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Dee Hudson Photography

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  • The Ornate Box turtle has been on Illinois’s threatened species list since 2009. This box turtle is very fancy, or ‘ornate,’ with bright yellow stripes radiating across its shell. The turtle favors a prairie habitat that has open grasslands for hunting insects, spiders, worms and vegetation and also likes sandier soils suitable for digging burrows. This turtle species is unique, for it has a hinged plastron (the shell on the turtle’s underside), which allows the turtle to completely pull its head, tail and legs inside the shell for protection.
    Ornate Box Turtle
  • This gal has hand–harvested the seeds from the native prairie plant, Cream Wild Indigo. These collected seeds will combine with a mix for a new planting, as Nachusa Grasslands restores a recently purchased cornfield back to prairie.
    Restoration 01
  • Most of the seeds at Nachusa Grasslands are hand–harvested so the seed proportions in a mix for a new planting can be determined and the prairie land remains undisturbed.
    Restoration 02
  • The graceful spires of the White Wild Indigo appear to dance in the evening light. I photographed these beauties in the Holland West unit at Nachusa Grasslands.
    White Wild Indigo
  • When the prairie is restored and healthy, the native wildlife also returns. This burrow is a sign of the terrestrial ornate box turtle, which seeks out habitats that are sandy and dry like parts of the prairie grasslands.<br />
<br />
The turtles will retreat to their burrows to escape the heat, to find moisture and to hibernate in the winter.
    Restoration 16
  • "What a thousand acres of Silphiums looked like when they tickled the bellies of the buffalo is a question never again to be answered, and perhaps not even asked." — Aldo Leopold. As I crouched low to frame my shot the light edged just above the horizon and created a beautiful and unexpected sunburst. Standing tall (these were around 9-10 feet) this native prairie plant has become one of my favorites. I photographed these at Nachusa Grasslands, where the Silphium laciniatum (Compass Plant) is once again beginning to tickle the bison bellies!<br />
<br />
Compass plant (Silphium laciniatum)
    Compass Plant
  • Most of the seeds at Nachusa Grasslands are hand–harvested so the seed proportions for a new planting mix can be determined and the prairie land remains undisturbed.
    Old Field
  • The Wood Betony creates a lovely yellow carpet across Nachusa Grasslands prairie in the springtime. This lovely plant is actually parasitic on tall grasses, allowing the shorter grasses and flowers to populate areas of the prairie. The flowers are also a favorite bumblebee stop.
    Wood Betony
  • I had the opportunity to follow U.S. Fish & Wildlife into a wetland habitat at Nachusa Grasslands to monitor the Blandings turtle. This is an endangered turtle in Illinois. They face many obstacles to reproduction — habitat loss, predation by man and other animals, and a slow maturation rate. Females mature around 18 years of age and males around 12 years. To help this turtle, support organizations that conserve their habitats! Blandings Turtle (Emydoidea blandingii)
    Blandings Turtle
  • The Fox Snake prefers to live in open grasslands, so prairies are a perfect habitat for them. For food, the snake will feast on many small rodents, like mice & voles. Being a constrictor, the snake will coil its body around the prey to subdue it. Often Fox Snakes are mistaken for rattlesnakes, for when they are bothered, they vibrate their tails against dry grass or leaves, and it sounds like the rattle of a rattlesnake.
    Fox Snake
  • A male Dickcissel patrols his territory. This grassland bird will actively defend good nesting and feeding sites from other males. <br />
<br />
Dickcissel (Spiza americana)
    Dickcissel
  • Kittentails
  • Nature's fall prairie quilt blankets Fameflower Knob, beginning with the patch of green coreopsis stems in the foreground, followed by a stand of yellow Canada goldenrod, and then all surrounded by orange–red little bluestem grass.
    A Mozaic of Coreopsis, Goldenrod & L..stem
  • The White–lined Sphinx moth sips from a thistle.<br />
<br />
White–lined Sphinx moth (Hyles lineata)
    White–lined Sphinx Moth
  • This researcher is searching a burrow for turtles.
    Restoration 17
  • Graduate student, Kim Schmidt, weighs the ornate box turtle with a pesola scale.
    Restoration 19
  • 24 Pale Purple Coneflowers
  • Restoration 03
  • dhudson--4.jpg
  • 23 Pale Purple Coneflowers
  • 21 Pale Purple Coneflowers
  • I love watching this bird's aerobatic flight as it catches its insect prey right out of the air.<br />
<br />
Tree Swallow (Tachycineta bicolor)
    Tree Swallow
  • "Clinging to Habitat." <br />
<br />
A Dickcissel grasps the pale purple coneflower.<br />
<br />
Dickcissel (Spiza americana)
    Dickcissel
  • dhudson--2.jpg
  • At a prairie burn, teamwork is required between the hose manager and the sprayer.
