The spring season is quickly advancing.  April has passed and it won’t be long until Iowa white-tails begin dropping their fawns.  I was recently reminded of this fact when I spotted a pair of adult does slowly browsing through the sundrenched woodland in my direction.  The deer kept coming until the closest had approached to within twenty yards, maybe less.  Taking
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I’ve spent much of April crouching in a blackout blind while observing the close range interactions between breeding pairs of wood ducks.  Most of my time is spent around small woodland ponds where each wetland serves as headquarters for anywhere from seven to around a dozen mated pairs of woodies.    Setting up well before first light, each new morning becomes
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Iowa Turkey Opener Offers Blend of Feast & Famine The first of Iowa’s four-part, split turkey seasons began Monday.  But as often happens during spring turkey season, the weather did not necessarily match the calendar.  Instead of singing birds and mild temperatures, early season hunters were treated to a snow-covered landscape, wind, and twenty-degree cold.  Arriving at one of my
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The giant Canada goose is the first waterfowl to begin nesting each spring; and at least a few females are already sitting on eggs.  One of those early nests is located atop a muskrat lodge at Lekwa Marsh on Clear Lake’s south shore. While I was photographing the nest on March 24, the incubating goose received an unusual visitor
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The annual migration of northbound snow geese is one of creation’s most awe-inspiring events.  Moving toward ancestral breeding grounds in arctic Canada, snow goose flocks are currently winging their way across Iowa.  Pushing the edge of a retreating winter, peak migrations usually occur around early to mid-March.  But spring weather may prove fickle and migrating birds are sometimes forced
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My kitchen calendar was offering the latest proof positive that time really does fly.  Even with Leap Year’s added day, the 29th of February had suddenly arrived.  Tempus fugit for sure!  I doubt that many will mourn the month’s passing.  For a lot of folks, the end of February marks the end of winter -- or at least
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With a significant snow melt currently underway, this year’s spring migration is pushing northward.  Canada geese, a handful of white-fronts, and bald eagles are the most noticeable vanguards of things to come.  While driving up the highway toward my home at Clear Lake, I spotted a distant eagle traveling in the same northbound direction.  Flying at an altitude of 30 yards
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One of the traits that sets white-tailed deer apart from all other forms of Iowa wildlife is the ability of bucks to grow antlers.  Generally speaking, the older the buck the larger and more impressive its antlers become.  Antlers have but one purpose.  They are designed to duke it out with other males during the annual fall breeding season.  Battles can
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There are a lot of good reasons to visit Iowa’s winter woodlands.  Listening to the eerie, nighttime serenades of resident owls ranks high on my list of favorites. As is the case with any outdoor adventure, being prepared is key to success.  It is, after all, the dead of winter.  Dress too lightly and you’ll freeze.  Wear too much and
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Sub-zero temperatures.  Drifting snow.  Winds gusting to forty-five.  Near zero visibility.  How’s that for a chilling winter combo?  But those were the exact conditions we endured last weekend when a major winter storm system bulldozed its way across the continent’s midsection.  I’m guessin’ there were a lot of Iowans who were wishing they were someplace else. A female
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PHOTO:  Ready To Fly – Like all peregrines, Aurora loves to hunt and will chase just about anything she sees.  Photo by: Carol Washburn If Jack Vooge had lost one more drop of blood; I should have called for a Medivac.  I was springing a leak or two myself, but my injuries were nothing
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The scene is timeless.  At the edge of a shallow marsh, two hunters crouch in the cattails.  The sunrise is fast approaching and a rising breeze is providing lifelike movement to the group of eleven canvasback duck decoys swimming out front.  Anticipation is growing as the hunters anxiously await the arrival the day’s first flock. An ancient canvasback duck decoy constructed
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