With its four-foot height, ear-piercing call, and six-foot wingspan; I think you’d be hard pressed to find a bird with more charisma than the crimson-capped sandhill crane.  After a century of absence, sandhill cranes are becoming increasingly common across Iowa.  Nesting cranes are currently documented in more than 40 Iowa counties with the greatest densities

Biologists with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources have completed statewide July goose banding operations.  This year, a total of nearly 4,000 Canada geese were successfully captured and banded, according to Orrin Jones, DNR State Waterfowl Biologist. DNR Waterfowl Biologist, Orrin Jones bands a young Canada goose.  Biologists use leg bands to track goose movements and

According to Iowa’s state climatologist, last winter was the fourth least snowy in 138 years of record keeping – a real boon for winter pheasant survival.  The abnormally dry winter was followed by normal spring rainfall and favorably warm [average] spring temperatures.  “Given the statewide weather information, we are expecting a good nesting effort and pheasant

            A Yellow-headed Blackbird, Of Course! With its bright golden mantle and jet-black body, it would be hard to mistake the yellow-headed blackbird for any other species.  An inhabitant of Iowa marshlands, the yellow-head has a unique and complex life history.  That, along with the male’s distinctive buzzing song, makes the yellow-headed blackbird one of my

Spring is in the air -- literally.  Leaving their winter homes, millions of neotropical songbirds are now winging their way to northern nesting grounds.  For many species, the flight between South American wintering areas and Canadian nesting grounds is a rigorous journey that traverses thousands of miles.  Hidden from human eyes, the migration miracle occurs

Birding enthusiasts are always on the lookout for something out of the ordinary – a new or rare species that they’ve never seen before.  North Iowans got their wish this week when a migrating flock of nine white-faced ibis made a three day stop at Cerro Gordo County’s Haugen Wildlife Area, located north of Ventura. Feeding

For Iowa’s wild turkeys, the lengthening days of spring bring on a dramatic change in attitude.  Gobblers that have peacefully spent the entire winter residing in close knit bachelor groups are suddenly defriending their associates.  It’s the spring nesting season and for long bearded, ill-tempered toms, the wooing of hens has become a far greater

A seldom observed survivor of Iowa’s historic past, the rare and delicate pasque flower is currently on full display across the state’s also rare native prairie remnants.  Pasque flowers are the very first prairie species to display their pastel shades of blue, white and lavender colorings each spring.  For most prairie enthusiasts, finding just two

The courtship antics of the American woodcock is one of the Iowa woodland’s most remarkable spring rituals.  The prelude to these daily performances begins as solitary males – also known as Timberdoodles -- begin emitting a series of off key, nasal calls referred to as “peenting”.  There is no other sound that compares.  American Woodcock –

Iowa’s spring turkey seasons are just around the corner.  Hunters are counting the minutes as Iowa woodlands are already rocking with the staccato daybreak gobbling of the state’s most challenging gamebird.  This year’s turkey fest kicks off with a special youth hunt beginning April 11.  The first segment of the state’s four-part regular hunting seasons

You could feel the excitement in the weathercaster’s voice as she described the intense spring thunderstorm currently building to the south.  Surging northward at breakneck speed, the storm was scheduled to sweep into the northern half of Iowa by late afternoon, March 14.  It was just the kind of dramatic change in weather that longtime

The white-tailed deer is Iowa’s only species of big game wildlife.  One of the traits that sets white-tails apart from all other Iowa wildlife is their noteworthy ability to grow antlers.  Generally speaking, the longer a buck lives, the larger and more impressive his antlers become -- with the annual growth usually peaking at five