Shared by Kelly Veronica Roach, Master Naturalist & Master Hiker, as Guest Blogger.

December welcomed the winter solstice and a trail transition to “stick season”—a time when one could view the woods as dull and drab. However, I challenge you instead to discover a rainbow in the long grey days ahead.  

Rainbow swamp at First Landing State Park by Katherine Scott. Taken on December 13.

Christmas ferns and Virginia pine will add shades of green to your palette. Dogwood stems add bright red and black raspberry, a deep purple. If you are particularly lucky, you may even add yellow to your winter woodland palette, from the ribbon-like petals of blooming witch hazel.  

Christmas ferns + groundcedar poking up through fallen leaves, seen at Lake Anna State Park. Taken on January 1.

Both beech and oak trees retain their dead leaves until spring, providing a welcome addition of cinnamon brown to an otherwise bare landscape. Pin, burr and chestnut oaks partake in this process known as marcescence, where they hold onto leaves until spring.  

Colorful leaves litter the ground and hold onto trees along Boyd’s Hole trail at Caledon State Park. Taken on December 19.

Many overwintering birds will add flickers of color to the woods as well this season. The distinct red plumage and deep orange beak of the Northern Cardinal is unmistakable. You can find matching red on the red-headed, red-bellied and pileated woodpeckers. You may catch the blue of a blue jay and eastern bluebird, or the yellow underside of a flicker flying by. An artist could conjure up an overwintering bird no more unbelievable than the wood duck with an iridescent green crest, blue and purple plumage, golden flank, chestnut breast and even red eyes and eyelids!  

Eastern bluebird sits on a branch in the snow at Sweet Run State Park. Photo taken by Sara Huber on January 6.

As you look around the woods for color, don’t forget to look up at the sky, as it will appear a more vivid blue during the winter months. Why? Colder air holds less moisture, leading to less light scattering, allowing more blue light to reach our eyes - a phenomenon known as Rayleigh scattering.  

Northern cardinal against a blue sky at Mason Neck State Park. Photo taken on March 1.

I challenge you to not view winter as a time when the curtain closes on color in the woods, but rather a time when you have the unique opportunity to have the clearest perspective of nature’s performance. 

Kelly Roach is a Virginia Master Naturalist, Master Hiker and park volunteer at Sweet Run State Park. We hope you’ll follow her lead in noticing all the beauty of each season outdoors in Virginia.