    Teamwork at the Prairie Burn
  • Prairies were historically a fire–swept landscape, where prairie plants evolved with fire. The fire is needed to stimulate the prairie plants to seed and bloom. In restoration, it is also important to restore the natural process that shaped the prairie.
    Restoration 15
  • 36 Eastern White Fringed Orchid
  • dhudson--6.jpg
  • The turtle is measured with a caliper.
    Restoration 20
  • dhudson-2047.jpg
  • Ron discusses the fire refresher exercise.
    Ron Debriefs
  • The researcher has located an ornate box turtle.
    Restoration 18
  • Controlling the jumping fire embers with spray.
    Controlling the Jumping Fire Embers
  • dhudson-1989.jpg
  • Cody and Josh are poised to debrief the crew.
    Cody & Josh Prepare to Debrief
  • This hand holds ten to twelve conservative seed species for the new prairie planting. These conservative species are highly desired in restorations, because they were historically present in pre–settlement and unaltered prairies. <br />
<br />
These conservative seeds are hand—planted throughout the entire new field by dropping about a dozen seeds on the ground every few feet and rubbing them into the soil.
    Restoration 13
  • 20 Bison
  • Sitting so still on a cool September morning, I could not resist the stunning beauty of this dragonfly covered in hundreds of tiny dew drops. Usually dragonflies are on the move, but at sunrise on a cool fall day, they are pretty immobile. Black Saddlebags Dragonfly (Tramea lacerata)
    Black Saddlebags Dragonfly
  • To prevent the harvested seeds from rotting and molding, they are dried as air is pumped into this barrel.
    Restoration 05
  • Wire racks support drying prairie seed species. The land steward for the Gobbler Ridge (GR) restoration will plant these seeds in the fall.
    Restoration 06
  • Big Blue Kaleidoscope
  • Seven hundred eighty pounds of seeds were hand–harvested for a new sixteen–acre prairie restoration. About one hundred thirty–five species were combined and stored in large barrels before they were mixed. The seeds were first mixed as they were poured onto the smooth floor, and then further mixed with forks and shovels.
    Restoration 07
  • Black Saddlebags Dragonfly
  • Birdsfoot Violet
  • Sun–kissed Little Bluestem
  • These volunteers are hot, sweaty and tired after walking through this new prairie planting searching for invasive weeds. The volunteers spend hours bending over and on their hands and knees removing the weeds. This weed management is greatly needed in the early years of a new planting in order to give the prairie plants time to establish and flourish.
    Restoration 03
  • Dave gives last–minute field exercise training instructions.
    Training Instructions
  • After mixing the seven hundred eighty pounds of seeds for a couple hours, the seeds were shoveled back into the barrels, one scoop at a time, creating further mixing.
    Restoration 08
  • Queen's Fanny
  • "My Prairie!"<br />
<br />
A female Red–winged Blackbird protests my presence. I must be too close to her nest.<br />
<br />
Red–winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus)
    Red–Winged Blackbird
  • Prairie_0357
  • Fringed Gentian
  • Winter Slumber 06
  • Golden Alexanders
    Prairie 1495
  • Dweller 10
  • Winter Slumber 04
  • A female Red–winged Blackbird grasps the stems of the big bluestem grass, a native tall grass found in prairies.<br />
<br />
Red–winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus)
    Red–Winged Blackbird
  • When invasive weeds are too numerous, staff and volunteers must hand–spray with an herbicide.
    Restoration 04
  • Winter Slumber 09
  • The land steward volunteer plants the seven hundred eighty pounds of seed, allowing about 48.75 pounds of seed per acre.
    Restoration 12
  • Barrels of prairie seed line this former sixteen acre cornfield and await the restoration planting.
    Restoration 11
  • Cup Plant
  • It is amazing how well the White–tailed deer can camouflage in the prairie for such a large mammal.<br />
<br />
White–tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus)
    Deer
  • Winter Slumber 07
  • The crew works together as a team to attack the fire.
    Teamwork
  • Winter Slumber 11
  • Arrival
  • Using this drip torch, a diesel and gas mix is ignited to burn the numerous corn ‘haystacks’ in preparation for a new prairie planting. The ‘haystacks’ must be removed to prevent dead spots in the new prairie as plants sprout in the spring.
    Restoration 10
  • Prairie Switch Grass is a native grass that thrives in the hot, dry prairies of Illinois. With the dew drops glistening, the Switch Grass greets the dawn of a new day.
