As you read this, millions of birds are migrating north from the southern U.S., Central America, and South America. This spring migration will peak in early to mid-May, with some species staying in the lower Midwest while others push through to the upper Midwest and Canada.

To help sustain populations of birds—both year-round residents and migratory birds—two of the most important actions you can take are to support prairie protection and to add native plants, shrubs, and trees to your yard or property.

Grassland birds are especially threatened, largely due to the dramatic loss of prairies and other native grasslands. Thanks to supporters like you, MPF protects prairie remnants and establishes prairie plantings, sustaining and expanding suitable habitat for many grassland birds.

With most terrestrial species of birds reliant on insects to feed their young, an abundance of invertebrates is vital to their survival. By planting natives at home, including oak trees—the leaves of which provide food for caterpillars of more than 500 species of butterflies and moths—you can make your yard or property a haven for birds.

What better way to help native birds and recognize Arbor Day on April 28 than to plant one or more native trees? Find Grow Native! tree resources here, and make plans to purchase native trees and other native plants at an upcoming MPF plant sale (see below) or directly from Grow Native! professional members who sell native trees.

Learn about other actions you can take now to help beloved birds on April 26, during Migratory Bird Biologist Sarah Kendrick's MPF webinar. Sarah's lively presentations are always entertaining and informative. Don't miss it!

In addition to webinars and native plant sales, we also have upcoming hikes, a plein air art event, and our 12th Annual Prairie BioBlitz—all for your enjoyment and with information to help you provide for our treasured birds (and other wildlife!), as detailed below:

–April 26: MPF Webinar: Spring Into Action to Help Declining Birds

–Early Giving to MPF via Give St. Louis Open Now

–May 10: MPF Webinar: Invasive Plant ID & Control Methods

–May 20: Paint It Prairie at Snowball Hill

–June 3 & 4: Register for MPF's 12th Annual Prairie BioBlitz at Carver Prairie

–MPF Native Plant Sale Dates: April 29 & May 13, 20 & 27

–Guided Prairie/Nature Hikes in May and June

–Mother's Day is May 14: Shop for Grow Native! Garden Signs & More

–Prairie Postcard: Help Out a Herp

Our best to you,

The MPF Team

The beautiful northern parula warbler, which winters in Central America and the Caribbean, and breeds in much of eastern North America, photographed in Missouri by www.HenryDomke.com

April 26: MPF Webinar: Spring Into Action for Declining Birds

In 2019, an article in the journal Science quantified a net loss in North American birds of 29% in the last 50 years—whoa! In this webinar, learn from Sarah Kendrick about the declines—especially of grassland birds—but also gain insights into what you can do TODAY to help birds in your everyday life.

As the Migratory Birds Biologist for the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service in Columbia, Missouri, Sarah Kendrick works with partners to protect, restore, conserve, and monitor bird populations and their habitats.

This webinar, to be held via Zoom, will include a 40-minute presentation followed by a question-and-answer session. A link to a recording of the webinar will be sent to all registrants.

Date and time: Wednesday, April 26, 2023, at 4:00 p.m. Cost: Free. Register here.

Photo of a bobolink by Noppadol Paothong, courtesy of the Missouri Department of Conservation

Early Giving to MPF via Give St. Louis Now Open

MPF is grateful to be a part of Give St. Louis Day. During this online day of charitable giving on May 10, 2023, we invite you—no matter where you live—to make a donation to help us reach our fundraising goal of $10,000 to support our award-winning prairie conservation work.

Thanks to a generous $5,000 matching gift from an anonymous donor, the impact of your tax-deductible gift will be doubled! Please consider donating $10 or more to help us reach our goal. You can support other participating charitable organizations at the same time.

Early giving to MPF and other participating organizations via Give St. Louis Day is open now. Please visit MPF's profile in the campaign here and help us meet our goal of 10 early gifts and 45 total gifts—many thanks to the five donors who have already brought us halfway to meeting our early giving goal!

