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Stories in Minnesota

What’s in this Season?

Minnesota’s ever-changing seasons serve up immeasurable discoveries in nature. Explore what’s happening in nature this season.

Two people hiking up a steep hill.
DRIFTLESS Hikers climb a steep hill in southeastern Minnesota. © Derek Montgomery 
Child splashing in a lake.
Child Splashing A child plays in a Minnesota lake. © iStock

Summer: it’s what makes the Minnesota winters worth it.

Throughout the season, the state is abloom with wildflowers. Every few weeks, a new suite of plants is opening delicate petals to the bees and butterflies seeking out nectar. 

The staggered blooms are key for supplying pollinators with nutrition throughout the entire summer. In June, lady’s slippers and pitcher plants peek up in wetlands. In July, coneflowers and milkweed flowers begin to bloom across the prairie. In August, asters, gentian and blazing star pop open their purple blossoms. 

Lady’s slippers

You are likely familiar with the showy lady’s slipper, our state flower. But there are other orchid species blooming in prairies, wetlands and woodlands around the state. The best time to find these unique flowers is in June.

Showy lady's slipper.
Small white lady's slipper.
Yellow lady's slipper.
Stemless lady's slipper.
Western prairie fringed orchid.
Bloom A Western Prairie Fringed Orchid in bloom at Glacial Ridge in Minnesota. © Juancarlos Giese/TNC

Western prairie fringed orchid

Those willing to travel to a remote area of the state can see what is perhaps the most spectacular of Minnesota’s grassland flowers in mid-summer. The western prairie fringed orchid grows nearly three feet tall and is topped by an impressive cluster of white flowers. As many as 30 or more flowers appear on a plant—each an inch or larger with fan-shaped petals fringed with fine, teeth-like extensions

Although endangered, the world’s largest population of the orchid grows in the Tallgrass Aspen Parkland landscape near Minnesota’s Canadian border.

Some plants may be found further south in the Red River Valley, where the orchid thrives in grasslands with no significant history of grazing, agriculture or herbicide use. Established plants are thought to live as long as 25 years, and they are pollinated by a night-flying sphinx moth—an insect remarkable for its ability to hover in-place like a hummingbird as it uses its long tongue to sip nectar from flowers.

White pelicans

There’s so much more than just flowers to behold in nature in a Minnesota summer. Summer is also a good time to look for white pelicans. These striking birds, with wingspans that can stretch nine feet, are impressive when soaring in groups. Unlike the familiar brown pelican found along ocean coastlines, these birds don’t dive from the air to catch fish. Instead, they swim at the surface, hunting cooperatively in groups, dipping their large bills and pouches beneath the water to capture fish.

A white pelican in flight.
American White Pelican These large birds will hunt fish in groups, coordinating their swimming to drive fish toward shallow waters where they can snap the fish up easily. © John A. Harrington
A dense gathering of white pelicans.
White pelicans White pelicans converge around the Minnesota River in the summer to nest. © Mark Godfrey/The Nature Conservancy
American White Pelican These large birds will hunt fish in groups, coordinating their swimming to drive fish toward shallow waters where they can snap the fish up easily. © John A. Harrington
White pelicans White pelicans converge around the Minnesota River in the summer to nest. © Mark Godfrey/The Nature Conservancy

Cicadas

July and August bring the hottest days of the year in Minnesota. A hallmark of these “dog days of summer” is the whining call of cicadas, a rising crescendo heard often during the most sweltering moments of the afternoon. Cicadas are common wherever there are shade trees, living high in the branches where they’re not easily seen. But their call is hard to miss. It’s made by males to attract mates, and when many males call from one location, they create a loud, buzzing chorus. 

Cicada on a flower.
Cicada The buzzing sound of cicadas is a sure sign of summer. © Charles Larry

Cicadas lay their eggs in twigs that eventually break and fall to the ground. The young hatch and burrow underground, where they live—some species for years—feeding on the sap from plant roots. Their extended time spent underground culminating in broods and sudden, synchronized emergence has caused some people to confuse them with locusts, a different insect related to grasshoppers and known as an agricultural pest. Cicadas, however, are benign. Listen to their trill on a hot day and know that summer is here.  

Places to Visit

  • White pelicans.

    Lac Qui Parle Wildlife Management Area

    The largest nesting colony of white pelicans in the country makes its home along the Minnesota River at this nature preserve near Appleton. Explore

  • Elk bugling.

    Wallace C. Dayton Conservation and Wildlife Area

    This Nature Conservancy preserve is home to more than 30 rare plants, including the western prairie fringed orchid. It’s located near the Manitoba border in one of the most intact grassland systems in the Midwest. Explore.

  • A deer in a field.

    Carver Park Reserve

    This west metro park is a great spot to see birds, butterflies and wildflowers while hiking, biking or paddling. You can even visit the Lowry Nature Center to learn more about the natural features around you. Explore

Pasque flowers.
Pasque flower Pasque flowers are some of the first flowers to bloom on the prairie in the spring. © Steve S. Meyer

The signs of spring are always welcome after a long Minnesota winter. From early spring flowers soaking up precious sunlight to critters frantically seeking a mate, spring is a time for beauty and renewal. Enjoy the trickling waters of a slowly thawing river or lace up your boots for a tromp along a muddy trail. Take time to observe what’s around you—hints of spring will appear before the snow has even melted. 

First Blooms

Woodland wildflowers must be early risers. They peep out of the decaying leaf litter before the trees above them have a chance to shoot out their sun-blocking leaves. 

Few flowers that take root in the forest bloom earlier than the aptly named snow trillium. Spring’s large and showy trilliums are familiar wildflowers, but snow trillium is often overlooked both because it blooms so early and because it is rare. It is a species of special concern in Minnesota. It’s also the state’s smallest trillium—the flowers may be only an inch across.  

