Waterfowl Identification Guide Comprehensive Conservation Plan Phone: 218-8474431 |
Prairies are dynamic ecosystems, and change dramatically with the seasons. In the spring, pasque flowers emerge through the snow as harbingers of the change in season. Grasses spring forth from their dormancy, and wildflowers come into bloom. Prairie chickens boom on their leks, and migratory birds return to breed.
Later in the summer, new prairie plants come into bloom, as others go to seed. The beautiful prairie colors are ever-changing when wildflowers dot the landscape. Ducks and grassland nesting birds secretly incubate their eggs in the tall grasses.
In the fall, grasses turn vivid colors of red and orange and late season wildlflowers create seed to continue their populations. Duck broods, now fully grown, congregate to begin their migration southward.
The winter is a time of solitude, but resident wildlife species can still be seen. Deer find winter cover in wetland vegetation, and dormant prairie grasses protruding from the snow make for picturesque scenes and remind us of the spring that will follow.
