It’s been more than a month since Iowa’s multi-faceted deer hunting seasons concluded on January 10.  Since then, I’ve been scouring the landscape in an effort to lay eyes on what has become my favorite white-tail – a doe I call Bobtail.  I call her Bobtail because, at some point in her danger filled life,
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The Mid-Winter Waterfowl Survey is one of North America’s most important, longest running wildlife counts.  Coordinated by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, the annual survey is conducted through the cooperative efforts of federal, state, and provisional wildlife agencies.  Conducted each January, the continentwide counts are designed to monitor ducks, geese, and swans whose populations
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When I was a kid, squirrel hunting was listed among Iowa’s most popular outdoor pastimes.  Not just for young hunters, but for adults as well.  Then, as now, you looked for squirrels in places where newly fallen acorns covered the forest floor like a carpet of marbles.  In a time preceding road ditch to road
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If you enjoy feeding backyard birds, you’re not alone.  Somewhere in the vicinity of 900,000 Iowans, and upwards of 80 million Americans nationwide also -- either in winter or year-round – enjoy attracting wild birds to their feeding stations.  Backyard bird feeding is so popular, in fact, that according to the Iowa Ornithologists’ Union [IOU],
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Following a year of presumed absence, highly pathogenic avian influenza [HPAI] is sweeping through Iowa waterfowl populations.  This time, the outbreak is occurring due to a new and lethal [D1.1] variant of the avian influenza virus.  As wintering ducks and geese concentrate into remaining areas of open water, the escalating effects of the deadly flu
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It was Mid-May, and spring birding was at its peak.  With sunrise still a half hour in the offing, I was standing in a narrow strip of public timber extending from the western edge of Clear Lake’s Lekwa Marsh.  Although the predawn light was dim, the woodland was already bursting with song.  In addition to
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After providing good to excellent duck hunting during September and October, the Iowa migration pretty much shut down in early November.  As the doldrums continued into mid-month, hunters were becoming understandably impatient.  Some were even discouraged to the point of stashing the decoys to pursue locally abundant pheasant populations. Finally, on November 19th, the weather took
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I love the Thanksgiving holidays.  I say holidays [plural] because, on most years, I get to celebrate by enjoying four separate turkey dinners.  The first takes place during the official Thursday holiday where I spend the day with around forty or so relatives.  Turkey Master, Paul Beatty supplies the birds for that event.  Beatty has
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For Iowa outdoor enthusiasts, the month of November is one of the most exciting times of the year.  November has so much to offer that making a list of all the things to do would fill pages.  One of the things I most look forward to each November is the annual migration of blackbirds.  Yea,
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For an Iowa waterfowler, few events spark the imagination or bring a higher level of anticipation than the arrival of October’s full moon.  The night air is crisp, humidity is dropping, a rising breeze is shifting to the northwest.  By the time midnight rolls around, it’s becoming downright chilly, and the landscape becomes covered in
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When the sun sets and evening stars shine bright, the night sky quickly becomes a busy place as millions of southbound songbirds take to the flyways.  And of all the feathery families cruising the moonlit flyways, few are more intriguing than the grouping of birds collectively known as wood warblers.  Listed among the smallest of
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Phenomenal!  Absolutely incredible!  Have never seen anything like it! Mild temperatures combined with the blue-wing’s preference for frequenting small, easy access wetlands, make Iowa’s special teal season a favorite with outdoor enthusiasts of all ages. Those are typical hunter comments regarding the September 1st opening of this year’s special teal season.  According to DNR Conservation Officers and
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