Lake Andes National Wildlife Refuge Complex

Lake Andes National Wildlife Refuge Complex Lake Andes NWR, Lake Andes WMD, Karl E. Mundt NWR

🕷While spiders are not high on everyone's list, you cannot deny they are not magical in their web weaving skills. This m...
09/06/2026

🕷While spiders are not high on everyone's list, you cannot deny they are not magical in their web weaving skills. This marbled orb weaver works on completing it's web-- a method all too familiar in capture it's insect prey. Once the insect is caught in the sticky web, the spider senses the disturbance on the web vibrations and will quickly inject their meal with a venom and dine then or dine later. Take time to enjoy the intricate web designs of all spiders, each species can be different!🕸️

Photo of a marbled orb weaver on its web by Marcie Button/USFWS

09/04/2026

🍇By now, flowers of the riverbank grape will start forming their clusters of small berries we know all too well as grapes. When ripe, they will be this darker blue-black color and have a seed in the center. This is a great food source for birds and mammals along, you guessed it, river banks.

Video of riverbank grape on the vine on the Karl E. Mundt NWR by Liz Julian/USFWS

“The more I see of deer, the more I admire them as mountaineers. They make their way into the heart of the roughest soli...
09/02/2026

“The more I see of deer, the more I admire them as mountaineers. They make their way into the heart of the roughest solitudes with smooth reserve of strength, through dense belts of brush and forest encumbered with fallen trees and boulder piles, across canons, roaring streams, and snow-fields, ever showing forth beauty and courage.” -- John Muir

Photo of a white-tailed deer buck in velvet by Liz Julian/USFWS

crawfish/crawdad are found on six out of seven continent-- seventh being Antarctica? Commonly found in streams and lak...
08/31/2026

crawfish/crawdad are found on six out of seven continent-- seventh being Antarctica? Commonly found in streams and lakes, these lobster relatives can be found under rocks and logs in the water. While many different species of crawfish can come in a variety of colors, this one has excellent camouflage to blend in with the rocks of the streambed. Crawfish should be mating soon, as they will mate in the fall and lay eggs in the spring. The female will carry the eggs under her tail for safe keeping. Keep your eyes out as you explore streams and lakes around you!

Photo of a crawfish/crawdad in shallow water by Marcie Button/USFWS

to this slide from August 1978 of an eared grebe colony nesting area on the North unit of Lake Andes NWR. These birds...
08/27/2026

to this slide from August 1978 of an eared grebe colony nesting area on the North unit of Lake Andes NWR. These birds like to nest in shallow lakes or wetlands that don't have many trees. Attaching their nest to the surrounding vegetation, they create a "floating" nesting platform. Eared grebes can lay 1-8 eggs and the eggs are white in color. Once their chicks are born, they can climb, swim and eat within one hour of hatching!

Photo slide from 1978 of multiple eared grebe floating nests on Lake Andes NWR by USFWS

If you've been on our Owens Bay Nature Trail this summer, you might have caught a glimpse of the American mink that call...
08/25/2026

If you've been on our Owens Bay Nature Trail this summer, you might have caught a glimpse of the American mink that call the prairie ponds their home. Resembling a brown ferret, these wild creatures are slender and cunning hunters. They feast on fish, small mammals, eggs, birds, frogs and crustaceans. Mink are semi-aquatic mammals meaning they spend a lot of their time in the water hunting but they do live in dens on land and will hunt shorelines or wetland edges for food.

Trail camera photo of an American mink on the shoreline of the prairie pond along the Owens Bay Nature Trail by USFWS

08/23/2026

porcupines can be found across the prairie landscape? They just aren't as abundant as say in a forested area. Down on the Karl E. Mundt NWR, we have plenty of trees to intice a porcupine to dine on. They are herbivores, feeding on leaves and bark. Which, if a porcupine eats enough bark off one tree, it could actually make the tree fall down!

Video of a porcupine walking on the Karl E. Mundt NWR by Liz Julian/USFWS

Prairie ironweed, or just ironweed, is another lovely addition to your native prairie garden. Primarily attracting skipp...
08/19/2026

Prairie ironweed, or just ironweed, is another lovely addition to your native prairie garden. Primarily attracting skipper butterflies, it is also a larval host plant for the American painted lady butterfly! They can get very tall, up to 6 feet! Blooming time occurs in the heart of summer, July, August, and September. Add some desirable purple to your garden!

Photo of blooming ironweed by Marcie Button/USFWS

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38471 291st Street
Lake Andes, SD
57356

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+16054877603

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