Blue Devil Valley SNA

 

 

     
 
About
 
 

Ownership

 
 

Minnesota DNR logo

 
     
 

Links

 
 

Minnesota DNR

 
     
 

Overview

 
 

 

 
     
 

History

 
 

 

 
     
 

Management

 
 

 

 
     
 

Comments

 
 

 

 
     
 
Location
 
 

Maps

 
 

 

 
         
 

Printable Map(s) with GPS coordinates

 
  Printable map      
         
 

Size

 
 

30 acres

 
         
 

Parking

 
 

N44 48.097, W95 32.994

 
         
 

Driving Directions

  Area and County  
 

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          Yellow Medicine County  
          Southwest Minnesota  
     
 
Activities
 
 

Hiking Trails

 
 

No maintained trails

 
     
 

Hunting

 
 

No hunting

 
     
 
Ecology
 
 

Ecological Classification

  Ecological Classification  
  Ecological Province    

Prairie Parkland Province

   
  Ecological Section    

North Central Glaciated Plains

   
  Ecological Subsection    

Minnesota River Prairie

   
  Land Type Association    

Milan Alluvial Plain

   
             
 

Native Plant Communities*

   
 

Crystalline Bedrock Outcrop (Prairie): Minnesota River Subtype

   
  * Source: The Minnesota Biological Survey, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, Division of Ecological Resources      
         
 

Natural Features

     
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

           
 
Visitor Photos
 
           
 

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MinnesotaSeasons.com Photos
 
 

Parking

 
    Blue Devil Valley SNA   Blue Devil Valley SNA  
           
 

Rock Outcrops

 
    Blue Devil Valley SNA   Blue Devil Valley SNA  
           
    Blue Devil Valley SNA      
           
 

Shallow Lake, Connector Lake to Minnesota River

 
    Blue Devil Valley SNA      
           
 

Crystalline Bedrock Outcrop (Prairie): Minnesota River Subtype

 
    Blue Devil Valley SNA   Blue Devil Valley SNA  

 

Camera

     
 
Slideshows
 
  Blue Devil Valley
Joshua Mayer
 
  Blue Devil Valley  
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Joshua Mayer
 
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  Blue Devil Valley SNA  
 
About

The namesake "blue devil" of this site is fully grown at 5-8 inches, has a bright blue tail as a juvenile, an identifying "Y" pattern on its head and back, and is inclined to do a quick set of push-ups when disturbed. At the edge of its range in Minnesota, the common five-lined skink is the rarest of our three lizard species, this site hosting one of the state's largest known populations. The granite outcrop here that the skinks favor for basking-a key habitat element used to regulate body temperature-is itself an increasingly rare natural feature.

 

 

slideshow

       
 
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Camcorder

           
 
Visitor Sightings
 
           
 

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MinnesotaSeasons.com Sightings
 
 

Visits

9/6/2009   5/12/2012            
 
 

Amphibians

 
  boreal chorus frog (Pseudacris maculata)   boreal chorus frog  
 

Two bird species with conservation status in Minnesota have been seen here:

Special Concern

American White Pelican (Pelecanus erythrorhynchos)

Purple Martin (Progne subis)

 
 

Minnesota DNR Bird checklist

eBird Field Checklist

 
 

American Crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos)

American Robin (Turdus migratorius)

American White Pelican (Pelecanus erythrorhynchos)

Black-capped Chickadee (Poecile atricapillus)

Blue Jay (Cyanocitta cristata)

Brown-headed Cowbird (Molothrus ater)

Common Grackle (Quiscalus quiscula)

Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis)

Red-bellied Woodpecker (Melanerpes carolinus)

Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus)

Tree Swallow (Tachycineta bicolor)

Wood Duck (Aix sponsa)

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker (Sphyrapicus varius)

 

American Robin

Black-capped Chickadee

Brown-headed Cowbird

Wood Duck

 
 

Fungi and Lichens

 
 

Minnesota Biodiversity Atlas Lichens List

 
 

Artist’s Conk (Ganoderma applanatum)

Black Knot (Apiosporina morbosa)

Crown Rust (Puccinia coronata)

False Tinder Fungus (Phellinus igniarius)

  Artist’s Conk  
 

Insects and Arachnids

 
 

American lady (Vanessa virginiensis)

common buckeye (Junonia coenia)

eastern tiger swallowtail (Papilio glaucus)

monarch (Danaus plexippus)

mourning cloak (Nymphalis antiopa)

plum finger gall mite (Eriophyes emarginatae)

orange sulphur (Colias eurytheme)

question mark (Polygonia interrogationis)

red admiral (Vanessa atalanta)

spring field cricket (Gryllus veletis)

