Prairie butterfly weed
By Joan Young, Contributing Writer
Just a few weeks ago, I returned from visiting, once again, the western terminus of the North Country National Scenic Trail (NCT). There the NCT meets the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail where the Missouri River splits the landscape between rolling prairie and badlands.
The river follows the leading edge of the Wisconsin Glacier- the badlands were not scoured by ice. East and north, across swathes of Canada, Montana, North and South Dakota, Minnesota and Iowa, blocks of ice broke off the glaciers and formed shallow depressions which are seasonally filled with water. Occasionally some of the holes will retain water year round. Although most have no inflow or outflow, they recharge aquifers and can be affected by groundwater levels.
Prairie grebe
These potholes are prime waterfowl habitat. More than 50% of North America’s duck species breed there. I’m not an expert birder, but I always see something new in North Dakota. The prairies are a different ecosystem; there are western meadowlarks (the ND state bird), western grebes, yellow-headed blackbirds, and my personal favorite—the white pelican. Lots more, too.
Seeing blue water ringed with green or yellow prairie grasses sends a stab of joy through my heart. The first time I traveled to North Dakota I was shocked at all the water features. I saw my first black-crowned night heron in that state.
And the Great Lakes have been my home territory for 56 years. Water so wide you can’t see across. Amazing sunsets evening after evening. Waves lub-dubbing to my heartbeat on the shore, or alternatively overtopping the lighthouse to feed my love of adventure!
The west coast of Michigan is no shabby place for birding, either. There have been 311 species of bird recorded in Mason County and 450 in the state.
North Dakota is in the Central Flyway, while Michigan is in the Mississippi Flyway. The best time to catch new species for your life list is when the birds are moving to or from their breeding and wintering grounds.
I’ve seen errant white pelicans here in Mason County. In fact, a report of a sighting verified with a photo, was made just this week.
Botanizing in the two areas will stretch your education. Those different ecosystems nurture vastly different plants. North Dakota is home to the endangered white prairie fringed orchid, while supposedly the orange fringed orchid can be found in Newaygo County. Plants like gumweed, compass plant, silky prairie clover, showy milkweed, and snowberry used to stump me, while I was more familiar with trillium, big-leaf aster, starflower, butterfly weed, and blueberry. Now I know more than a smattering of plants from both kinds of habitat.
Which do I like better? There’s probably too much emotional attachment to the area where I’ve lived most of my life to be objective. But for pure enjoyment of the natural world, I suggest… both!
Contact the author at jhyshark@gmail.com
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