Resident birds are joined by migrating flocks from the north, and goose numbers annually peak at several thousand birds during fall migration. Navarino's wetlands are managed to provide a wide range of habitat, from sedge meadow to cattail marsh to open water. The area is well known to deer hunters for archery and gun seasons. Squirrel hunters also love Navarino s large oak stands, which produce big bushy-tails. Fall is also the best time of year to experience the prairies in full bloom.
Colorful butterflies dance and flutter among towering cup plants, coneflowers and prairie dock.
Flaming goldenrod and splashy asters in pinks, purples and white decorate the meadows and forest edges. Goldfinches swarm among the prairie giants and gray catbirds scold from the fiery dogwoods. The afternoon chorus of crickets and grasshoppers swells in the last of autumn's warmth. The season marches on, busier and busier, louder and louder, until suddenly, one day, silence falls across Navarino. The geese have moved on.