Snow trillium blooming out of the leaf litter.
Snow Trillium Snow trillium blooming out of the leaf litter. © Terry Seidel/TNC
Pasqueflowers in bloom.
Pasque Flower The pasque flower is one of the first to bloom, often coming up while snow is still on the ground. © Matt Fisher/TNC

On the prairie, the pasque flower is one of the first to bloom. You may even see it blooming out of the melting snow. Pasque flowers thrive on prairies with sandy soils, like River Terrance Prairie SNA and Agassiz Dunes SNA. Nature writer Aldo Leopold wrote in A Sand County Almanac, “The chance to find a pasque flower is a right as inalienable as free speech.” Find a pasque flower and know unquestionably that spring has arrived on the prairie. 

Spring Ephemerals

These early-season flowers bloom for just a short few weeks or even days. Then they disappear, remaining dormant until the next spring.

Yellow trout lily in bloom.
Dutchman's breeches in bloom.
Bloodroot in bloom.
Round lobed hepatica.
Wood anemone in bloom.

Flying in Love

Spring is the season to witness incredible courtship displays as birds across Minnesota pursue mates.

Bald eagles perform spectacular aerial displays: circling high in the sky, then locking talons and tumbling downward, separating only moments before they would crash. Courtship flights occasionally happen as late as March, but many Minnesota eagles nest early and are incubating eggs by mid-February. Eggs hatch after 35 days and the young typically stay in the nest for another 8 to 14 weeks. 

In April Minnesota’s tallgrass prairies host an impressive display of courting birds at the booming grounds of greater prairie chickens. Male prairie chickens compete for the attention of hens by performing a “dance” that includes stamping their feet, fanning their tails, hooting, gurgling and inflating throat pouches to create an odd booming call.  

The American woodcock, a squat shorebird with long bills and stubby legs, can be heard courting in the forest. Listen at dusk for the male woodcock’s nasal peent call repeated every few seconds until the bird launches into an aerial display, easily recognized by its twittering wing sounds as it spirals upward. While the bird is airborne, move quickly to where you heard its peent calls, then sit quietly. You may be rewarded by the displaying woodcock swooping down to within a few feet of you to begin again its peenting calls. Stay very still and enjoy the show.

Places to Visit

  • Prairie chickens.

    Bluestem Prairie

    Greater prairie chickens regularly mate in the mornings on this preserve. And if you visit at the right time, you may spot a blooming pasque flower! Explore

  • Yellow trout lily.

    Eloise Butler Wildflower Garden

    You are sure to see something beautiful blooming at this garden in Theodore Wirth Park in Minneapolis. Explore.

  • Aerial view of Mississippi River.

    Read’s Landing

    Located at the confluence of the Mississippi and Chippewa rivers near Wabasha, this floodplain forest is one of the best places to watch bald eagles in the Midwest. Explore

A buck deer in the snow.
Winter In the winter, deer browse on mostly white pine and white cedar. © Dominique Braud/TNC Photo Contest 2022

Winter in Minnesota is cold and snowy, but that should not keep you from exploring the outdoors! The trails are quiet and chances are, you may be the only one braving the elements. Embrace the solitude and soak in the mental health benefits the snowy forests and icy lakes have to offer. Bundle up and grab your snowshoes. There is so much going on in nature even on the chilliest days.

Birds

Winter is the best time for birding because there are no leaves on the trees. It makes spotting birds much easier! Although many birds flee Minnesota during the cold winter months, we have some year-round resident birds that you can surely spot around the state. In some winters, birds that are uncommon in the state arrive unpredictably in large numbers – a surprising movement called an irruption. Feeders that normally attract only the usual chickadees, juncos and blue jays suddenly are visited by colorful yellow and black evening grosbeaks, purple finches, redpolls, pine siskins or pine grosbeaks. These winter finches are hard to overlook, although their visits may be brief and sporadic—they are wanderers seeking seeds to sustain them through the winter.  A good place to look for winter birds is Sax-Zim Bog, 300 square-miles of ideal habitat crisscrossed by county roads approximately 35 miles north of Duluth near the town of Cotton.

Wildlife

A snow-covered landscape makes Minnesota optimal for spotting wildlife in the winter months too. And soft snow holds evidence of wildlife movements for observers who are willing to look for it! Keep an eye out for the tracks of deer, fox and even coyotes. 

If you have especially keen eyes, you may spot some critters that would rather not be seen. The fur coats of snowshoe hare, white jackrabbits and weasels all turn white to blend in with the snow in the winter months!

Wildlife Detective

Winter’s snows provide the perfect chance to flex and grow your wildlife tracking skills. From the common hoofprints of white-tailed deer to the distinct paw prints of coyotes, you never know whose tracks you’ll spot in the snow throughout TNC's preserves.

A single pawprint of a coyote in the snow.
An adult coyote in the snow.
Two deer in the snow.
A red fox leaving tracks in the snow.
Raccoon tracks in the snow.

Places to visit

There is no shortage of places to experience the natural world in a Minnesota winter, but here are some of our recommendations.

  • cross country skiers.

    Paul Bunyan Savanna

    Explore the rare jack pine savanna in the heart of Brainerd. Keep an eye out for birds and bring your cross-country skis! A local ski club maintains a ski trail through the preserve.  Learn more

  • Hiking trail covered in snow.

    Elm Creek Park Reserve

    This park in Maple Grove has tons of hiking trails ready for you to explore, plus several miles of cross-country ski trails and downhill skiing! Learn more

  • A hiker snowshoeing in a snow-covered forest.

    Jay Cooke State Park

    Rent some snowshoes and explore this state park located just south of Duluth. The St. Louis River looks incredibly ethereal when its partially frozen! Learn more