What Are the Animals Really Tell Us?

Every fall, about the time the leaves begin to turn and the mornings start feeling a little sharper, people start watching the animals.

The squirrels seem to be everywhere, gathering nuts. Woolly bears begin appearing along roads and sidewalks. Birds start moving through the mountains. Deer grow their winter coats, beavers become busy preparing for the cold months ahead, and bears begin their great autumn feeding frenzy.

For generations, people have watched these changes and wondered if the animals were trying to tell us something.

Could they know what kind of winter is coming?

Before we go any further, let’s make one thing clear: this isn’t a claim that animals can predict the weather.

Many of the signs we’re going to explore come from old weather folklore—beliefs passed down through generations of people who paid close attention to the natural world around them.

But here’s where things get interesting.

The animals really are doing these things.

Squirrels really do gather and hide food. Beavers really do prepare for winter. Birds really do respond to seasonal and weather changes. Deer really do grow winter coats. Bears really do prepare for winter dens. Ants respond to changes in their environment, and even a cricket’s chirping can tell us something about temperature.

So perhaps the old-timers weren’t always wrong about what they were seeing.

Maybe they simply didn’t have the scientific explanation for it.

In this West Virginia Wisdom story, we’re going to take a closer look at some of nature’s supposed “winter forecasters” and compare what folklore tells us with what science tells us.

And then we’re going to try something ourselves.

We’re going to watch.

Forecaster#1: The Woolly Bear

If you’ve spent much time around West Virginia in the fall, chances are you’ve seen one.

A little fuzzy caterpillar crossing a road, driveway, sidewalk, or maybe even the middle of the yard.

Around here, you may hear it called a woolly bear or a woolly worm. They’re the same familiar fall caterpillar—the larva of the Isabella tiger moth.

And this little fellow has carried quite a reputation for generations.

What does the folklore say?

The old saying goes something like this:

The more black you see on the woolly bear, the harder the coming winter will be.

A woolly bear with a wide rusty-brown band in the middle is supposed to be predicting a milder winter, while one with more black is said to be warning us about snow, cold, and a long winter ahead.

There are even versions of the tradition that look at the location of the dark bands and try to determine when the worst part of winter will arrive.

That’s quite a responsibility for one little caterpillar!

But what does science say?

Here’s where our investigation gets interesting.

The woolly bear’s coloring isn’t simply a little weather calendar painted onto its back.

Its coloration changes as the caterpillar grows and molts. Age, development, moisture, and environmental conditions can all affect its appearance.

So while you may be able to look at a woolly bear and make a prediction about winter, there isn’t good scientific evidence that its bands can reliably predict how severe the coming winter will be.

🌨️ Our verdict:

Not a reliable winter forecaster—but definitely a fascinating sign of the changing season.

And honestly, I think that’s where we need to be careful with all of these old traditions.

Just because the woolly bear can’t predict January’s snowfall doesn’t mean our ancestors were foolish for watching it.

They were watching something real.

The caterpillar really does appear in the fall.

Its appearance really does change as it grows.

And its seasonal activity really is connected to the changing environment around it.

They just didn’t have microscopes, weather satellites, scientific journals, or decades of controlled observations to explain why.

They had their eyes.

And they paid attention.

That’s something worth remembering.

Forecaster #2: The Squirrel

Now let’s talk about one of the busiest little creatures in the woods when fall arrives—the squirrel.

If you’ve ever watched squirrels in September and October, you know they can suddenly seem to have one thing on their minds:

Gather. Gather. Gather!

They run across the yard, climb trees, dig holes, carry nuts, bury them, and then run off to find another one.

And Appalachian folklore has plenty to say about that busy little squirrel.

What does the folklore say?

One old saying goes:

“Squirrels gathering nuts in a flurry will cause snow to gather in a hurry.”

There are also traditions that say if squirrels are unusually busy gathering food, or if they build their nests high in the trees, we’re in for a hard winter.

And then there’s the observation that seems to make the most sense to anybody who’s ever watched them:

If the squirrels are gathering an unusually large supply of food, perhaps they know winter is going to be a bad one.

Sounds reasonable, doesn’t it?

But let’s slow down and investigate.

🥜 What does science say?

Squirrels really are preparing for winter.

Eastern gray squirrels, which are common throughout West Virginia, eat a variety of nuts and seeds, including acorns, hickory nuts and beechnuts. In the fall they gather food and bury or otherwise cache it in numerous locations.

Those hidden food supplies can become important when winter arrives and fresh food becomes harder to find.

So when we see a squirrel frantically carrying nuts across the yard, we really are watching an animal preparing for winter.

