Our Midwest wetlands are surely not as fascinating during the winter as they are during the warmer months. The colorful songbirds have departed for southern climes and wetland wildflowers have long gone to seed. No frogs croak from the shallows and no turtles lounge in the mid day sun. Rails have left their backwater haunts and most waders have moved on to milder wintering grounds. Perhaps most striking is the silence, broken only by the distant call of geese or the friction of dried cattails in the cold winter wind.
But there is still much to see in the winter marsh. A variety of sparrows gather in the dense, dead vegetation, escaping the wind and searching for seeds; song and white-throated sparrows are most common but American tree, fox, Harris' and swamp sparrows may also be found. Northern harriers and sharp-shinned hawks swoop across the marsh, red-tailed hawks circle overhead and barred owls survey the scene from nearby woodlands. If open water persists, wintering ducks (mallards, gadwall, green-winged teal) may be seen and great blue herons, seemingly out of place in the cold, snowy weather, often stalk the shallows.
Those who visit early or late in the day have the chance to observe marshland mammals, most of which remain active through the year. Mink hunt along the banks or man-made dikes, searching for mice, muskrats and unwary ducks. Raccoons and opossums, opportunistic as they are, scour the marsh for anything edible while beaver and muskrat ply the open waters. The colors and noise may have faded but there's still plenty of activity in these crucibles of life.
