Wilkin

Parking, access to south section:
N46 31.068
W96 25.497

Access to
north section:
N46 31.652
W96 25.497

320 acres

Tallgrass prairie, wet prairie, moist sedge meadow

None

Minnesota DNR

A stream divides the prairie from east to west into two sections and drainage ditches border the north, west, and south edges. Dry access to the south section is possible from the parking area. Dry access to the north section is available from a narrow field access on the same road near the northwest corner of the prairie.

Three birds with protected status in Minnesota have been seen here:

Threatened – Wilson’s phalarope (Phalaropus tricolor)

Special Concern – greater prairie-chicken (Tympanuchus cupido), marbled godwit (Limosa fedoa)

Other birds commonly seen here, along with those listed below, include American kestrel (Falco sparverius), bobolink (Dolichonyx oryzivorus), grasshopper sparrow (Ammodramus savannarum), horned lark (Eremophila alpestris), Le Conte’s sparrow (Ammodramus leconteii), Nelson’s sharp-tailed sparrow (Ammodramus nelsoni), northern harrier (Circus cyaneus), savannah sparrow (Passerculus sandwichensis), upland sandpiper (Bartramia longicauda), western meadowlark (Sturnella neglecta), willow flycatcher (Empidonax traillii), and yellow warbler (Dendroica petechia).

Minnesota DNR Bird List

Plants that can be seen here, along with those listed below, include Baltic rush (Juncus balticus var. littoralis), brook lobelia (Lobelia kalmii), little bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium var. scoparium), northern bog aster (Symphyotrichum boreale), Nuttall’s alkali grass (Puccinellia nuttalliana), porcupine grass (Stipa spartea), seaside arrowgrass (Triglochin maritima), silverweed (Potentilla anserina), and slim-stem reedgrass (Calamagrostis stricta ssp. stricta).

Minnesota DNR Plant List