But here’s the catch.

A busy squirrel doesn’t necessarily mean a terrible winter is coming.

The amount of food available in the forest—what scientists call the mast crop—can vary tremendously from one year to another.

Trees may produce an enormous number of acorns and nuts one year and far fewer the next. Weather, tree health, insects and other environmental factors can influence the crop.

When there’s a bumper crop of nuts, squirrels have more food to gather.

That can make it look like they’re working overtime.

And if the nuts are plentiful, squirrels may simply have more opportunities to cache food.

🌨️ Our verdict:

Excellent winter preparer. Not a proven long-range winter forecaster.

And I think there’s something pretty wonderful about that distinction.

Our Appalachian ancestors didn’t have a scientific term like mast crop.

They simply looked out into the woods and saw squirrels gathering nuts.

Then they looked at the winter that followed.

After enough years of watching, they began connecting the two.

Maybe they weren’t predicting the weather at all.

Maybe they were reading the forest.

And that’s exactly what we’re going to do with our Winter Forecaster Challenge.

We’re going to watch these animals, write down what we see, and then wait to see what actually happens.

Because sometimes the best way to understand an old piece of wisdom is to test it ourselves.

Forecaster #3: The Beaver

If there’s one animal that seems like it ought to know when winter is coming, it’s the beaver.

After all, nobody has to tell a beaver that cold weather is on the way.

As autumn settles into the mountains, beavers become busy preparing for the months ahead. They’re gathering food, maintaining their lodges and making sure they have what they need when ice and cold make life a little more difficult.

And naturally, people have watched all that activity and wondered:

Could the beaver know what kind of winter is coming?

What does the folklore say?

Traditional weather lore says that when beavers seem especially busy in the fall—building a larger lodge, gathering extra food or making unusually extensive preparations—it may mean we’re headed for a hard winter.

The reasoning seems simple:

If the beaver is preparing for a rough winter, maybe the beaver knows something we don’t.

That’s a pretty good Appalachian way of looking at things!

But let’s investigate.

🪵 What does science say?

Beavers really do prepare for winter.

In colder climates, they gather branches and other woody foods and store them underwater near their lodge. That gives them access to food when the water is cold or covered with ice and traveling becomes more difficult.

Researchers have also found that the timing of beavers’ winter food-cache construction is associated with changing autumn temperatures and freezing conditions.

So once again, the old observation has something real behind it.

The beaver is responding to the changing environment.

But that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s looking months ahead and predicting how severe January will be.

Temperature, latitude, elevation, water conditions and the characteristics of the particular stream or pond can all influence how a beaver prepares.

A beaver living in northern country may have very different winter preparations from one living farther south.

🌨️ Our verdict:

Excellent winter preparer—and a pretty good environmental watcher—but not a proven long-range winter forecaster.

And there’s another lesson here.

Maybe when our ancestors watched the beavers working harder in the fall, they weren’t really seeing a weather prediction.

They were seeing an animal responding to changes that were already happening.

The days were getting shorter.

Temperatures were changing.

The water was cooling.

Winter was approaching.

The beaver knew it was time to prepare.

And maybe that’s why these old observations survived.

They didn’t always tell us what the future would bring—but they taught us to pay attention to what was happening around us.

Forecaster #4: The Birds

Of all the animals we’re watching, birds may be some of the most obvious seasonal travelers.

Every year, as summer fades into fall, we begin to notice changes in the bird population around us. Some birds disappear, some move through the mountains, and some actually arrive here for the winter.

If you’ve lived in West Virginia for a while, you’ve probably noticed it yourself.

And for generations, people have watched those movements and wondered:

Are the birds telling us what kind of winter is coming?

What does the folklore say?

There are many old weather sayings connected to birds.

Some traditions say that birds leaving earlier than usual are warning us of a hard winter. Others connect unusual bird behavior, large gatherings, or changes in migration with coming cold or snow.

It makes sense when you think about it.

If the birds are getting out of here early, perhaps they know something we don’t!

But once again, let’s investigate.

🐦 What does science say?

Birds really are paying attention to their environment—but they’re not necessarily looking months into the future.

Migration is influenced by several things, including daylight, food availability, temperature and weather conditions.

Shortening days provide an important seasonal signal for many migrating birds. Changes in food can also tell a bird that it is time to move.

And weather itself can affect when birds travel. Birds can take advantage of favorable winds, while bad weather can cause migration to slow down or stop.

Here in West Virginia, we also have a mixture of year-round residents, migrating birds passing through, and species that arrive for the winter.

