntings, and even wary magpies fly here. They are hungry in the forest in winter, so they fly closer to human habitation to feed.
Forest animals climbed into warm holes.
, foxes go hunting, and in the fall the bear lies down in a den and sleeps until spring.
In winter, everyone tries to hide from the frost, from the cold, icy wind, and everyone has adapted to winter in their own way.

Where do mosquitoes go in winter?

For the winter, mosquitoes hid in various cracks and old hollows. They winter next to us too. They will climb into the basement or cellar, a lot of them will gather there in the corner. Mosquitoes cling to the ceiling and walls with their long varnishes and sleep all winter.

What does a woodpecker feed on in winter?

A bird lives in our forest. She herself is black with white spots, and on the back of her head she has bright, red feathers. This bird is called a woodpecker.
In the summer, the woodpecker flies through the forest all day, looking for food. It will sit on a tree, not on a branch like other birds, but directly on the trunk and run up it, as if on a ladder. He runs, and taps the wood with his beak: knock-knock, knock-knock. It will take out a larva or bug from under the bark and eat it.
And winter came, it became cold. All the insects hid far away. What does a woodpecker feed on in winter? Look: in the snow under the tree there are many, many pine cones lying around. What kind of tree is this? It's oak, not pine. Where did the pine cones underneath come from?
Suddenly a woodpecker flew up to the oak tree; holds a cone in its beak. He stuck it into the crevice of the tree and began to peck it with his beak. He gouged it out, picked out the seeds and flew off to get another one. He brought another one, inserted it into the crevice, and pushed out the old lump. That's why there's a whole bunch of cones lying under the tree. It's the woodpecker who feeds on their seeds in winter.

How does a hare live in winter?

Winter. Freezing. All the animals hid from the severe cold. But the hare has neither a hole nor a nest. Today he will sleep under a bush, tomorrow he will lie down in a ravine; Where he digs a hole in the snow, that’s where he has a house. But the hare’s fur coat is warm, fluffy and white as snow. He feels good in such a fur coat - it’s warm and it’s not difficult to hide from enemies: snuggled in the snow - try to see it!
During the day the hare sleeps, and when night falls, it goes out for a walk and to feed.
While there is not much snow in the field, he will dig it up with his paws, and lo and behold, he will find grass. And as the blizzards sweep deep snowdrifts, the hare can’t dig out the snow. But in the forest, he will climb a high snowdrift, gnaw off young twigs from bushes, from trees or devour bark - and that’s enough. And sometimes he will come to visit the village. He will come late in the evening, when the village is quiet, everyone is already asleep, he will run up to the haystack and start pulling hay. He'll pluck, eat, and then run back into the forest. This is how the hare lives all winter.

About the hare

In winter, the forest hare turns white. The winter white coat is thicker and warmer than the brown summer coat. Such a hare is good at hiding from enemies. Go and see the white hare on the white snow!
The white hare does not turn white immediately, but gradually. At first it will lighten up a little. Then the hind legs will turn white. If you look from a distance, it’s like the hare is wearing white panties. This is what hunters say about such hares: a hare in pants.
The hare doesn’t wear white pants for long: only a week and a half. He'll turn white all over, and there'll be no pants.

How does a squirrel spend the winter?

In winter, a squirrel is not afraid of either frost or wind. As soon as a snowstorm or bad weather begins to swirl, the squirrel quickly hurries to its nest.
A squirrel’s nest, like a bird’s, is made of branches, twigs. Yes, how cleverly done - as if big ball, round, and on the side there is a loophole.
The inside of the nest is lined with dry soft bedding: it is cozy and warm. The squirrel will climb into the nest, and to prevent the cold wind from blowing in, it will also close the loophole with bedding. Then he curls up into a ball, covers himself with his fluffy tail and sleeps.
And outside the icy wind howls and carries fine prickly snow. The bad weather will subside, the squirrel will come out of the nest, shake itself and jump from tree to tree - to get food for itself: where it will pick a fir cone, where it will find a dry mushroom, which it itself left on a branch in the summer to dry. But the squirrel’s main food has been stored in the pantry since the fall - in the hollow of an old tree. She has acorns and nuts there - enough for the whole winter.

