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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  There is no sound in nature that stirs my blood like the daybreak call of the wild turkey. No wild chorus incites more anticipation, produces more goose bumps, or penetrates deeper to my core than the ancient, staccato rattle of a mature spring gobbler. The closer you can get to spring gobbling, the louder and more
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  It’s the 23rd of April. For today at least, it appears as if spring has finally arrived in Northern Iowa. With sunny skies and temperatures soaring into the lower 60s, we’ve melted a foot of snow during the last day and a half. About all that’s left now are a few scattered patches along the
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For those of us living in Northern Iowa, it’s been a spring to remember. Or perhaps I should say, a spring to forget. Our extreme weather has been so over the top that most of us can’t even remember how many late season storms or how many inches of wet snow we’ve received since the
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  Iowans are used to dealing with extreme weather. We take it in stride. But you have to admit that at 19-degrees, winds gusting to 26 mph, and several inches of bright snow on the ground, that the Opening Day of the 2018 Iowa turkey season was a bit out of the ordinary. We really hated to
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