    Switch Grass
  • Gray Tree Frog
  • Earthy Essence
  • Robel Pole
  • This plant is a legume species — a type of plant with seeds that develop inside pods, like peas or beans. See how stunning the seed pods look when they are backlit by the sun! <br />
<br />
I am always amazed by the way this plant disperses its seeds. The pods are covered with little tiny hooked hairs that will grab hold of anything or anyone that brushes up against them. Thank goodness the seeds release easily, for many times my photography clothes and equipment are covered in these rascally clinging pods. Illinois Tick Trefoil (Desmodium Illinoense)
    Tick Trefoil
  • Chainbreaker
  • Dropseed Grass swirls around the Leadplant seeds in Autumn.
    Leadplant Glory
  • The Porcupine Grass seed is very unique, with a furry tip that comes to a very sharp point, like a porcupine quill. Read more about this grass in my blog entry called "Porcupines in the Prairie." https://deehudsonphotography.wordpress.com/2015/01/03/porcupines-in-the-prairie/
    Porcupine Grass
  • An instructor oversees the crew member.
    Instructor Oversees
  • A very showy spring prairie flower, the cream wild indigo. This forb is found in high quality restorations.
    Spring Cream
  • Lichen
  • Serpentine 19
  • Dew drops create an intricate piece of art on this foggy autumn morning, with each tiny hair decorated with fleeting beads of condensation.
    Indian Grass
  • This hand holds ten to twelve conservative seed species for the new prairie planting. These conservative species are highly desired in restorations, because they were historically present in pre–settlement and unaltered prairies. <br />
<br />
These conservative seeds are hand—planted throughout the entire new field by dropping about a dozen seeds on the ground every few feet and rubbing them into the soil.
    Conservative Cocktail
  • 17
  • A Black Swallowtail butterfly sips nectar from a liatris.<br />
<br />
Black swallowtail (Papilio polyxenes)
    Black Swallowtail
  • A natural “tree hugger.” As a land steward, I was removing small cherry trees from the prairie when I discovered this tree frog grasping a branch targeted for destruction. He saved the cherry tree from total annihilation, since I could not possibly remove the perch (yet!).
    Cope's Gray Tree Frog
  • Kathy J Parenteau wrote, "Stand tall oh mighty oak, for all the world to see, your strength and undying beauty forever amazes me."  The winged ridges along the bur oak branches and the little "Friar Tuck" acorns (acorns with a hairy fringe on the cap) are a couple unique characteristics I enjoy about this tree. At sunset this oak certainly created an impressive figure. Bur Oak (Quercus macrocarpa)
    The Mighty Bur Oak
  • Watch out prairie grasses! The Downy Yellow Painted Cup is coming for you! This native plant is unique because it is hemiparasitic.  The Downy Yellow Painted Cup will attach itself to other plants, mainly grasses, and shares some of their nutrients and water. This plant flourishes in the dry soil along the side of this hill, among its hosts of low–growing grasses and sedges. Downy Yellow Painted Cup (Castilleja sessiliflora)
    Downy Yellow Painted Cup
  • Lupine
  • Cream Wild Indigo
  • White–lined Sphinx Moth
  • The splendor of the rough blazing star on a quiet evening in the prairie.
    Quiet Splendor
  • Graduate student, Angela Burke, takes measurements from the deer mouse live–captured in her "critter condo." The data collected is all part of her research on the "Effect of Fire and Bison on Small Mammal Populations in Remnants and Restored Prairie."
    Angela Burke Measures Deer Mouse
  • The lavender spikes of the Gayfeather ascend from the prairie and sway in the gentle wind at sunset. Growing in mass like this, they are absolutely stunning! Gayfeather or Prairie Blazing Star (Liatris pycnostachya)
    Gayfeathers at Sunset
  • After_MG_9045-DH.jpg
  • Both male and female bison have horns. In general, the base of the horn will be larger on a male than on a female. The horn tips on the male bison will tend to point upwards, while the horn tips on the females will curve slightly inward, towards the head. The inside of the horn is made of bone, while the outside is covered in keratin (similar to our fingernails and hair). Horns are not shed like antlers, but will remain attached to the bison’s skulls for their entire life. If the horn is damaged during a fight or while digging, the outside keratin cap may fall off. It will not grow back, though the bony inside will harden and remain.
    Hello Ladies!
  • Red-winged Blackbird Babies
  • In the winter, volunteers are busy removing the weedy and the exotic tree species so that the native shrubs and trees can establish.
    Restoration 14
  • Amber and Blue
  • Bison fur is very thick, with two layers. The inner layer is soft and wooly, and helps regulate their body temperature, providing great winter insulation so that snow can sit on their backs without melting. The outer layer of fur is the dark–chocolate brown color we see. This fur is coarser and provides the bison protection from the elements. They all have scraggly beards on their chins, some longer than others.
    Bison Close–up
  • A hazy shroud of smoke envelopes the savanna during a controlled burn.
    Smoldering Canopies
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