The Iowa goose opener is one of my favorite events on the annual outdoor calendar.   Big, beautiful, noisy, and delicious – Canada geese have everything it takes to make for an exciting day afield. But this year’s September 26 opener, as well as most of the following week, was somewhat dampened by the weather -- a

The ruby-throated hummingbird is one of Iowa’s favorite bird species.   Although hummingbirds nest throughout our state, they are never more abundant than during fall migration when visitors from as far away as northern Minnesota and Ontario, Canada will pass through Iowa.   Although hummingbird numbers usually peak during the second and third weeks of September, the

Forsaking their Canadian breeding grounds, millions of tiny wood warblers are currently moving toward traditional wintering areas in Central and South America.  For Iowa birding enthusiasts, it is one of the year’s most anticipated migrations.  When conditions are right, millions of warblers will cross the state during a single twenty-four hour period.  It’s an event

When the weather turns cool and autumn winds shift to the north, duck hunters can expect to see waterfowl numbers similar to those seen during 2025.  That’s the assessment of this year’s annual Waterfowl Population Status Report released earlier this week by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. Conducted every year since 1955, the continent-wide annual

According to the combined results of this year’s annual roadside game surveys, hunters can expect to encounter good to excellent pheasant numbers when they take to the fields this fall.  Although pheasant numbers failed to show a statewide gain during 2026, bird populations mostly held their own and remain similar to the 20-year high seen

Following a summer of secretive seclusion, this year’s crop of baby sandhill cranes is currently on display -- in the open and on the wing.  Gearing up for their first migration, young cranes [more properly referred to as colts] are enjoying the thrill of riding the wind with their newly acquired powers of flight.  But

This year’s Iowa duck seasons begin September 5 with the opening of a special, 9-day early teal season.    The teal only hunt is offered statewide, with shooting hours running from sunrise to sunset each day.  The daily bag limit is 6 [blue-winged or green-winged] teal; possession limit is 18 teal. September Blue-wing – A blue-winged

Using a spear to collect Iowa sportfish is illegal – that is unless you happen to belong to a unique grouping of long-legged, feathered waders that are regular summer residents here.  Collectively referred to as wading birds, there are more than a half dozen species of herons, egrets, and bitterns that annually visit Iowa wetlands

Keep your eyeballs peeled for the next several days and you might see something special.  Giant silkworm cecropia moths are currently emerging across Iowa.  Adorned in colorful pastels and equipped with seven inch wingspans, cecropia moths are one insect that would be hard to miss.  The largest member of the silkworms, cecropias are huge.  Of

 Easier Than You Imagine! The summer mushroom season is currently in full swing.  I was reminded of this fact when my neighbor, Ron Davis, stopped by to offer me a colorful, one pound chunk of wild Chicken-of-the-Woods – one of Iowa’s most sought after summer mushrooms.  The chunk was but half of a big cluster that

My friends Bruce and Diane Rich own a beautiful woodland in Northern Iowa.  Although I occasionally hunt squirrels, deer, or turkeys there, I mostly come to the woods to shoot photos.  In addition to timber, the tract also harbors a small pond where I often set up to encounter the widest variety of wildlife –

For a representative form of government –- of the people, by the people, and for the people – to survive for two and half centuries is something of a miracle.  But that is exactly what Americans are celebrating this summer; 250 years of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. The Fourth of July has always