If you haven't seen it, you won't believe it

The trees are cracking because of the frost, and there is a nest on the tree, and in the nest the bird sits and warms its eggs.
This brave bird is the crossbill.
All birds build nests in the spring. Crossbills have their own rules. They hatch chicks when there is plenty of food. Winter, spring, summer - they don't care. It would be satisfying.
Crossbill food - seeds from spruce and pine cones. The cones hang on the tree all year round. Crossbills have enough food even in winter; there is enough to feed the chicks. It's warm in the nest. The clusterbill does not fly away from the nest; the male brings her food. The chicks hatch, and then the mother sits in the nest, warms the naked chicks, and warms herself from them.
Where there are a lot of cones, there are a lot of crossbills. There are few cones - no crossbills, they have nothing to do in such a forest: there is no food.
Crossbills have special noses - cross-shaped. This nose is very convenient for picking out seeds from cones.
If you want to see crossbill, look for it in spruce forest. Don’t look down, but look at the tops of the trees. You will see - there, high, high, near the cones, birds are climbing on the branches, near the cones, birds are climbing on the branches, hanging upside down - there they are, crossbills! And if you listen, you will hear: “kle-kle-kle.” These are the crossbills calling to each other.

How do fish winter?

The frost covered the ponds, rivers, and lakes with a thick cover of ice. Only in the hole, as in an outlet, is clear, quiet water visible.
The winter river is gloomy and dull. The sun does not shine through the water, the sand does not shine, the water grasses do not bloom... In deep silence among the hills and valleys of the river bottom, fish stand motionless. They stand in large herds, with their heads all in one direction. They don't move their fins or their tail. Only the gills rise slightly - they breathe. Even in the fall, fish gather in herds and choose a place for wintering.
In summer, the thick-headed catfish slowly walks in the deepest places, moving its long whiskers, looking for a hole or rut that would be deeper and more spacious. He loves to lie in such pits. He sleeps during the day, and at night he goes out hunting: he will grab a fish, and grab a crayfish, and eat a frog. But in winter he lies in the hole completely motionless.
A wide, flat bream before wintering, as soon as the first ice appears off the coast, quickly rises to the surface, rolls over on its side in the water and lies there for several minutes, as if saying goodbye to light and air. And then he rushes headlong into the depths and falls to the bottom. Bream lie in rows, like firewood in a woodpile, without any movement.
Carp choose a muddy bottom and burrow into the mud. Sometimes they will find a soft hole and lie down in it with the whole herd.
The cheerful, active perch loves stones and half-rotten trees that have fallen to the bottom. Hugging closely to each other, lowering their red fins, perches fall asleep in such places for the whole winter.
Herds of minnows and ruffs fall to the sand in a wide ribbon. At the top, right under the ice, near the grass and reeds, silvery herds of roach stand motionless. Pike and pike perch sleep in rows in dark hollows.
The voracious pike has trouble sleeping. Narrow, with predatory eyes, with a huge mouth, no, no, and she will walk along the river and swallow sleepy fish. But her movements are slow, not like in the summer, when she rushes at her prey like lightning.
And only one burbot walks along the river lively and cheerfully all winter. He walks nimbly between sleeping schools of fish, looking for and swallowing young sleepy fish.
But as time goes by towards spring, the sun will drive away the ice and look into the river. The fish will wake up and swim, swelling their gills... And the burbot will no longer rush after them. Lethargic, half asleep, he will begin to look for a place to hibernate. He will hide under a stone or under a tree and fall asleep like the dead for the whole summer, until the very frost.

Look around

It's cold and the birds are hungry in winter. It is difficult to get food from under the snow. Collect bread crumbs, leftover porridge, some grains, grains from the table.
Ask adults to place a board behind the window and pour food onto it: bread crumbs, leftover porridge, grains.
The sparrows will see your treat and fly in to peck it. And if you build a plank in the garden, not only sparrows, but titmice and even the red-breasted bullfinch will be able to fly there. You can immediately recognize him from all the birds - his breast is bright red, and on his head it looks like he is wearing a black velvet cap.
The birds will get used to being fed here on the board and will come every day. And notice what birds are flying.
You probably see a crow and a jackdaw every day. But can you tell them apart?
A crow is larger than a jackdaw. She herself is gray, her wings and tail are black and on her chest it’s like a black vest.
And the jackdaw is all black, only with gray feathers on its neck, it looks like it’s wearing a headscarf. And the jackdaw's eyes are light.
And crows and jackdaws scream in completely different ways. A crow will sit on a tree or on a fence, strain, stretch out its neck and shout: “Karrr-karrr...” And the jackdaws seem to call each other: “Jackdaw-jackdaw-jackdaw.” That's probably why they were called jackdaws.
The snow lies white, fluffy, and each snowflake is like a small star. It's easy to see. When it starts snowing, go out into the yard and see how beautiful the snowflakes land on your fur coat.

If you want to see how the snow continues to increase, plan out a long stick with a sharp end and make notes on it so that it can be seen from a distance; stick a stick into the ground in the yard, where no one walks, and watch how the snow will cover it higher and higher. Remember what note he gets to during the winter.
And spring will come, the snow will begin to melt and fall down the stick. When the snow melts, take a stick and measure how high the snow was in winter. Sometimes he attacks so much that he will grow taller than you over the winter.

