niobrara valley preserve | The Prairie Ecologist

One of the great things about working for The Nature Conservancy is that I get to do a lot of bison watching. Just in the last couple weeks I’ve had several opportunities to get close to bison at our Niobrara Valley Preserve. Even better, I was able to share those experiences with my wife and daughter.

Here is a selection of bison photos from the first half of July…

During a light rain, a young bull pauses amongst golden prairie clover (Dalea aurea) and purple coneflower (Echinacea angustifolia). The Nature Conservancy's Niobrara Valley Preserve.

During a light rain, a young bull pauses in a patch of wildflowers, including golden prairie clover (Dalea aurea) and purple coneflower (Echinacea angustifolia). The Nature Conservancy’s Niobrara Valley Preserve.

A different young bull (and a different herd) in a patch of lemon scurfpea (Psoralidium lanceolata).

This quizzical-looking bull is probably a couple years older than those in the previous photos.

This year’s calves are already starting to get darker coats.

Calves didn’t tend to stray too far from their mothers, at least while we were nearby.

One bison had two stick insects and kept trying to shake them off by "shivering"

One bison had two stick insects on its back and kept trying to shake them off by “shivering” violently.

These two bulls seemed to tolerate each other pretty well. That might change later this month as mating season gets underway.

These two massive bulls seemed to tolerate each other pretty well. That might change later this month as mating season gets underway.

My daughter and I tried several times to find bison during our weekend at the Preserve. Finally, as were running out of time and ready to give up and head home, we crested a hill and about 100 bison were spread out in the valley below us.

While Kim and I had no trouble finding bison on our visit, my daughter and I tried and failed several times to find bison during our weekend at the Preserve. Finally, as were running out of time and ready to give up and head home, we crested a hill to find about 100 bison spread out in the valley below us.

A valley full of flowers and bison was a pretty great way to cap a trip to the Sandhills.

I’ve written many times about the 2012 wildfire that impacted our Niobrara Valley Preserve, and the continuing recovery of the plant and animal communities there. When I was up at the Preserve a few weeks ago, it was really interesting to explore the north side of the river where the fire wiped out the pine and eastern redcedar trees. I know I’ve posted a number of times about the way that area is recovering. If you feel like you’ve seen plenty of photographs of vibrant green vegetation beneath stark blackened tree trunks, this is your chance to click to another site and catch up on the box score of a recent baseball game or catch up on celebrity gossip.

(Are they gone? Ok, good. The rest of you can enjoy these photos.)

The vegetation beneath the tree skeletons still has a lot of annual plants, but perennial grasses, sedges, and forbs are becoming more abundant.

Shrub patches are also increasing in size (there is a big one on the right side of the photo).

I’m pretty sure this is loco weed (Oxytropis lambertii). It is one of many wildflowers that have begun to reassert themselves in the plant community and fill in the bare patches.

Hairy puccoon (Lithospermum caroliniense) might be the showiest of the flowers I saw on my last trip. Its yellow-orange blossoms contrasted wonderfully with the green vegetation and black trees.

The Prairie Ecologist

Essays, photos, and discussion about prairie ecology, restoration, and management

Tag Archives: niobrara valley preserve

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