Six years ago, it was announced that a 15-acre unused farm field was going to be converted to native tallgrass prairie. The land was prepped and seeded in the winter of 2019. Prairie restoration takes some time. The first few years didn't show much progress., but the native plants were slowly taking hold with the help of restoration procedures like mowing and burning. It wasn't until 2023 when a noticeable change happened and the land started to look like a prairie. Over the past couple years, I've been visiting it often and photographing what I see. I thought I'd share with you all some of the plant life and animal life I've photographed while visiting this young prairie restoration. It's hard to believe that just six years ago, this was a useless space filled with invasive species.
2023
As I said, the summer of 2023 is when I noticed a big change in this land. Suddenly, colorful native flowers were blooming in between the native tall grasses!
In late summer, the Gray-headed coneflowers and Canada wild rye put on a show.
Big Bluestem was also in bloom.
2024
My first hike in the prairie in 2024 was met with a surprise! A male Wild Turkey was struttin' its stuff. Its tail feathers were all fanned out and it was calling for a mate. I hadn't seen turkeys around this area in about 8 years so it was a great surprise. I ended up seeing turkeys in the prairie at least three times last year, including a female.
I also saw white-tailed deer a couple times. This one hadn't seen me yet when I took this photo. Look at all those flowers surrounding it!
Summer '24 was impressive. SO many flowers blooming. Wild bergamot, gray-headed coneflower, daisy fleabane, black-eyed susans, and more.
I've seen ten or more butterfly species in the prairie, but none were more prolific than Red admirals. I saw as many as a hundred on a single hike.
As the summer went on, the prairie began transitioning into its yellow phase. Tallgrass prairies have a lot of yellow flowers, and many of them bloom in mid to late summer.
Indian grass in bloom. It's one of my favorite native grass species and a big part of tallgrass prairie habitat.
There were a few weeks in summer where Northern leopard frogs where everywhere! I'd see one leap out of the way every few steps I took on the prairie trail.
I also found a snake skin on the trail. I've been curious how long it'd take to find a snake in the new prairie. I haven't seen any just yet, but the evidence is clear.
Late summer is when the prairie reached its peak yellow color, mostly thanks to goldenrods. Goldenrods are an extremely important nectar source for pollinators, and the pollinators were everywhere!
In fall, the prairie began going dormant and turning that fantastic golden brown color. At the same time, the trees also began changing color.
2025
Here's the prairie just over a month ago during our biggest snowfall of the season.
Cooper's hawks and Red-trailed hawks have been frequently seen around the prairie. Here's a Red-tailed hawk I saw sitting in a tree along the prairie at the end of February.
And just yesterday evening shortly before sunset I saw a few Sandhill cranes fly over. This is the third time I've seen cranes while hiking the prairie.
Tallgrass prairie is what inspires much of my own garden. It's estimated that only 3% of original tallgrass prairie remains in the U.S., and some say it's closer to 1%. Seeing restorations like this one makes me happy. It's still such a small fragment of habitat and doesn't even make a dent in replacing what we've destroyed, but any little bit makes a difference for the wildlife that depends on it. It's why I dedicated 3,000 square feet of native plant species in my own yard. It's comparatively small, but every little bit adds up. I continue to be inspired by this prairie restoration as well as other natural areas I visit, and I always think it's fun when I'm out hiking and I come across plant species that I grow in my own backyard. It tells me I'm doing something right!
2023
As I said, the summer of 2023 is when I noticed a big change in this land. Suddenly, colorful native flowers were blooming in between the native tall grasses!
In late summer, the Gray-headed coneflowers and Canada wild rye put on a show.
Big Bluestem was also in bloom.
2024
My first hike in the prairie in 2024 was met with a surprise! A male Wild Turkey was struttin' its stuff. Its tail feathers were all fanned out and it was calling for a mate. I hadn't seen turkeys around this area in about 8 years so it was a great surprise. I ended up seeing turkeys in the prairie at least three times last year, including a female.
I also saw white-tailed deer a couple times. This one hadn't seen me yet when I took this photo. Look at all those flowers surrounding it!
Summer '24 was impressive. SO many flowers blooming. Wild bergamot, gray-headed coneflower, daisy fleabane, black-eyed susans, and more.
I've seen ten or more butterfly species in the prairie, but none were more prolific than Red admirals. I saw as many as a hundred on a single hike.
As the summer went on, the prairie began transitioning into its yellow phase. Tallgrass prairies have a lot of yellow flowers, and many of them bloom in mid to late summer.
Indian grass in bloom. It's one of my favorite native grass species and a big part of tallgrass prairie habitat.
There were a few weeks in summer where Northern leopard frogs where everywhere! I'd see one leap out of the way every few steps I took on the prairie trail.
I also found a snake skin on the trail. I've been curious how long it'd take to find a snake in the new prairie. I haven't seen any just yet, but the evidence is clear.
Late summer is when the prairie reached its peak yellow color, mostly thanks to goldenrods. Goldenrods are an extremely important nectar source for pollinators, and the pollinators were everywhere!
In fall, the prairie began going dormant and turning that fantastic golden brown color. At the same time, the trees also began changing color.
2025
Here's the prairie just over a month ago during our biggest snowfall of the season.
Cooper's hawks and Red-trailed hawks have been frequently seen around the prairie. Here's a Red-tailed hawk I saw sitting in a tree along the prairie at the end of February.
And just yesterday evening shortly before sunset I saw a few Sandhill cranes fly over. This is the third time I've seen cranes while hiking the prairie.
Tallgrass prairie is what inspires much of my own garden. It's estimated that only 3% of original tallgrass prairie remains in the U.S., and some say it's closer to 1%. Seeing restorations like this one makes me happy. It's still such a small fragment of habitat and doesn't even make a dent in replacing what we've destroyed, but any little bit makes a difference for the wildlife that depends on it. It's why I dedicated 3,000 square feet of native plant species in my own yard. It's comparatively small, but every little bit adds up. I continue to be inspired by this prairie restoration as well as other natural areas I visit, and I always think it's fun when I'm out hiking and I come across plant species that I grow in my own backyard. It tells me I'm doing something right!
