Hole-in-the-Mountain Prairie

The Nature Conservancy manages this beautiful native prairie tract called Hole-in-the-Mountain Prairie.

DIRECTIONS: From the City of Lake Benton, you can drive south of the town on Highway 75 about 2 miles to Hole-in-the-Mountain Prairie on the West side of the road.

This Nature Conservancy tract in the rolling valley atop the Prairie Coteau gives one with an imagination what the pioneers of this area were able to behold. If you want more of this type of land conserved or restored, a contribution to the Nature Conservancy is money well spent. Spring migration in this area can bring raptor after raptor, and seems an ideal place to hope for a Ferruginous Hawk. Or perhaps in the fall it would be more likely to search for Smith’s Longspur in the shorter grass areas. And while we’re dreaming, why not dream of the return of a Burrowing Owl. Most likely the Bobolink and Western Meadowlark will keep you company, but keep your eyes peeled for a drifting Lark Bunting or Chestnut-collared Longspur.

Hole-in-the-Mountain Park

Another gem of the remnant landscape is Hole-in-the-Mountain Park in the city of Lake Benton. This City Park nestled in the coulee of a small creek is covered with age-old ash, oak, and elm.

DIRECTIONS: West of the town of Lake Benton on US Highway 14

The trails can be extremely muddy after a rain, but don’t let that stop you – this park is worth the extra mud. Passerines are the prize in spring and fall as this may be the most likely place in Lincoln County to get your limit of warblers, thrushes, orioles, and flycatchers. Black-throated Green, Blue-winged, Connecticut, and Bay-breasted have been seen here in recent years as have both Summer and Scarlet Tanager, and Northern Cardinal. Least Flycatchers become annoying here, while Olive-sided and Alder make infrequent migratory appearances. Wild Turkey is now a well-established permanent resident.

In the summer one can expect to locate Great-crested Flycatcher, Indigo Bunting, and maybe even a nesting pair of Cooper Hawks in the trees. Taking the trail to the upper prairie area give you the sense that you’ve just emerged from an enchanted land, and are back on the prairie with the Clay-colored, Field, and Grasshopper Sparrows, House Wrens, Tree Swallows, and Eastern Bluebirds.

In winter the trails are not maintained, but if little snow cover is present this is a great place to look for Northern Goshawk (1996) Long-eared Owl (1999) and Pileated Woodpecker. There is another section of this park to the north of US Highway 14. It is worth a drive to the top, however this area is a horse camp and does not have any walking trails.

Gislason Lake NWR

On the Lincoln-Lyon County Border, Gislason Lake National Wildlife Refuge Area, and the surrounding upland acres has was designates a National Wildlife Refuge in 2010. This land is a most welcome addition to Southwest Minnesota. Combined with Sioux Prairie WMA to the Southeast, birders could spend an entire day searching this complex for nesting species indicative of the prairie pothole region.

There is good woodlands to the north (not part of the NWR) and suitable woodlands on the NWR property. A close wetland rounds out this area a destination location for birders. Not far from this location in 2008, Whooping Cranes spotted over for a brief time in the fall.

As management objectives continue to be implemented, this complex will no doubt experience changing migratory species, but the nesting activity should become stable in short time.