Indiana Nature Notes for December

Merlins are fast fliers, so trying to identify this 10-13-inch bird in flight might be a little tricky. When perched, you will note that it is about the same size as a stout blue jay. Males and females are dimorphic, the males having gray head and back feathers and the females having brown head and back feathers. Both have a white chin, mottled white chest and barred tail feathers.

Merlins are extremely strong and fast flyers. They are known to fly thirty miles per hour during long migratory flights, and even faster when chasing their dinner. Their aerial swiftness allows them to surprise, overtake and catch their prey while in flight. A merlin’s diet includes small species of birds, as well as dragonflies, rodents, bats and reptiles.

Being tree nesters, the open woodlands and forests of the northern United States and Canada are where you are most likely to find merlins in the spring, summer and fall. In the winter, merlins occupy the grasslands and coasts in the southern states, Mexico and Central America to hunt the wide open, treeless skies. It is during the changing of the seasons that merlins migrate through the Midwest and eastern U.S., which explains why we are seeing them now at Kankakee Sands.

Olivia Schouten, our Kankakee Sands Bison Manager, agrees that it is our oldest females who are making the decisions on when and where to go. These lead cows are typically between the ages of eight and nine years old and are often the largest and healthiest females. They have the wisdom of the Kankakee Sands prairie that they are passing down to the next generations. And for some of the oldest of the cows, they have the knowledge of the South Dakota prairie, their original home before arriving here in 2016 or 2020.

Within hours after birth, calves are up on their feet walking beside mama. This is a position that they will maintain for many months, nearly glued to mama’s side. Unlike cattle, whose calves often group together near a babysitting cow, bison calves do not wander far from their mamas. They stay close to their mothers for nutrition, protection, knowledge and direction. In the fall, these cow-calf pairs, along with the previous year’s yearlings and older female offspring, congregate in family groups of approximately 70 animals. The 3+ year old bison and the bull bison often form smaller groups or remain solitary.

As our Kankakee Sands staff members go about their day of spraying invasive species, monitoring birds, harvesting seeds and welcoming visitors, we catch glimpses of the large bison herd on the prairie. We see them grazing near US 41, then a few hours later, they might be over by the viewing platform, or perhaps they have stopped in at the corral’s watering well, and then off they run to the northern fenceline.

The herd’s movements shape the prairie landscape. Their eating habits change the height of the plants, which affects the types of bird species that utilize the prairie. As bison selectively graze, they determine which plants will and which plants won’t produce seeds. Bison dung serves as fertilizer, as well as food and homes for insects. Bison hooves crush plants, bury seeds and churn up the soil, making space for new plants to grow. When bison wallow on the ground, they create low, open soil areas that fill with water in the spring for frogs and insects to enjoy and later become spaces where new plants can get started.

As I harvest seeds in the bison pasture, I can see and even walk along the hoof beaten paths through the prairie made by the bison. The paths that they take are clear. When and why they walk these particular paths is a bit of a mystery that we are only beginning to unlock.

During the holiday season this winter, stop by Kankakee Sands for a visit. Whether you are like a bull bison traveling by yourself, or a small group of young male bison, or perhaps even a large group like the cows, yearlings and calves. There is room for all of it here at the Kankakee Sands prairie. Just ask the bison—they know!