So when we notice birds moving through the mountains, we may actually be watching several different things happening at once.

The birds aren’t necessarily predicting the winter. They’re responding to the changing world around them.

🔭 And here’s where modern science gets really interesting.

Scientists can now use weather radar to watch bird migration across huge areas.

Projects such as BirdCast combine radar observations and other information to estimate when and where large numbers of birds are migrating.

Think about that for a moment.

Our ancestors stood outside and watched the birds.

Today, scientists watch them too—but instead of simply looking up at the sky, they can use technology to see enormous movements of birds that one person could never observe.

We’ve come a long way from sitting on the porch and saying, “Well, the birds are moving, so I wonder what they’re telling us.”

But in a way, we’re still doing the same thing.

We’re watching nature.

🌨️ Our verdict:

Excellent seasonal and short-term weather watchers—but not reliable long-range winter forecasters.

The birds aren’t necessarily telling us what February will bring.

They’re telling us what is happening right now.

And maybe that’s an important piece of West Virginia Wisdom, too.

Our ancestors didn’t have radar screens.

They had the birds.

Forecaster#5: The Ant

You might not think of an ant as a weather forecaster.

After all, when you see a line of ants marching across the kitchen counter, your first thought probably isn’t, “I wonder what they’re predicting for January?” 😂

But people in Appalachia have watched ants for generations, and some old weather lore gives them quite a job.

What does the folklore say?

One traditional Appalachian belief says:

“An ant builds his hill high”—and that high ant hill was considered a sign of a bad winter.

Other old weather sayings connected unusual ant activity with approaching rain or storms.

There was even an old belief that if ants enlarged their piles early in the summer, it meant an early and cold winter was coming.

So according to the old-timers, those little creatures might have been giving us several different warnings!

🐜 What does science say?

Here’s where the ants get interesting.

Ants are very sensitive to their surroundings. Temperature and moisture can affect their activity, and different species have different tolerances for cold.

Some ants actually remain active during surprisingly cold conditions.

And when environmental conditions change, ants may change what they’re doing—moving, foraging, nesting, or changing where they spend their time.

So once again, there’s something real behind the observation.

The ants really are responding to their environment.

But that doesn’t mean an ant can look toward January and say, “Folks, we’re going to have a doozy of a winter this year.” 😂

We don’t have good scientific evidence that the height of an ant hill can reliably predict the severity of the coming winter.

🌨️ Our verdict:

The ant is an environmental watcher—but not a proven long-range winter forecaster.

And here’s something I really like about this one.

When our ancestors noticed ants building higher mounds, they didn’t have the scientific knowledge to explain everything that might influence that behavior.

They simply noticed:

The ants are doing something different.

And instead of ignoring it, they remembered it.

They watched.

They compared it with what happened afterward.

They passed the observation down to their children.

That’s how a lot of traditional weather lore began.

Maybe the prediction wasn’t always correct.

But the observation was worth making.

And now I’m starting to think those “pesky little animals” deserve a little more respect. 😉

Forecaster # 6: The Deer

Have you ever noticed how different a deer can look as summer turns into fall?

That sleek reddish-brown summer coat gradually gives way to a thicker, grayer or brownish winter coat. The deer starts looking almost fluffy compared with what we saw during the warmer months.

And our old-timers noticed that, too.

What does the folklore say?

One piece of Appalachian weather lore says that dark-colored deer are a sign of a bad winter ahead.

Other traditions pay attention to how thick the deer’s coat becomes.

The thinking is pretty simple:

If the deer are growing a heavy coat early, they must know a hard winter is coming.

And when you live in the mountains and see a deer suddenly looking like it has put on a winter jacket, it’s easy to understand why someone might think that.

🦌 What does science say?

Here’s the interesting part:

The deer really are preparing for winter.

White-tailed deer grow a much thicker winter coat. Their winter hair provides considerably better insulation than their summer coat, helping them conserve body heat when temperatures drop.

But the change isn’t necessarily a prediction of what’s going to happen months from now.

One of the biggest signals controlling seasonal coat changes is day length. As the days shorten in autumn, the deer’s body receives a signal that the seasons are changing.

Temperature and other environmental conditions can also influence the animal’s condition and coat.

So when you see a deer with a thick winter coat, it’s not necessarily saying:

“We’re going to have a terrible winter!”

It’s more like:

“The seasons are changing. I’d better get ready.”

🌨️ Our verdict:

Excellent seasonal indicator—but not a reliable predictor of winter severity.

And I really like what the deer teach us in this investigation.

The old-timers were looking at the same animal we are.