 

American lady

orange sulphur

question mark

 
 

Plants

 
 

Two plant species with conservation status in Minnesota are found here:

Threatened

clustered broomrape (Orobanche fasciculata)

Special Concern

plains prickly pear (Opuntia macrorhiza)

 
 

Minnesota Biodiversity Atlas and Minnesota Biological Survey Vegetation Releves Plant List

 
 

Plants frequently found in:

Crystalline Bedrock Outcrop (Prairie): Minnesota River Subtype ROs12a1

     
 

 

alfalfa (Medicago sativa ssp. sativa)

American basswood (Tilia americana var. americana)

American elm (Ulmus americana)

American stinging nettle (Urtica gracilis ssp. gracilis)

American vetch (Vicia americana ssp. americana)

bastard toadflax (Comandra umbellata ssp. umbellata)

black-seeded plantain (Plantago rugelii var. rugelii)

boxelder (Acer negundo var. negundo)

bracted spiderwort (Tradescantia bracteata)

bristly buttercup (Ranunculus hispidus var. caricetorum)

brittle prickly pear (Opuntia fragilis)

bur oak (Quercus macrocarpa var. macrocarpa)

Canada anemone (Anemonastrum canadense)

Canadian woodnettle (Laportea canadensis)

catnip (Nepeta cataria)

chokecherry (Prunus virginiana var. virginiana)

cleavers (Galium aparine)

common blue violet (Viola sororia)

common buckthorn (Rhamnus cathartica)

common burdock (Arctium minus)

common dandelion (Taraxacum officinale ssp. officinale)

common lambsquarters (Chenopodium album)

common motherwort (Leonurus cardiaca ssp. cardiaca)

common mullein (Verbascum thapsus ssp. thapsus)

common ragweed (Ambrosia artemisiifolia)

common yarrow (Achillea millefolium)

dame’s rocket (Hesperis matronalis ssp. matronalis)

early meadow-rue (Thalictrum dioicum)

eastern redcedar (Juniperus virginiana var. virginiana)

falsegold groundsel (Packera pseudaurea var. semicordata)

field horsetail (Equisetum arvense)

field pussytoes (Antennaria neglecta)

field sagewort (Artemisia campestris ssp. caudata)

green ash (Fraxinus pennsylvanica)

grimmia dry rock moss (Grimmia laevigata)

ground ivy (Glechoma hederacea)

honey locust (Gleditsia triacanthos)

kidney-leaved buttercup (Ranunculus abortivus)

large yellow water crowfoot (Ranunculus flabellaris)

leadplant (Amorpha canescens)

Missouri gooseberry (Ribes missouriense)

Morrow’s honeysuckle (Lonicera morrowii)

northern bedstraw (Galium boreale)

northern hackberry (Celtis occidentalis)

northern prickly ash (Zanthoxylum americanum)

plains cottonwood (Populus deltoides ssp. molinifera)

plains prickly pear (Opuntia macrorhiza)

prairie alumroot (Heuchera richardsonii)

prairie blue-eyed grass (Sisyrinchium campestre)

prairie sagewort (Artemisia frigida)

prairie violet (Viola pedatifida var. pedatifida)

quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides)

red elderberry (Sambucus racemosa var. racemosa)

Robin’s plantain (Erigeron pulchellus var. pulchellus)

rusty woodsia (Woodsia ilvensis)

silver maple (Acer saccharinum)

silvery cinquefoil (Potentilla argentea)

smooth Solomon’s seal (Polygonatum biflorum var. commutatum)

smooth sumac (Rhus glabra)

spreading dogbane (Apocynum androsaemifolium)

spring cress (Cardamine bulbosa)

starry false Solomon’s seal (Maianthemum stellatum)

stiff goldenrod (Solidago rigida)

sugar maple (Acer saccharum ssp. saccharum)

tall cinquefoil (Drymocallis arguta)

Tatarian honeysuckle (Lonicera tatarica)

upright carrionflower (Smilax ecirrhata)

violet wood sorrel (Oxalis violacea)

Virginia waterleaf (Hydrophyllum virginianum var. virginianum)

western ragweed (Ambrosia psilostachya)

white clover (Trifolium repens ssp. repens)

wild columbine (Aquilegia canadensis)

wild grape (Vitis riparia)

wild oats (Uvularia sessilifolia)

woodbine (Parthenocissus vitacea)

woodland strawberry (Fragaria vesca ssp. americana)

yellow goat’s beard (Tragopogon dubius)

 

Acer negundo var. negundo (boxelder)

