INTO THE WILD:

Appreciating Prairies

A few decades ago, most people wouldn’t have known a true prairie from a field of weeds. But more of us are learning to really “see” prairies — as ever-new dramas of wildlife, plants, and people.

Compiled by Don Parker

Seeing Differently

Some people (many in speeding cars) mistakenly operate under the notion that prairies are flat, weedy, and boring. But spend an hour or more in an actual, healthy prairie, and you start to notice spectacular colors, shapes, and phenomena. Subtle differences in plants will loudly announce undulations in the landscape. Slow down, learn, and let the prairie talk.

What to Do

Apart from hiking, botanizing, birdwatching, photographing, meditating, fresh-air breathing, secret telling, ecology studying, snacking, flower smelling, singing, sky watching, mating-animal spying, checking out bugs, feeling unexpected textures, smelling remarkable smells, finding something sacred, getting a partial tan, seeing the horizon, exercising for a change, feeling expansive, feeling humble, drawing, painting, writing, observing, and devising your five-year plan even though you probably won't stick to it, there is nothing to do in a prairie. Sorry to say.

Where to Go

Seen one, seen ‘em all? Think again. The classic blacksoil grassland at Wolf Road Prairie has remarkably different plants and animals from the swell-and-swale sand prairie at Illinois Beach, the dry hill prairie at Shoe Factory Road (Poplar Creek), and the wet swales of West Chicago Prairie. (For preserve profiles, click links above, or see our complete profile list.)

Timing is Everything

If you take a trip at noon on the hottest day of the summer, you’re liable to think that prairies are cruel, hot places full of butterflies. But try crepuscularity, an exciting lifestyle espoused by many prairie animals. Get active at dawn, before the soft sunshine has burned off the dew. Or visit in the evening, when the cool, orange light warms every prairie flower and grass.

Make Some Friends

A “prairie party” is much more fun if you know someone. Introduce yourself to some inhabitants: the yellow spirals of betony; the giant elephant ears of prairie dock; the moptop bunches of prairie dropseed; the magenta pipe cleaners of blazing star. Newcomb's Wildflower Guide is a good ID book. Or invite an actual human friend who knows something. A tour led by a naturalist can also be good (check out our events calendar). Or join a restoration group on a weed-pulling or seed-gathering day.

Meet the Wildlife

There’s also prairie wildlife — a wholly different set than you’ll see in suburbs or woods. Birds are often the most obvious: bobolinks, meadowlarks, grasshopper sparrows, dickcissels, and, if you’re lucky, short-eared owls and harriers. Bugs are engaging, too. Prairie species include tiger beetles, meadowhawk dragonflies, and Aphrodite fritillary butterflies. Some animals betray their presence by the traces they leave behind. Look for deer skeletons, owl pellets, shed snakeskin, scat on the trail (if it’s furry, it’s probably from a coyote), and the chimneys of prairie crayfish.

Seize the Season

A May prairie is completely different from an August or September prairie (see Prairie All Summer). Indeed, just two weeks can yield a complete turnover of blooming species. There will be a few weeks (usually in mid-June, or after a long drought) when fewer plants bloom, but many more weeks when the flowers are unstoppable.