Denby Prairie State Preserve
Macoupin County, Illinois
Plants and Wildlife
eBird Checklist for Denby Prairie Nature Preserve.pdf
In the table below:
Click on the Plant, Bird, Reptile and Amphibian, Insect and Arachnid, and Mammal tabs at the bottom of the table to scroll through the lists.
These lists are based on species identified during site visits and sightings submitted using the link in the sub-bullet point below. Submitted species are added to the table as time allows.
Click here if you would like to submit records of plants or wildlife you have seen at this location.
Bloom periods are based on those provided by the Illinois Plants Database.
About the Denby Prairie State Preserve
During presettlement times, this part of Illinois was a mixture of forest and prairie, with forest covering over 80% of the land and prairie occupying the rest. Denby Prairie contains vegetation characteristic of the Carlinville Section of the Western Forest-Prairie Natural Division. Dominant species include big bluestem, Indian grass and flowering spurge with tall gayfeather, shooting star and white false indigo as common associates. The preserve also provides critical habitat for the prairie trout-lily. Common animal residents include prairie king snake, dickcissel and meadow jumping mouse. Current management of the prairie includes prescribed burning, which is critical for controlling the encroachment of woody shrubs.
Click here to read more IDNR information for this site.
Amenities
There is an off road gravel parking lot. No other amenities are offered.
Nearby Sites of Interest:
Roberts Cemetery Savanna Nature Preserve
Literature and links:
Click here to search Google Scholar for additional literature sources with the pre-filled term of "Denby Prairie Nature Preserve Illinois."
Vegetation of Denby Prairie Nature Preserve, Macoupin County, Illinois. William E. McClain, John E. Ebinger, and C. Richard McClain Transactions of the Illinois State Academy of Science (2014) Volume 107, pp. 43-46.
Philips, Robert W., "Chamaecrista Fasciculata In Tallgrass And Sand Prairies: The Potential For Differential Responses" (2018). Theses and Dissertations. 918. https://ir.library.illinoisstate.edu/etd/918
Click here to view additional information from the book, “Prairie Directory of North America: The United States, Canada, and Mexico.”
Panzer, Ron. (2002). Compatibility of Prescribed Burning with the Conservation of Insects in Small, Isolated Prairie Reserves. Conservation Biology. 16. 1296 - 1307. 10.1046/j.1523-1739.2002.01077.x.