Abandoning their summer homes in the North Country, tiny wood warblers are on the move.  For Iowa birding enthusiasts, the season’s most challenging migration has begun.  I use the word challenging because no other grouping of birds is more difficult to correctly identify than autumn warblers. Magnolia warber Even when warblers are bedecked in their finest spring plumage, making an accurate
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Triplets:  Joyce Klunder called the other day.  She lives at the west end of Clear Lake in the Ventura Heights and wanted to report that she had just seen a white-tailed deer with fawns near the entrance of the Heights bike trail.  Although seeing a doe with her spotted offspring is always a heart-warming sight, the event usually doesn’t warrant
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They say that timing is everything.  I think most of us would agree with that statement.  I’d also add that rarely has that well known phrase been more dramatically illustrated than during this year’s September 1st opening of Iowa’s 2020 Teal Season. Reinstated by the feds in 2014, Iowa teal seasons are designed to intercept southbound flocks of blue-winged
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I bought another small farm last week.  I’m still pretty excited about that.  OK, so I should probably note that it’s only a plastic Ant Farm, but I’m excited just the same.  I know you might be wondering why a guy my age would purchase a product that’s normally found in the kiddie section of the local hobby shop. 
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The first of this year’s fall waterfowl seasons begins with a special, 16-day teal hunt opening September 1.  The purpose of the statewide early season is to provide Iowa duck hunters with an opportunity to pursue flocks of early migrating blue-winged teal.  Although blue-wings occur as an abundant nester across the Dakotas and prairie Canada, the bulk of their
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The red-headed woodpecker is one of Iowa’s best-known birds.  It is also one of our most popular.  Easily recognized by its redder than red head, black and white checkerboard plumage, and bluish chiseled bill; it would be hard to mistake this bird for anything else.  Getting up close and personal, I’ve recently enjoyed the opportunity to observe the daily activities
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The white-tailed deer is one of Iowa’s most economically and recreationally important species of wildlife.  For deer hunting enthusiasts, it’s never too early to start thinking of fall.  I was reminded of that fact earlier this week when a yearling buck suddenly stepped out of the woodland shadows and into full view.  Pausing at a distance of around twenty yards,
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Female Hairy Woodpecker Feeding Fledgling While photographing an energized gang of scurrying chipmunks at the abandoned woodpile, I couldn’t help but notice an excessive amount of activity on the part of a nearby pair of hairy woodpeckers.  I soon discovered the reason for the commotion.  The woodpeckers’ nest -- containing two young -- was in the process of fledging. Male
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Can’t say for sure what it is, but there’s just something about a chipmunk that makes people smile.  It doesn’t seem to matter where the chipmunk is or what it’s doing – you might spot one sitting atop an old stump munching on an acorn, cautiously peering around a stack of firewood, or high tailing it across a forested
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It’s that time of year again.  Iowa’s Baby Bird & Bunny season has officially begun.  During the past few days, I’ve seen lots of wildlife babies.  Baby birds, baby rabbits, baby squirrels.  I even spotted the season’s first pair of spindle-legged twin fawns.   Each new sighting is cause for celebration – a vivid portrayal of the annual renewal of life.  The sightings
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With its distinctive high-domed helmet-shaped upper shell, bright yellow throat, and endearing smile, it would be hard to mistake the Blanding’s turtle for anything else.  Sadly, it is a species that most Iowans will never have an opportunity to view.  There are exceptions, of course.  Take for example, the adult Blanding’s recently seen making its way across Cerro Gordo
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Temperatures are rising.  The days are still getting longer.  In the Iowa woodlands, the transition from spring to summer is nearly complete.  But don’t take off your hiking boots just yet.  For those willing to look and listen, Iowa’s wooded trails continue to reveal new wonders at every turn. Iowa Woodland – A wildlife rich environment where discoveries abound.
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