Iowa’s fifth annual, Teal-Only Duck Hunting Season is underway. The early hunt began September 1 and runs through September 16. Shooting hours are from sunrise to sunset each day. Only teal are legal game during the special season; the daily bag limit is six blue-winged or green-winged teal. The 16-day hunt is timed to coincide
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Duck hunters can expect to see good numbers of waterfowl during the 2018 hunting seasons. And although total duck numbers have decreased by 13 percent from 2017; populations remain strong and are17 percent above the long term – 1955 to 2017 -- average [LTA]. That’s the official assessment from this year’s North American Breeding Duck
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  Dueling Bison Provide Late Summer Drama Late summer is one of my favorite times for visiting the Black Hills of western South Dakota. For the American bison, it’s the peak of the annual breeding season and mature bulls are on the scrap. With blood running hotter than the prairie sun, love struck prime-of-life-bulls are currently regarding
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  It’s late July; summer is beginning to wane. Right on schedule, this year’s crop of annual cicadas has made their above ground appearance. Often referred to as “locusts”, the distinctive chorus of hopeful males is currently filling the sultry summer atmosphere. With volumes exceeding 100 decibels, the ear-piercing trill is impossible to miss. Louder than
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Ask any duck hunter what he or she considers to be the smartest duck and they’re likely to list the mallard as a top contender. Whoever coined the phrase “Bird Brain” certainly wasn’t referring to the noble Greenhead. As elusive as they are gaudy, mallard ducks rarely come straight to the decoys. Instead, they prefer
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With its crimson head, black and white checkerboard plumage, and bluish chiseled bill; the red-headed woodpecker is one of Iowa’s most strikingly beautiful birds. Occurring statewide, the red-headed is one of the commonest, and certainly one of our most popular, feathered residents. But scientists say the species’ relative abundance may be in peril. Data collected
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  To say that wood ducks make interesting photo subjects is like saying Mt. Everest is tall; that lava is hot. With its streamlined form, multicolored plumage, and elegantly crested head, the wood duck is one of our most beautiful birds – the Beau Brummel of American waterfowl. Getting a good look at one is not easy.
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  You don’t have be crazy to sit inside a turkey blind in 84-degree summer heat; but it sure doesn’t hurt either.  I was reminded of this fact the moment the sun hit the blind’s canvas and the inside temperature began to soar.  Within minutes, my temporary abode had gone from a comfortable observation site to
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    Bill’s Pond -- June 1, 2018:  Although serious photographers hate to admit it, many of their favorite wildlife shots have absolutely nothing to do with skill but are the result of completely unplanned and uncontrolled circumstance otherwise known as “being in the right place at the right time”.  The photo above is my latest example. Hoping
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   Magnolia Warbler    American Redstart   For Iowa birding enthusiasts, there’s no better time than late May; the grand finale of the spring migration. Yellowthroat Spring migrants come in all colors, shapes and sizes. But of the more than 200 bird species that will nest in or migrate through our state, perhaps no single group is more uniquely secretive or
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  By now, it had become obvious that the gobbler was getting plenty cranked up. Couldn’t blame him. I was getting plenty revved myself. The turkey and I had been playing an ebb and flow, high stakes game of hide and seek for more than two hours now. Patience was growing thin on both sides. From the
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  Ventura Heights wildlife enthusiasts have found reason to celebrate. Following weeks of mixed speculation, the female Canada goose which serves as the Height's unofficial mascot has been successful at hatching her eggs. Located near the far west end of Cerro Gordo County’s Clear Lake, the goose nest was located atop an abandoned muskrat lodge at the
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