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The rolling green hills provide a glimpse of native prairie. Current management and future plans are to emphasize the untouched character of the landscape. Expect to see vast panoramas of mostly untouched grasslands much as great-grandpa might have seen.

There are interesting things to see on the Refuge each season, as you will see in our Calendar of Natural Events. During the spring and fall a wide variety of migrating shorebirds and passerines utilize the refuge as a stop on their trip. In the summer months breeding ducks and geese populate the lakes. Red-tailed hawks and Northern Harriers search the meadows for prey. You can also find white tail deer, mule deer, antelope, and a variety of resident birds including pheasants and grouse.

For more information on wildlife visit the bird and mammal lists. Skip navigation links

Calendar of Natural Events

Spring

• willows are the first trees to “green up”



• Canada geese and sandhill cranes migrate through



• pelicans and other marsh and water birds arrive



• large numbers of Wilson's phalarope arrive



• warblers return



• grouse dance in mid-April



• giant Canada geese nest



• goslings appear in late April



• snakes and turtles become active



• bass spawn



• bluegills spawn



• chorus frogs call (sounds like a finger running across the teeth of a comb)

Summer

• spiderwort, yucca, prickly pear, and the endangered blowout penstemon bloom in June



• female cottonwood trees drop cotton (seeds)



• upland sandpipers seen on fence posts



• shorebirds seen on mudflats



• cormorants nest on Goose Lake



• eared grebes seen on floating nests on Smith and Deer Lakes



• grouse, pheasant, and waterfowl broods visible



• antelope bear their young (kids)



• fawns visible



• garter snakes bear live young



• toads call (sounds like bleating sheep)



• blue-winged teal arrive in August



• sunflowers bloom in late summer

Fall

• big bluestem (turkey foot) seeds out



• painted turtles bask on logs and muskrat huts



• bass fishing improves with cooler days



• horned larks and meadowlarks forage along roadsides



• dispersal of coyote pups



• antlered deer visible



• deer in rut



• peak waterfowl migration in November

Winter

• most visible species: pheasant, northern harrier, and large wintering deer herds



• golden eagles present



• deer drop antlers



• reptiles underground and dormant



• ice fishing on Island Lake, Crane Lake, and Smith Lake

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