Sometimes it’s hard to tell which activity is most enjoyable – pursuing wild game, preparing wild game, or eating wild game.  What I do know is that all three rank high on my list of favorite pastimes which brings us to today’s topic – preparing the Christmas goose. Few flavors can match that of a corn-fed Iowa honker.  For our family, roast

With only three days remaining in North Iowa’s 2020 Iowa duck season, the morning of November 29 had all the makings of a good hunt.   Temperatures hovered near freezing, overcast skies were dark and glowering and, best of all, a hurricane wind was ripping from the northwest.  If this wouldn’t have the birds stirred up, then nothing would.     Legal shooting time

One of the things I keep an eye out for each year, is the peak migration of American coots.  Most commonly referred to as mud hens, coots are those large black birds that appear on local wetlands each autumn – often in incredible abundance.  Coots are our largest representatives of the rail family, and I never let a season

October is a month like no other -- four full weeks of unparalleled beauty.  If I could figure a way to make it happen, I’d take October, put it in a bottle and then relive the month over and over again.  For the outdoor enthusiast, there are a million things to see and do in October. 

The first half of October is a premier time for Iowa birding enthusiasts to hit the woods and waters.  The weather is mild, fall color has peaked, and birds are moving across our region by the thousands. Winter Wren – While observing a group of warblers foraging through thickly wooded understory, I spotted a nearby movement in the ground

I wish I had kept track of how many calls I’ve received this year regarding the dramatic invasion of red fox into the residential neighborhoods across Northern Iowa. There have been “fox on my patio” calls -- Fox crossing the deck, fox under the deck, fox walking down the front sidewalk, fox with pups by the garden, fox chasing

By now, I think it’s obvious to everyone that Iowa’s giant Canada goose flock enjoyed banner production during 2020.  The event has not gone unnoticed by area waterfowlers who have been cashing in on some fast paced, early season action. But although hunters are enjoying early season success, there is also a potential downside.  Regardless of age, most Canada

Bird baths are an important component of successful backyard bird feeding.  During the heat of summer, the benefits of providing a cool drink or clean water for bathing are more than obvious.  In some cases, water can draw as many birds as the feeders themselves. But now that summer has passed and the weather is cooling, many people are tempted to

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

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

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

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.