Prairies and grasslands offer some of the world’s most beautiful yet overlooked landscapes. From far away, they look messy and uninviting. Take a closer look and you may just find a surprise, a rattlesnake perhaps. Of course, in northern Illinois, we don’t have rattlesnakes but we have the next best thing, Rattlesnake Master {Eryngium yuccifolium}.
Tag: prairie conservation
Prairie Conservation – Sprague’s Pipit
The Sprague’s Pipit (Anthus spragueii) is a difficult bird to find and is becoming more so with loss of its native habitat. With the restricted breeding range and its unassuming appearance, the Sprague’s Pipit is poorly known. Photo Used with permission from Steve Collins, Odephoto Sprague’s Pipit passes through Illinois each year, but in small
Prairie Plant Profile – Cup Plant
In native prairies few plants compare to the versitality and beauty of the Cup Plant or Cupplant (Silphium perfoliatum). This yellow-flowered plant grows to three to ten feet tall and provides a wonderful resource for birds. The Cupplant provides shelter, food, and the “cups” actually catch and store rainwater that birds can drink from. Cupplant
The Prairie Pothole Region
The Prairie Pothole Region is found in the northern Great Plains of North America. The region consists of grass-covered wetland habitats covered with few-to-many shallow depressions called either potholes or sloughs, and they were made 10,000 years ago as glaciers retreated. Prairie potholes are usually filled with water and are included in many habitat restoration
Bird Conservation Region 22
Bird Conservation Region (BCR) #22 is known as the Eastern Tallgrass Prairie. This once vast habitat stretched from central Ohio west to eastern Nebraska and Kansas and included almost the entire state of Illinois. It was this “endless” prairie that earned Illinois the nickname of The Prairie State, a sad misnomer today. Goose Lake Prairie,
Ted Turner: Conservation or Conspiracy?
Ted Turner, the billionaire media mogul, has recently purchased more land in the Great Plains. With over 2 million acres, he is the largest private landowner in the U.S. His recent acquisitions have made people question his intentions. The Turner Foundation has generously donated millions to various environmental groups over the years. Recently his foundation
13 Prairie Birds Needing Conservation
The Nature Conservancy’s Prairie Wings project has mapped out the places needing conservation to protect thirteen birds of the prairie/grasslands. These include: Lark Bunting Cassin’s Sparrow Lesser Prairie-Chicken Greater Prairie-Chicken Sprague’s Pipit Ferruginous Hawk McCown’s Longspur Scaled Quail Long-billed Curlew Baird’s Sparrow Burrowing Owl Mountain Plover Chestnut-collared Longspur The Nature Conservancy’s site has detailed species
Neal Smith National Wildlife Refuge
There is a place in Prairie City, Iowa “where the buffalo roam” called Neal Smith National Wildlife Refuge. Here you will find a large reconstruction of the tallgrass prairie ecosystem, one of the biggest in the United States. This refuge is getting better every year, thanks to the many volunteers that collect seeds and re-plant