In winter, the days are short and the sun shines little. And the closer to spring, the higher it rises in the sky and shines longer. You can check this yourself.
If the sun is shining in your room in the evening before sunset, notice more precisely where on the wall its last ray - the last sunbeam - was reflected. And a few more days will pass, mind you, and then another. So you will see that each time the bunny jumps further and further along the wall, each day it goes out later and later. This means that the sun shines in the sky longer and the days become longer. This means things are heading towards spring.

Migratory birds

Birds are restless. Look how they jump from branch to branch, fly from tree to tree! But so can a squirrel or some other animal. But only birds, and not even all birds, can fly thousands of kilometers and then return again.

Thrushes and finches, larks and siskins, swallows and orioles, storks and cuckoos - they can. That’s why they are called migratory. In the summer they live with us, build nests, and hatch chicks. And with the onset of cold weather, they fly away to hotter regions for the whole winter, only to return to their native places in the spring.

But crows and jackdaws, sparrows and tits, woodpeckers, magpies and pigeons do not fly away anywhere. All year round they live with us. And they are called sedentary. These birds are not afraid of frost, and manage to get food even in the snowiest winters. And yet it’s hard for them in winter. It is especially difficult for small birds. Out of ten, maybe one or two survive until spring. And if you help the birds at this time - make a feeder, sprinkle some grains, cereals or bread crumbs - then you will save more than one bird’s life.

Frosty winter is a special time in the life of river and lake inhabitants. Dense ice depletes water saturation atmospheric oxygen. Snow cover reduces access sunlight into the under-ice space. Water lowers the temperature, causing most cold-blooded animals to become lethargic and inactive.

Some fish, like amphibians, enter into winter anabiosis (hibernation). In reservoirs that freeze to the bottom, crucian carp and small black dahlia fish, along with newts and frogs, burrow into the silt until spring, stopping all life processes. Other fish, obeying natural instincts, implement their species behavior patterns.

Wintering options for fish

Common options for wintering fish:

• gregarious sedentary existence in wintering pits;
• active twilight life(for predatory species);
• entry into the winter spawning phase;
• seasonal migrations;

The inhabitants under the ice are helped to endure the winter favorably by special physical properties water. Fresh water acquires its greatest density at +4 degrees Celsius. Cooling in the sub-ice layer to this temperature, the water sinks down without reaching the critical freezing point. The convective rotation of warm and cooling layers does not stop until the entire reservoir cools to +4, which only happens in very shallow ponds and lakes.

Related materials:

The most big fish in the world

Wintering pits and predators under the ice

Winter cold is the time when the growth of aquatic vegetation and plankton stops. Fish, whose food supply is becoming scarce, reduce their vital activity, gather in schools, and look for suitable places for wintering. Individuals of the same age and size gather in wintering pits. This makes it easier for them to endure the cold, clustering tightly in flocks. Mucus abundantly secreted on the surface of the scales helps to resist the cold and minimize energy costs. Most likely, it is this that scares away predators; the population of fish waiting out the cold remains untouched throughout the winter.

This behavior is typical for heat-loving bream, carp, and tench. The fat reserves stored in the summer allow you not to worry about nutrition. Near three months the fish spend little movement in wintering pits, so that the individuals closest to the bottom develop bedsores on their bellies.

Predatory fish belonging to twilight species feel good under the ice. Perch actively hunts both in the light and in areas shaded by ice, becoming frequent prey for fishermen - masters of ice fishing. Pike prefers darker deep spaces, staying close to schools of perch and roach, catching ruffs, bleaks and verkhovok. On the same fish that do not change their usual places of existence in cold period year, the deepest twilight predator, pike perch, also hunts. Winter fishing for pike perch is possible only in the dark depths at a considerable distance from the shore.

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Time for whitefish and burbot

Catfish are somewhat more active, looking for places near the boundaries of wintering pits, on elevations of the bottom, near rapids that are more saturated with oxygen. Significant body weight allows the catfish not to fear rapid hypothermia. However, the most persistent lovers of winter swimming are burbots.

Burbot - winter fish

The temperature regime in the under-ice world is favorable for burbot. This fish doesn't like warm water, heated in summer shallow water to a temperature of 27°C, it becomes fatal not only for juveniles, but also for adults. In summer, the fish leads an inactive lifestyle, hiding under snags, boulders and in holes. The burbot feeding season begins with the autumn cold snap, when the water cools to temperatures below +15 degrees. Winter cold adds activity. It is during the time of severe frosts that burbot spawn on areas of the bottom covered with small stones.

Whitefish, which lives in reservoirs surrounding the north of our country, from the European to the Far Eastern parts, also enters an active breeding phase in the fall and early winter. The whitefish feeds on bottom organisms, as well as the eggs of fish spawning in winter; it also eats its own.
Winter migrants