National Prairie Day

 Tomorrow, June 5, is National Prairie Day. At least it is if you reside in the USA. Canada has not included this in any way, which is unfortunate since prairie in Canada is very important in the natural scheme of things. Think of the prairie provinces, for example. But even here in Ontario prairie, and in particular tallgrass prairie, has been an important part of the Ontario landscape. It still is to a much smaller extent, since most of the original tallgrass prairie in the province has been converted to agriculture. There are still a few small pieces left, including parts of Essex Co in the Windsor area (Ojibway Prairie complex), some very small pieces in Chatham-Kent, surviving as remnants along railways, wetlands and the like, and in Lambton where some of the finest tallgrass prairie in the province occurs within the Walpole Island First Nation. Farther east there are remnants in the Dutton area, the Brantford area and the Rice Lake Plains area at the Alderville First Nation. 

Alderville FN prairie

Closely associated with tallgrass prairie is oak savanna, occurring in various places such as Rondeau Provincial Park and Turkey Point Provincial Park. Some may note that I don't include Pinery Provincial Park in the oak savanna mix. Although what is there now is quite like oak savanna, it is largely artificially created and maintained, a result of major changes to the original Pine-Oak forest that were there up until about the mid 1800s when large scale logging took place. If you want to read more about that history check out a blog post I did in 2019.

One of the prairie plants I always looked forward to seeing at Rondeau was this one, Indian Paintbrush (Castilleja coccinea), also called Scarlet Painted Cup. For years I used to see a small patch of it near the intersection of Bennett Avenue and Harrison Trail. However gradually the site became more and more shaded, and I haven't seen it there for more than two decades. But this spring, a fellow birder saw a clump of it at the edge of a wet dune towards the southeast part of the park. I was elated to see it!

Even at a bit of distance, the brilliant orange colour stood out.

Most of the orange is not on the flower part per se. The actual flower is this smaller tubular feature shown in this next photo. While this is only a single clump of about 5 stems, it was heartening to see.

Just to give an idea of what it can look like on a high quality prairie, note this next photo. This is Diamond Grove Prairie, in southwestern Missouri. The site had been burned and there was lots of fresh greenery appearing, which caused the brilliant orange of Scarlet Painted Cup to stand out across the acres and acres of this impressive prairie. I took this in May of 2008 while I was on a two week exploration trip of Missouri's fabulous prairies.

The Missouri Prairie Foundation is certainly a leader when it comes to identifying, protecting and educating about tallgrass prairie, and is responsible for establishing National Prairie Day.

I have spent several weeks over several years in the past, exploring the Missouri prairies. I have been to well over 100 different tallgrass prairie sites in the USA, about half of which were in Missouri. Fortunately having been an active participant in several North American Prairie Conferences has enabled me to see some of the best examples in the US. Here are just a few. The first one is Coyne Prairie, showing the Scarlet Paintbrush mixed in with Wood Betony.

This next one is Golden Prairie, a National Natural Landmark where you can stand in certain spots and not see anything but prairie for 360 degrees.

Sky Prairie, shown next, is smaller but has a wonderful diversity of colour.

Ontario's prairies are just as important in their own way. They are at the edge of the broader tallgrass prairie range, so have a slightly different mix of flora and fauna. This first one is in the Windsor area, and while about 15 years ago it supported undoubtedly the largest population of a species at risk called Colic-root, those white flowered plants, it is now even more at risk as it no longer exists. Unfortunately it was sacrificed to make way for the new highway system as one enters the city via 401.

Fortunately some of the best parts of the Ojibway Prairie Complex remain, although parts of it are in serious need of further management such as prescribed burns. This next photo shows part of the Ojibway Prairie Prov Nature Reserve featuring an impressive stand of Dense Blazing-star, designated as a Threatened species at risk.

Dense-Blazing-star is also well represented at some of the finest parts of tallgrass prairie at Walpole Island.

Earlier in the season the same site had a showing of orange flowers, but not the Scarlet Painted Cup. It is Butterfly Milkweed.

At Rondeau, at a recently burned site, the Butterfly Milkweed can be impressive as well.

At the end of the season, this next photo show what the Black Oak savanna at Rondeau can look like, where tallgrass prairie grasses dominate.

Of course tallgrass prairie is important for more than just vegetation. There are more than a few bird species that do best on the open prairie. Some are fairly common, such as Savannah Sparrow.