Save the Date: Use the button below to save a reminder to your calendar for Give STL Day on May 10.

Photo of MPF's Linden's Prairie above by R. S. Kinerson.

30-second MPF Give STL Day Video by Emily Gustafson linked above—enjoy!

No registration required to take part in the free Paint It Prairie event. Details above are also here. We look forward to seeing you at Snowball Hill Prairie!

Invasive plants can be found everywhere in Missouri, from urban backyards to sprawling pastures. This webinar will focus on some of the most common invasives that can be found across the state, how to distinguish them from other plants, and what control strategies can be used on them. In this webinar, Valarie (Repp) Kurre will also provide information on the fundamentals of integrative pest management (IPM) to give attendees the most options for controlling invasive species.

Valarie is the coordinator of the Scenic Rivers Invasive Species Partnership (SRISP), the first cooperative invasive species management area established in Missouri. She is also a member of the Missouri Invasive Plant Council, administered by MPF.

This webinar, to be held via Zoom, will include a 30-minute presentation followed by a question-and-answer session. A link to a recording of the webinar will be sent to all registrants.

Date and time: Wednesday, May 10, 2023, at 4:00 p.m. Cost: Free. Register here.

Photo above of sericea lespedeza by Valarie (Repp) Kurre

Registration Open for MPF's 12th Annual Prairie BioBlitz June 3 & 4 at Carver Prairie

Attention prairie enthusiasts! You are invited to MPF's 12th Annual Prairie BioBlitz June 3 & 4 at MPF's Carver Prairie near Joplin, MO. Join the fun as we all learn more about this amazing prairie on 2023 National Prairie Day (June 3) and through the following morning.

A potluck dinner and fish fry, bluegrass concert by No Apparent Reason, and tent camping on the prairie are also part of the weekend activities. Enjoy an afternoon, evening, morning, or all weekend on the prairie.

The event is free, but registration is required. Register here. There will be study group sessions available on reptiles and amphibians; butterflies and moths; small mammals; ants; wasps, grasshoppers, true bugs and beetles; bumblebees; and prairie plants. You can sign up for one or several, or just register for the potluck and camping. Questions? Call 888-843-6739.

We look forward to seeing you at Carver Prairie. While in the area, you may also wish to visit MPF's nearby Noah Brown's Prairie and The Rae Letsinger Prairie, and also MDC's Diamond Grove Prairie Natural Area, across the road from Carver Prairie.

Make plans to purchase native plants and seeds at one or more upcoming MPF native plant sales. Find native grasses, sedges, wildflowers, vines, shrubs, trees, and seeds from Grow Native! professional members to add beauty and ecological function to your yard or property. Native plant sale vendors will donate 5% of their sale proceeds to benefit MPF's prairie conservation work.

Saturday, April 29, 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.

Watershed Committee of the Ozarks, at Ozark Empire Fairgrounds, 3001 N. Grant Ave., Springfield. Three vendors: Forrest Keeling, Gaylena's Gardens, and Watershed Natives. Pre-order information is here.

Saturday, May 13, 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.

World Bird Sanctuary, St. Louis

and Anita B. Gorman Conservation Discovery Center, Kansas City

Saturday, May 20, 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.

Bass Pro Shops Sportsman's Center®, Columbia

Saturday, May 27, 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.

Bass Pro Shops®, Independence

and Mother's Brewing Company, Springfield, 2:00 to 6:00 p.m.

Some vendors accept cash, check, or credit cards; some only cash or checks. Shoppers are encouraged to bring their own crates or boxes for transporting their purchased plants home. Volunteers will be available to load plants into vehicles for those needing assistance.

Before heading to these sales, learn more about them here.

Photo of April 15, 2023 MPF Kansas City plant sale shoppers at MDC's Anita B. Gorman Conservation Discovery Center by Tracy Lewandowski

There is no better way to learn about prairie and other natural landscapes than to experience them firsthand on a hike with an experienced interpretive guide.

