Winter may seem to be lacking in color, with vibrant autumn hues fading quickly to a landscape of browns, whites, and evergreen. However, finding other colors is possible if you pay close attention, and it can be an entertaining challenge for your next winter walk!
Red is not only found in holiday decorations and mistletoe in doorways. True to its name, the winterberry is a flowering bush within the holly family that’s found year-round but only produces its scarlet-toned berries during our coldest months. This plant, along with other shrubs like chokeberry and American holly, is vital to supporting wildlife—particularly birds—through the season. If you look up, you may spot the vivid red feathers of one of the animals relying on these berries: the male Northern Cardinal. They begin to molt in early fall, and many of their new feathers are tipped with gray until the winter months are upon us. By midwinter, most cardinals are at their brightest!
Orange can be more difficult to find in nature, but looking to the horizon at dusk can help. In fact, sunsets appear most brilliant in winter, and science offers insight into why. Humid conditions in warmer times of the year can subtly dull the colors of a sunset, scattering the light before it hits our eyes. Therefore, the low humidity as the temperature drops allows for more intense corals, pinks, and oranges.
Yellow is more common in winter than one might expect. Most assume that all trees with needles are evergreen, but the tamarack turns bright yellow in early autumn and its needles fall soon after. These needles, as well as grasses that have lost their chlorophyll, can light up your walk with shades of yellows and golds.
Green can be found beyond coniferous trees. Overwintering and migrating waterfowl can be spotted on Lake Michigan and in our wetlands, displaying flashes of green plumage. The male of many duck species, called the drake, have a noticeable green hue on their heads. The well-known Mallard drake has a fully green head separated from its brown body by a solid white stripe, while the North American Common Merganser’s fully green head contrasts sharply to its mostly white body.
Blue & Purple hues are created in many forms during the winter, caused by the dry air scattering blue and purple light wavelengths more effectively. The snow may appear purple or blue toned in the light, or the sky more vibrant. A surprising source is small patches of blue-stained snow often found near rabbit scat, a clue to the cause of this curious sight: rabbit urine, typically the eastern cottontail. As their usual meals of green grasses and leaves disappear, they shift their sights to woody vegetation, like the twigs of the non-native European buckthorn that contain a chemical which turns a purpley-blue color when exposed to sunlight.