They saw the coat changing.

They saw the seasons changing.

They knew winter was coming.

They simply connected that observation with what happened next.

And perhaps they weren’t completely wrong to believe the deer were telling them something.

They were.

They were telling us that nature was changing.

Forecaster # 7: The Black Bear

If any animal looks like it should know what winter has in store, I’d put my money on the black bear.

As summer fades into fall, bears seem to suddenly have one mission:

EAT!

And I mean eat a LOT.

They’re searching for nuts, berries, fruits, insects, and whatever other food they can find. Their fall feeding frenzy is so noticeable that scientists have a name for it: hyperphagia.

So naturally, people have wondered:

Is the bear preparing for the winter it knows is coming—or does it somehow know what kind of winter is coming?

What does the folklore say?

Traditional weather lore sometimes interprets a bear’s behavior as a prediction of the coming winter.

If a bear goes into its den early, some people say a hard winter is coming.

If it spends the fall eating enormous quantities of food, that can also be interpreted as a warning that a particularly cold or snowy winter is on the way.

It sounds reasonable when you think about it.

If the bear is preparing for a rough winter, maybe the bear knows something we don’t.

But once again, let’s investigate.

🌰 What does science say?

Here’s where our bear really gets interesting.

Black bears aren’t simply preparing for some mysterious future weather event.

Food availability is a huge factor in what they do.

In West Virginia, bears spend much of the fall taking advantage of whatever food the forest has produced that year. A plentiful crop of acorns and other nuts can keep bears actively feeding later into the season.

In fact, wildlife officials have documented years when abundant food supplies resulted in bears remaining active later rather than denning early.

Climate and temperature can also affect denning behavior.

So if we see a bear eating like there’s no tomorrow, it doesn’t necessarily mean:

“Folks, we’re going to have a terrible winter.”

The bear may simply be saying:

“The food is here, and I need to take advantage of it while I can.”

And that makes perfect survival sense.

❄️ What about denning?

Black bears are fascinating because they’re not quite the same as the deep hibernators many people imagine.

During winter denning, their metabolism, heart rate and breathing slow dramatically. But they can awaken and respond to their surroundings.

When bears enter their dens—and when they come back out—can vary depending on things such as food availability, temperature, climate, sex and reproductive status.

Pregnant females, for example, have different denning patterns than some other bears.

So there isn’t one simple “bear calendar” that tells us what winter will bring.

🌨️ Our verdict:

The bear is an excellent environmental indicator—but not a proven long-range winter forecaster.

And I think the bear may give us one of the best lessons in this whole story.

The bear isn’t necessarily predicting winter.

The bear is preparing for winter.

It’s responding to the conditions it is experiencing right now.

Food is available.

Temperatures are changing.

The days are getting shorter.

Winter is coming.

The bear doesn’t need to know whether February will bring two feet of snow.

It just needs to know:

“It’s time to get ready.”

And isn’t that what our ancestors were doing too?

They watched the bear.

They watched the deer.

They watched the squirrels.

They watched the birds.

They watched the ants and the beavers.

They watched the little woolly bears crossing the road.

They were watching nature get ready for winter.

Maybe that’s the wisdom hiding underneath all those old predictions.

The animals weren’t necessarily predicting the future. They were responding to the present—and our ancestors were paying attention.

Forecaster # 8: The Cricket

Have you ever sat outside on a summer evening and heard the crickets singing?

Maybe you never thought much about it beyond, “Yep, sounds like summer.”

But those little chirps are actually giving us information.

🌡️ What does the cricket tell us?

Temperature.

A cricket’s chirping rate is strongly affected by temperature. As the temperature rises, many crickets chirp faster; as the temperature drops, their chirping slows down.

This relationship between cricket chirps and temperature has been known for a very long time.

You may have heard the old “cricket thermometer” trick. One traditional version says to count the number of chirps in 15 seconds and add 40 to get an approximate temperature in Fahrenheit.

But there’s an important little catch.

Not every cricket follows exactly the same formula.

Different species have different songs and different relationships between chirping rate and temperature. And the cricket isn’t chirping to give us a weather report. Male crickets primarily chirp to communicate and attract females.

So the cricket isn’t sitting under the porch thinking:

“Let’s see… 48 chirps. Looks like we’re in for a rough winter.” 😂

It’s doing what crickets do.

But we can listen to it and learn something about the environment.

🌨️ Can a cricket predict winter?

No—not really.

The cricket can give us information about the temperature right now, but there’s no good evidence that its chirping can predict the severity of the coming winter.

And that makes our little cricket a perfect ending to our group of “forecasters.”

