If you thought the prairie was all dry grass and waving wildflowers, think again.

Tucked between the tall grasses are watery pockets full of surprises that shimmer with life and sound.

These are wetlands.

Places where water lingers long enough to saturate the soil and create a hub for wildlife.

I'm here to see for myself just how popular these habitats are in a prairie ecosystem.

From mammals to insects, everyone's here for one reason: lunch.

You can think of the wetlands as a bustling food market right in the middle of the prairie.

They provide a variety of meals and snacks to wildlife of all sizes.

And in the middle of this bustling food market?

A beaver lodge.

It might look like a messy pile of sticks.

But this construction is more than just a cozy little house on the prairie.

It's a full scale wetland renovation.

Muskrats swim around, occasionally emerging from the water for a nice sit-down meal before swimming off to their next engagement.

Birds stalk the shallows, hunting for snacks.

And raccoons tiptoe past, looking for leftovers.

It's a wetland buffet and the beaver is the architect behind the feast.

Beavers are ecosystem engineers, shaping the landscape in ways that benefit far more than just themselves.

Their lodges sit at the center of it all; sheltered islands in the wetland that offer calm waters and safe cover.

Because wetlands are a reliable source of water, even during drought, beavers will even form their own version of a fast food drive-thru for easy access.

If you look closely, you can sometimes find one where the water meets the land.

I'm here at the entrance of a beaver trail.

You can tell, right behind me there's a beaver slide.

And they use this trail to get back and forth between different food sources.

Food sources like this willow stick.

And they actually eat the part of the willow stick that is just underneath the bark.

And you can tell, because if you look carefully here, you can see their teeth marks on the end of it.