On our first visit to the Forum Nature Area in two months, we found that our local wetland preserve is completely dry. Thanks to the prolonged heat and drought, the seasonal lake is now a broad grassland and the hillside woodlands have taken on the yellow-brown foliage of a color-starved autumn.
Since the floodplain soil receives moisture from those uplands, the purple and gold wildflowers of late summer adorn the fields, including goldenrods, blazing star and thistles. Cardinals, American goldfinches, yellow warblers and indigo buntings also offer their color to the parched landscape but the frog chorus has been stifled as resident amphibians and aquatic turtles have been forced into their winter retreats far too early.
Hopefully, late summer and early autumn rains will recharge the streams and rejuvenate the marsh. For now, herons, rails and egrets have escaped to the Missouri River floodplain, summer ducks and geese have flown off to deeper lakes and migrant shorebirds will have to look elsewhere for their nutritious mudflats. Except for the stagnant pools along Hinkson Creek, water cannot be found at the Forum wetland.
