By Brandt Mannchen
On Saturday, May 14, 2020, the Houston Sierra Club visited Attwater Prairie Chicken National Wildlife Refuge (Refuge) to view wildflowers and wildlife. It was an overcast day, which kept the heat down, until later in the afternoon. We walked the Sycamore and Horseshoe Lake Trails, had a picnic, and drove the scenic auto tour on this 10,000-acre prairie.
It was a good day for birds and butterflies. We observed or heard Crested Caracara, Meadow Lark, Dickcissel, Red-winged Blackbird, Turkey Vulture, Black Vulture, Mourning Dove, Bob White Quail, swallow, Northern Cardinal, Moorhen, and Purple Gallinule. Butterflies like Pipe-vine Swallowtail, sulfur, Buckeye, and other winged wonders fed on thistles, Pickerel Weed, and Butterfly Weed while dragonflies darted above.
Alligators sculled and floated on Horseshoe Lake and slowly plowed through White Water Lilies as we viewed all this action from a wildlife blind. There was a nice breeze most of the day which made the rising temperature more bearable.
The wildflowers and grasses did not disappoint. Old Plainsman, Meadow Beauty, Evolvulus, Wood Sorrel, Spiderwort, Eastern Gama Grass, Sagittaria, Dayflower, Wine Cup, Larkspur, Knot-root Bristle Grass, Buttonweed, Texas Dandelion, Butterfly Weed, Pickerel Weed, Brown-eyed Susan, coreopsis, phlox, Velvet Grass, Wild Onion, American Wild Carrot, yellow and pink sensitive briar, primrose, Tephrosia, Queen’s Delight, Bull Nettle, Meadow Pink, sunflower, Texas Vervain, yucca, Gallardia, Lemon Horsemint, morning glory, Virginia Wildrye, Herbertia, aster, and many others showing themselves off for pollinators and the humble and awed human visitors.
The biggest excitement of the day was the show we got when we had our picnic lunch. As we sat, talked, and ate, a swam of Love Bugs (Plecia nearctica) mobbed us and before you knew it our hats, books, phones, backpacks, and selves were covered with these amorous insects. We had to retreat from the table and finish our lunch elsewhere.
Then we saw a “Nature”-like television moment of “life and death”. A Brown-eyed Susan waved gently in the breeze. On top of the flower head was a yellow spot that turned out to be a crab spider. Its’ arms were cocked open and ready for prey. We all breathed in rapidly and held our breath as a Love Bug walked right next to the spider and became dinner. What a true-life drama!
Finally, we drove through the undulating prairie landscape and admired the place where American Bison and other wildlife once roamed. The long, bending, stems of white yucca blooms broke-up the incredible long-distance view of freedom and Nature’s views. It was a treat that you don’t often see, and we admired and enjoyed the moment.
As I drove home, I was happy that we had seen a glimpse of an all too disappearing ecosystem, our tallgrass prairie, and was glad that Attwater Prairie Chicken National Wildlife Refuge had been acquired, managed, and set aside by us for its’ preservation and for our sanity as well.