MPF will host or co-host numerous upcoming hikes to help participants discover the beauty, science, and importance of prairie and natural landscapes from experts in the field.

May 1: Prairie ecology walk with Jeff Cantrell at MPF's Pleasant Run Creek Prairie @ 5:30 p.m.

May 2: Prairie ecology walk with Jeff Cantrell at MPF's Northwest Lawrence County Prairie @ 5:30 p.m.

May 9: Wildflower walk with MPF Director of Prairie Management Jerod Huebner at MPF's Snowball Hill Prairie @ 5:30 p.m.

May 20: Grow Native!/Bellefontaine Cemetery & Arboretum Evergreen Meadow Walking Tour with staff @ 10 a.m.

May 26: Glade ecology hike with Jeff Cantrell at Chute Ridge Glade (Barry Co) on National Forest Service land @ 5:30 p.m.

June 2: Prairie ecology walk with Jeff Cantrell at MPF's Linden's Prairie @ 5:30 p.m.

June 10: MDC/MPF Pride on the Prairie Hike (two times available) at Cole Camp

June 14: Grow Native!/Bellefontaine Cemetery & Arboretum Evergreen Meadow Walking Tour @ 5 p.m.

June 19: Wildflower walk with MPF Director of Prairie Management Jerod Huebner at MPF's Schuette Prairie @ 5:30 p.m.

Photo of a 2022 MPF spring hike with prairie hyacinth (Camassia angusta) blooming in the foreground by Carol Davit

Mother's Day is May 14. The MPF/Grow Native! online Gift Shop has native garden signs, as shown above, as well as T-shirts and gardening books for sale. For Mother's Day delivery, please order at the MPF/Grow Native! Gift Shop no later than May 5, and MPF Operations Assistant Emily Gustafson will ship your order to you or to your mom.

You can also make a donation to MPF in honor of your mother here, or buy her a one-year gift membership here.

More gift ideas! Science educator and artist Jeanne Norris will donate $1 from the sale of each of her "Sit Spot" butterfly sticker packs to MPF. Each sticker pack comes with a bookmark with information about Sit Spots and how to attract the butterflies to your own Sit Spot. Sticker packs are available for purchase for $10 in the St. Louis area at Union Studio in Webster Groves and Moonbeams in Glendale.

On Missouri's prairies you may encounter Missouri’s two species of box turtles, unique for their highly domed top shell, hinged plastron (bottom shell), and ability to draw their head and legs inside for protection.

Three-toed box turtles (Terrapene carolina triunguis) are typically found in wooded habitats, although they can be found in prairies and grasslands too. One study showed they can be found seasonally on prairie/grasslands in late spring before moving back into the woods during the heat of summer. Mating usually occurs from late April to early July. An average of five eggs are laid at night in a 3-4-inch-deep nest hole dug by the female in loose soil. Incredibly, if the right conditions are not available to her, the female three-toed box turtle is able to store viable sperm to fertilize eggs for up to four years after mating.

A more characteristic prairie inhabitant is the ornate box turtle (Terrapene ornata), which gets its name from its brown carapace (top shell) that has bright yellow, patterned lines. They are active from late March to mid-October. One study in Kansas found these turtles overwintering in burrows up to 29 inches deep in open prairie habitat. These primarily insectivorous turtles also rely on grassland habitat for food, with 90 percent of their diet consisting of grasshoppers, beetles, and caterpillars. After a two-to-three-month incubation period, similar to that of the three-toed box turtle, tiny hatchlings arrive and, in the right conditions, can live to about 30 years old.

So, if you see a turtle on the roadway, avoid it if you can do so safely, or, if you stop to move it off the road, move it in the direction it's heading. If you see a turtle on a prairie, take a picture and send it our way—we’d love to see it, too! Read the full article here. To learn more about these and other Missouri reptiles, read The Amphibians and Reptiles of Missouri, by Jeffrey T. Briggler and Tom R. Johnson.

Photo of ornate box turtle by Bruce Schuette