A seldom observed survivor of Iowa’s historic past, the rare and delicate pasque flower is currently on full display across the state’s also rare native prairie remnants.  Pasque flowers are the very first prairie species to display their pastel shades of blue, white and lavender colorings each spring.  For most prairie enthusiasts, finding just two
Read More

The courtship antics of the American woodcock is one of the Iowa woodland’s most remarkable spring rituals.  The prelude to these daily performances begins as solitary males – also known as Timberdoodles -- begin emitting a series of off key, nasal calls referred to as “peenting”.  There is no other sound that compares.  American Woodcock –
Read More

Iowa’s spring turkey seasons are just around the corner.  Hunters are counting the minutes as Iowa woodlands are already rocking with the staccato daybreak gobbling of the state’s most challenging gamebird.  This year’s turkey fest kicks off with a special youth hunt beginning April 11.  The first segment of the state’s four-part regular hunting seasons
Read More

You could feel the excitement in the weathercaster’s voice as she described the intense spring thunderstorm currently building to the south.  Surging northward at breakneck speed, the storm was scheduled to sweep into the northern half of Iowa by late afternoon, March 14.  It was just the kind of dramatic change in weather that longtime
Read More

The white-tailed deer is Iowa’s only species of big game wildlife.  One of the traits that sets white-tails apart from all other Iowa wildlife is their noteworthy ability to grow antlers.  Generally speaking, the longer a buck lives, the larger and more impressive his antlers become -- with the annual growth usually peaking at five
Read More

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,
Read More

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
Read More

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
Read More

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],
Read More

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
Read More

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
Read More

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
Read More