Twenty-five area residents gathered Saturday at Sherburne National Wildlife Refuge for a two-hour wildflower tour led by volunteer Roving Interpreter Robin DeLong.  

Created in 1965, the Refuge has 30,700 acres ranging from grasslands to oak savanna to forest along with wetland and river habitats ranging from sedge meadow to deep water marsh.

“With the abundant rains this year, wildflowers change every two weeks,” noted DeLong, a 26-year volunteer with the Refuge. She encouraged participants to chew on hyssop which had a black licorice taste.

DeLong indicated the Refuge has 14 varieties of asters and 13 of goldenrod. Round-headed bush clover plants are green in July with tiny white flowers and eventually turn brown. Milkweeds are critical to the survival of monarch butterflies.

A caravan of vehicles traveled slowly along the seven-mile Prairie’s Edge Wildlife Drive, north of Big Lake on Co. Rd. 5.  Standing in a ditch, DeLong reported “you never see wild raspberries or strawberries, monarch butterflies or dragonflies if you drive too fast.”

Ferns, cattails and wild rice are abundant near the ponds.  Muskrats in the Refuge received a virus a few years back so the wild rice multiplied quickly and now are being more contained as the muskrat population grows. Tamarack trees were planted several years ago.

The tour group was able to see trumpeter swans, mallard ducks and wood tail ducks.  The majority of the Refuge is designated a wildlife sanctuary and is closed to all public access from March 1 to Aug. 31 to allow wildlife to breed and raise their young, free from human disturbance.

The Refuge is hosting a wildlife festival Sat. Sept. 28 from 10-3 pm at Oak Savanna Learning Center with horse-drawn carriage rides and presentations at 11 and 1.

Sandhill crane tours are scheduled in October.

The wildflower tour was sponsored by Friends of Sherburne National Wildlife Refuge.  Forty-one area residents attended the tour Sept. 7. Friends sponsor the tours every June and September.