Less common is Eastern Meadowlark.

Even less common, and a species at risk is Bobolink, with the distinctively coloured male, shown first...

....and the more subtly coloured female.

An Endangered species is Northern Bobwhite, which is almost certainly gone from Ontario although there are occasional reports of birds away from their former tallgrass prairie range. They are probably the result of wildlife releases. This next photo was taken in Missouri.

Another Endangered species, and also likely gone from Ontario, is Henslow's Sparrow. I digiscoped this at a prairie restoration site about 20 years ago.

Not in any specific 'at-risk' category is Dickcissel, a species which over the last couple of decades has begun to breed in Ontario somewhat regularly in very small numbers and has periodically shown some surges in those numbers from time to time.

Tallgrass prairies are certainly wonderful and fascinating parts of the Ontario, Canadian and North American landscape. Unfortunately they are too easily converted to other uses, so need a strong appeal to people to ensure they survive in a healthy condition.

 

Recognizing prairie

Yesterday,  June 2 2018, was National Prairie Day. At least it was in the USA where tallgrass prairie has a considerably greater profile than here in Canada or Ontario. That is not to say that the recognition isn't deserved in Canada, as historically there were immense prairies of the tallgrass, mixed grass and short grass types covering the landscape. Even in Ontario there were some impressive tallgrass prairies.

But once people realized how fabulously rich the soils were, and how relatively little effort was required to convert them to agriculture since there were no trees in the way, the prairies disappeared quickly.

Nonetheless, tallgrass prairies of various types, and the related black oak savanna, still persist in Ontario. You just have to look a lot harder to find them.

In the mid-western USA there are still some relatively large prairie landscapes with some impressive vistas. Consider the following ones just from the state of Missouri.

Golden Prairie is a National Natural Landmark, consisting of more than 630 acres (254 ha) of unbroken prairie.

Schwartz Prairie is ~100 ha (240 acres).

 Birds like Scissor-tailed Flycatcher are frequently seen.

Prairie State Park is ~1300 hectares (3200 acres).....where the bison still roam (as you can see in the background of this next image).

 You can get quite close to these free-ranging bison at times.

This next one is actually in neighbouring Oklahoma, and is The Nature Conservancy's Tallgrass Prairie Preserve. It encompasses almost 16200 hectares (~40000 acres) and is the largest protected tallgrass prairie on the planet. About 2500 bison roam freely on this site.

The prairie plants of these tallgrass prairies are striking, such as this Shooting Star (Dodecatheon meadii). It comes in white (like the ones in the prairie patch in my yard)....

 ....and the very vibrant pink.

 Not surprisingly, these grasslands are wonderful for butterflies, such as the Regal Fritillary. Although its continental range is greatly restricted nowadays, it was historically known even from Ontario.

All that said, the tallgrass prairies and oak savannas in Ontario are impressive in their own right. They certainly aren't as large, which makes them less functional for many species of wildlife they formerly supported (there is evidence that bison occurred in the prairies in what is now Windsor). This next image is from Windsor, and is about as large as any remnant prairie there. The distinctive white flowers are a threatened species known as Colicroot (Aletris farinosa), and the largest remaining populations of it in Canada are at Windsor. (This photo showing the largest population of Colicroot at the time, was taken in July of 2009 and is now gone.)

 Walpole Island First Nation, at the northern extreme of Lake St. Clair, has the largest and best quality prairie remnants left in Ontario.

Dense Blazing-star (purple flowers) amidst goldenrod in late July

Butterfly Milkweed in June

Dense Blazing-star

 Some of the prairies at Windsor, specifically at Ojibway Provincial Nature Reserve, have intrusions of oak savanna as shown in this next photo. The white candelabra style flowers are Culver's-root (Veronicastrum virginicum).

 This next plant is Wild Lupine (Lupinus perennis), typical of prairie and savanna.

 Some sand prairies occur at Rondeau Provincial Park, such as these grassy beach dunes along the southeast corner of the park where Cylindrical Blazing-star abounds. It is mostly purple, but some white ones, as shown here, may occur.

There is also Black Oak Savanna at Rondeau, as shown in the next photo. This was taken in late March, when it was still dormant. It isn't extensive, and without active management such as fire, may eventually become hardwood forest.

