The fall season is full of cozy sweaters, colourful leaves, and pumpkin spice everything — but nature has its own way of celebrating the season. As the days shorten and the air grows crisp, the tall grass prairie transforms into something a little mysterious. The rustle of dry grasses, the hoot of an owl, and the distant yodel of a coyote can make even the bravest hiker look over their shoulder.

According to nature guide Norm Gregoire of Shared Legacy, this eerie atmosphere is exactly what makes fall so fascinating. “As the weather starts to cool down and the leaves fall from our trees, especially the oak trees, they can have that creepy look to them sometimes,” he says. “Then if you hear an owl start hooting or a coyote yodeling, your mind starts playing tricks on you.”

Gregoire leads the popular Adventures with Nature Norm walks through Manitoba’s tall grass prairie. Each month, he explores a different theme, and this October, it’s all about the misunderstood “creepy crawlies” and spooky sounds of nature. But while the setting might seem eerie, he assures there’s nothing to fear — only fascinating lessons to learn.

The importance of the icky

As insects settle into winter dormancy, Gregoire explains that even the tiniest creatures play a big role in keeping the ecosystem healthy. “Most insects go into something called diapause, which is kind of like an insect hibernation,” he says. “People think of them as creepy, but they’re really important. They’re the first piece of the food chain — if you have a healthy insect population, you’ll have healthy birds and mammals.”

Even flies, he says, are often overlooked heroes. “There are species of flies that are more important pollinators than certain bee species,” Gregoire adds. “They may not be cute, but they’re crucial.”

In the tall grass prairie, this balance between predator and prey, pollinator and plant, is especially delicate. The region’s remaining prairie pockets — among the last of their kind in Canada — are home to hundreds of species of birds, mammals, reptiles, and insects that depend on each other for survival. “Every sound you hear, from a cricket’s chirp to an owl’s call, is part of that larger story,” Gregoire says.

Bats, wolves, and misunderstood creatures

Fall is also a time when bats and nocturnal animals get a bad reputation. Gregoire hopes to change that. “There are thousands of bat species in the world, and only about three are blood drinkers,” he notes. “The ones we have here in Manitoba are fruit eaters or insect eaters.”

And while wolves might send a shiver down your spine when you hear their howls, Gregoire says they deserve admiration, not fear. “They play a key role in the ecosystem, and during the walk, I’ll share stories I’ve learned from experts about how to howl like a wolf,” he says with a laugh. “Don’t worry — it’s a daytime walk, so there’s no full moon to worry about.”

Of course, not every “spooky” encounter is with a predator. Gregoire recalls one startling moment in the woods that turned out to be less frightening than expected. “I heard crashing beside me and thought something was coming to get me. It turned out to be a ruffed grouse,” he says. “It flew right toward me! So the moral of the story — be more afraid of grouse than of wolves.”

Sounds of the season

Autumn also brings a change in the soundscape. The buzzing of insects fades, replaced by the rustle of dry leaves and the calls of migrating birds. Owls, which Gregoire describes as “the soundtrack of spooky movies,” become more active and vocal. “We have some really interesting-sounding owls in our area,” he says. “When you hear one, it’s always a bit of a treat for me.”

These changing sounds, sights, and smells make fall a perfect time to explore. “There’s a special kind of beauty in this season,” says Gregoire. “It’s quieter, more reflective. You notice things you might miss in summer.”

The darker evenings, cooler temperatures, and leaves falling from trees tell us it’s fall in the tall-grass prairie. This season lends itself to all things eerie, and over time people have associated certain wildlife as falling into this category. Unfortunately, a lot of the attention these species get is negative. Comments you sometimes hear sound like “Oh, look at those nasty creepy-crawlies,” or “Bats are gross,” and even “Wolves are scary!” Really, these creatures provide so much for the ecosystem that we all call home once you get to know them.

I’ll start my defence of all things eerie with the creepy-crawlies group. This includes all the beetles, moths, spiders, and really all bugs. Insects make up over fifty percent of species throughout the world, and these small creatures provide big services to the ecosystem. The positive impact list includes being pollinators, being a key prey item on the food chain, being soil creators, and providing waste disposal services. Without the creepy-crawlies, we simply couldn’t exist!

The way Hollywood has portrayed certain wildlife in the past is what started an unnecessary dislike of bats and wolves. Bats have been seen as bloodthirsty vampires, even though out of over fourteen hundred species of bats, only three consume blood. Most bats are insect eaters (pest control) or nectar feeders (providing valuable pollinating and seed dispersal services). The werewolf is seen as the ultimate full moon villain, and these stereotypes have been passed onto wolves. Although I don’t think people should fear wolves, a healthy respect is required. They are apex predators that help to keep ungulate populations in balance. If you haven’t seen the short video on “How Wolves Change Rivers” in Yellowstone National Park, I highly recommend you look it up, as it highlights the incredible importance of a balanced ecosystem.

When you are watching a show or movie where the outdoor scene is meant to be on the scary or uneasy side of things, a few things are certain: it will be dark, anxious music will be playing, and an owl will be hooting in the background. So now if we are out camping and we hear an owl start to call, we subliminally get a little apprehensive. In truth this should put a big smile on our faces as we think about these amazing birds hunting nearby, which provides population control of rodent species. I don’t know of another animal that has an opposite reaction when you hear/see it from day to night. A sighting of an owl is often a highlight of any outdoor adventure.

There is another family of birds that gets lumped into the unnerving category as well. With black plumage and a sometimes-haunting call, crows and ravens (in the corvid family) are often thought of as “bringers of death” or tricksters. I must admit that I can see how the assumptions came about. Corvids are great scavengers and are often first on the scene of a roadkill incident or deceased animal in the forest. In nature nothing goes to waste, and it’s great that so many scavengers can find fortune in other wildlife’s misfortune. As for the claim of being tricksters, this is more of a compliment. Corvids are seriously smart birds that can problem-solve and use tools.

Adventures with Nature Norm My main advice when thinking about these feared animals on the tall-grass prairie is to educate yourself on the importance of them to our ecosystem. Join in on the next Adventures with Nature Norm on October 11^th, to learn all the services these creatures provide and even learn how to howl like a wolf! Contact info@sharedlegacymb.ca for more information.