🦗 Our verdict:

A surprisingly good temperature indicator—but not a winter forecaster.

And think about what we’ve discovered.

The woolly bear tells us something about its development and environment.

The squirrel tells us about food availability.

The beaver tells us about seasonal conditions.

The birds respond to daylight, food and weather.

The ants respond to their environment.

The deer respond to seasonal changes.

The bear responds to food, temperature and the coming winter.

And the cricket?

The cricket can actually give us a rough reading of the temperature.

Maybe none of them can tell us exactly what February will bring.

But every one of them is telling us something.

And that might be the real wisdom hiding in all those old weather signs.

The animals weren’t necessarily predicting the future.

They were responding to the present—and our ancestors were paying attention.

So, Were the Old-Timers Wrong

Not necessarily.

They simply worked with what they had.

They didn’t have the internet to pull up a seven-day forecast. They didn’t have weather radar on their phones or satellites watching storms move across the country.

What they had was their own eyes, their own experience, and the natural world around them.

They watched the squirrels.

They watched the birds.

They watched the deer.

They watched the ants and the beavers.

They watched the woolly bears crossing the road and listened to the crickets singing.

And then they remembered what happened afterward.

Those observations were passed from parent to child, grandparent to grandchild, and neighbor to neighbor.

Over time, those observations became sayings and traditions.

Were all of them scientifically accurate?

Probably not.

But that doesn’t mean they were foolish.

In many cases, our ancestors really were observing changes in nature. They just didn’t have the scientific tools we have today to explain exactly what they were seeing.

Today we have weather satellites, radar, computers and meteorologists.

But we can still look outside.

We can still listen.

We can still watch.

And maybe that’s one piece of wisdom worth carrying forward.

The old-timers didn’t have all the answers. But they knew how to pay attention.

And perhaps that’s what these winter “forecasters” are really teaching us.

Not necessarily how to predict the weather—but how to notice the world around us.

And that, I think, is a pretty good piece of West Virginia Wisdom.

The Winter Forecaster Challenge

Now it’s your turn.

This winter, become a nature watcher.

You don’t need special equipment. You don’t need to know anything about weather science. All you need is a notebook, a pencil, and a willingness to pay attention.

When you see one of the animals we’ve talked about, watch from a respectful distance. Don’t approach, chase, feed, or disturb wildlife.

Write down what you see.

🐿️ What are the squirrels doing?
Are they gathering an unusual number of nuts?

🐦 What are the birds doing?
Are you seeing birds you’ve never noticed before? Are large numbers suddenly moving through the area?

🦌 What about the deer?
Does their winter coat seem thicker or darker than usual?

🦫 Are the beavers busy?
What are they doing around their lodge or food supply?

🐜 What are the ants doing?
Are their hills changing? Are they unusually active?

🐻 What about the bears?
If you’re lucky enough to observe bear activity safely from a distance, when do you notice them becoming less active?

🐛 Have you spotted a woolly bear?
What does its coloring look like?

🦗 And don’t forget the crickets.
If you hear them, check the thermometer. Does their chirping seem to change as the temperature changes?

Now comes the fun part.

Make your prediction.

Don’t worry about being right. This isn’t a test.

Write down what you think your observations might mean for the coming winter.

Then put your notes away and let winter happen.

When spring arrives, pull out your notebook and see what happened.

Which “forecaster” came closest?

Maybe one of them surprised you.

Maybe none of them got it right.

And maybe you’ll discover something completely different that you never expected.

That’s the fun of watching nature.

We’re not trying to prove that our ancestors had all the answers.

We’re following their example and paying attention.

So grab that notebook, step outside, and see what the animals around you are saying.

And when winter is over, come back and tell us what you discovered! 🌄❄️🐾

🌄 One Last Thought

Maybe the animals were never meant to be perfect weather forecasters.

Maybe they were simply part of a much bigger conversation between people and the natural world.

Before weather apps and television forecasts, our ancestors had to look around them. They learned the habits of the animals, the changing of the seasons, the behavior of the clouds, the feel of the wind and the signs they saw year after year.

Some of those old predictions turned out to be wrong.

Some may have had a little truth hiding underneath them.

But the tradition of watching, remembering and passing knowledge along was valuable all by itself.

So this winter, let’s carry that tradition forward.

Watch the animals. Listen to the crickets. Look at the sky. Pay attention to the world around you.

And maybe, along the way, we’ll discover that the old-timers left us something more valuable than a weather prediction.

They left us the wisdom to pay attention.

And that’s what West Virginia Wisdom is all about. ❤️