Some readers will be familiar with Pinery Provincial Park, where there is some extensive Black Oak Savanna. However what most people don't realize, including most of the park staff it would seem based on the information that park dispenses, is that it is not a naturally occurring oak savanna at all, but primarily the result of past intensive human manipulation! But that is the subject of another post some other time.

Celebrating Tallgrass Prairie

Today, June 3, 2017, is officially National Prairie Day. At least it is in the USA, where the idea originated through the Missouri Prairie Foundation and was officially made a National Day a couple of years ago. Of course tallgrass prairie is a main part of the Missouri landscape, as it is throughout the mid-western USA.

There are a number of high quality remnants across the mid-western US. The features change regularly, and there is always something impressive about them from April through September. I've been to dozens of remnants there over the years. Some of my favourites places during my digital photography era include the following, many of which are in Missouri:

Indian Paintbrush on Diamond Grove Prairie, MO

Indian Paintbrush and Wood Betony on Coyne Prairie, MO

Pale Purple Coneflower on Golden Prairie, MO

 Besides the spectacular flora, there are spectacular fauna as well.

Loggerhead Shrike

Regal Fritillary (Endangered)

Scissor-tailed Flycatcher

 Of course there are the mega fauna, including these bison on the largest protected tallgrass prairie remnant in the US: The Nature Conservancy's Tallgrass Prairie Preserve in northeastern Oklahoma, which is almost 15000 hectares (37,000) acres in size....

Bison enjoying fresh grass following a spring burn

....and Elk on an eastern Nebraska prairie.

Treaty Line Prairie, MO

Wa-Kon-Tah Prairie, MO

 It is hard not to be impressed with this pink form of Shooting Star (Dodecatheon meadii), shown here on the Tucker Prairie in north central Missouri. This site is immediately adjacent to an interstate highway.

This next photo shows Tucker Prairie, with Wild White Indigo (Baptisia alba) scattered across the prairie and Interstate 70 in the background. It is located about 20 km or so east of Columbia.

Here in Ontario, tallgrass prairie does not have the same high profile since it is a relatively small part of the landscape. However in parts of Ontario, such as the tri-county area of Essex, Chatham-Kent and Lambton, it has been a significant part. It has also been a smaller, but still significant vegetation type in places farther east, including the greater Brantford and greater Toronto areas and still farther east in the area of the Rice Lake Plains.

Walpole Island in early July

Walpole Island in early August

Yesterday, Marie and I went to Windsor, partly to explore the Ojibway Prairie Provincial Nature Reserve. It was a major focal point of my career in many ways, beginning in 1976. It has changed some since the time it was first obtained by MNR in the early 1970s. Regular fire is a critical part of its health. Fire in the form of prescribed burns has been challenging to implement as regularly as it really needs, and it is looking shrubbier as a result. In Ontario, tallgrass prairie looks decidedly green at this time of year, but by mid-July and until early October, the colours and hues diversify considerably.

Ojibway Prairie Provincial Nature Reserve

In spite of the lack of regular fire, there are some fascinating vegetative elements that can be found throughout the growing season, just not in as great abundance as they should. Two of the rare plant species of interest on this visit were:

Two-flowered Cynthia (Krigia biflora)

Purple Twayblade (Liparis liliifolia) an endangered orchid species

This is what OPPNR has looked like at times following a fire, with fabulous numbers of Dense Blazing-star in peak flower. Dense Blazing-star is a Threatened species, although it can be abundant in the limited places where it occurs.

This next species, Gray-headed Coneflower (Ratibida pinnata) will be fairly common in another few weeks.

Aside from some of the significant plants, birds are also a significant part of the tallgrass prairie ecosystem. Both Bobolink and Henslow's Sparrow, both officially Species At Risk in Canada, may be found surviving to some extent in pastures and abandoned fields on the agricultural landscape, but will actually thrive in a healthy tallgrass prairie.

Henslow's Sparrow, digiscoped on an Ontario planted prairie in 2005

Dickcissel has been found nesting on Ontario prairies, grasslands and abandoned fields. This is another feeble attempt at digiscoping, this time on a Dickcissel, discovered on a planted prairie, in 2005.

Ontario's tallgrass prairies deserve more recognition, and that is happening slowly. They are a scientific treasure-trove of diversity. In just the last few years, more than two dozen faunal species new to Canada have been recorded in the Ojibway Prairie area alone!

I encourage you to get out and explore a tallgrass prairie near you!