Acer saccharinum (silver maple)

Acer saccharum ssp. saccharum (sugar maple)

Achillea millefolium (common yarrow)

Ambrosia artemisiifolia (common ragweed)

Ambrosia psilostachya (western ragweed)

Amorpha canescens (leadplant)

Anemonastrum canadense (Canada anemone)

Antennaria neglecta (field pussytoes)

Apocynum androsaemifolium (spreading dogbane)

Aquilegia canadensis (wild columbine)

Arctium minus (common burdock)

Artemisia campestris ssp. caudata (field sagewort)

Artemisia frigida (prairie sagewort)

Cardamine bulbosa (spring cress)

Celtis occidentalis (northern hackberry)

Chenopodium album (common lambsquarters)

Comandra umbellata ssp. umbellata (bastard toadflax)

Drymocallis arguta (tall cinquefoil)

Equisetum arvense (field horsetail)

Erigeron pulchellus var. pulchellus (Robin’s plantain)

Fragaria vesca ssp. americana (woodland strawberry)

Fraxinus pennsylvanica (green ash)

Galium aparine (cleavers)

Galium boreale (northern bedstraw)

Glechoma hederacea (ground ivy)

Gleditsia triacanthos (honey locust)

Grimmia laevigata (grimmia dry rock moss)

Hesperis matronalis ssp. matronalis (dame’s rocket)

Heuchera richardsonii (prairie alumroot)

Hydrophyllum virginianum var. virginianum (Virginia waterleaf)

Juniperus virginiana var. virginiana (eastern redcedar)

Laportea canadensis (Canadian woodnettle)

Leonurus cardiaca ssp. cardiaca (common motherwort)

Lonicera morrowii (Morrow’s honeysuckle)

Lonicera tatarica (Tatarian honeysuckle)

Maianthemum stellatum (starry false Solomon’s seal)

Medicago sativa ssp. sativa (alfalfa)

Nepeta cataria (catnip)

Opuntia fragilis (brittle prickly pear)

Opuntia macrorhiza (plains prickly pear)

Oxalis violacea (violet wood sorrel)

Packera pseudaurea var. semicordata (falsegold groundsel)

Parthenocissus vitacea (woodbine)

Plantago rugelii var. rugelii (black-seeded plantain)

Polygonatum biflorum var. commutatum (smooth Solomon’s seal)

Populus deltoides ssp. molinifera (plains cottonwood)

Populus tremuloides (quaking aspen)

Potentilla argentea (silvery cinquefoil)

Prunus virginiana var. virginiana (chokecherry)

Quercus macrocarpa var. macrocarpa (bur oak)

Ranunculus abortivus (kidney-leaved buttercup)

Ranunculus flabellaris (large yellow water crowfoot)

Ranunculus hispidus var. caricetorum (bristly buttercup)

Rhamnus cathartica (common buckthorn)

Rhus glabra (smooth sumac)

Ribes missouriense (Missouri gooseberry)

Sambucus racemosa var. racemosa (red elderberry)

Sisyrinchium campestre (prairie blue-eyed grass)

Smilax ecirrhata (upright carrionflower)

Solidago rigida (stiff goldenrod)

Taraxacum officinale ssp. officinale (common dandelion)

Thalictrum dioicum (early meadow-rue)

Tilia americana (American basswood)

Tradescantia bracteata (bracted spiderwort)

Tragopogon dubius (yellow goat’s beard)

Trifolium repens ssp. repens (white clover)

Ulmus americana (American elm)

Urtica gracilis ssp. gracilis (American stinging nettle)

Uvularia sessilifolia (wild oats)

Verbascum thapsus ssp. thapsus (common mullein)

Vicia americana ssp. americana (American vetch)

Viola pedatifida var. pedatifida (prairie violet)

Viola sororia (common blue violet)

Vitis riparia (wild grape)

Woodsia ilvensis (rusty woodsia)

Zanthoxylum americanum (northern prickly ash)

 

American elm

bracted spiderwort

brittle prickly pear

bur oak (var. macrocarpa)

chokecherry

common blue violet

common mullein

common yarrow

field pussytoes

leadplant

Missouri gooseberry

northern bedstraw

northern prickly ash

red elderberry

silvery cinquefoil

spreading dogbane

tall cinquefoil

Tatarian honeysuckle

Virginia waterleaf

wild columbine

 
 

Reptiles

 
 

One reptile species with conservation status in Minnesota have been seen here:

Special Concern

common five-lined skink (Plestiodon fasciatus)

 
  plains garter snake (Thamnophis radix)   plains garter snake  

 

 

Binoculars

 

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