No matter how many trips I make to the marsh, it seems there is always  something new to see.  No two days are alike.  Although this year's special teal season ended yesterday, there was no reason for not going to the cattails with my camera.  The place I chose was a shallow, quiet pothole that
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Iowa’s second installment in a series of three year, experimental Early Teal Seasons has concluded. Timed to coincide with peak migrations of blue-winged teal, the September hunt was reauthorized by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service in 2014. The season has been offered to Iowa waterfowlers as a 16-day free bonus and does not subtract
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  The fall bird migration is gaining momentum.  And although the annual travels of all bird species are fascinating, perhaps none is more intriguing, or more often overlooked, than the autumn migration of ruby-throated hummingbirds. Regardless of where you live in the state, this year's migration is currently at its peak.  After a somewhat lackluster performance
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  This year’s Special [Teal Only] Duck Season began Saturday, September 5. The second in a three year experiment, the early-16 day hunt is timed to coincide with the peak migration of blue-winged teal – one of the continent’s most abundant but least utilized waterfowl.   According to Iowa Conservation Officers and DNR Wildlife Biologists, hunters encountered good
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  This year’s Iowa dove opener is officially in the can. In spite of the fact that unseasonably cool weather during late August resulted in a substantial reduction in dove numbers across the state’s northern tiers of counties, more than enough birds remained to provide plenty of excitement. Farther south, the northern exodus may have bolstered
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CUSTER, SD--With symmetrically curved horns and sure footed agility, the Rocky Mountain bighorn is one of North America’s best known and most spectacular forms of wildlife. The closest populations of wild bighorns [to Iowa] exist among the higher elevations of South Dakota’s Black Hills National Forest and in the nearby Badlands National Park. Attempting to
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  It’s late August. Right on schedule, this year’s crop of annual cicadas are making their above ground debut as the distinctive chorus of hopeful males is beginning to fill the sultry summer atmosphere. With volumes exceeding 100 decibels, the ear piercing trill is impossible to miss. Louder than most lawn mowers; the cicada’s song is
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    “. . . there was nothing to see but prairie, green stretches of grassland rolling quietly outward till lost in the haze that trembled on the horizon.” – Norwegian immigrant Laurence Larson describing his l870’s arrival in Winnebago County.   THOMPSON-- Even by rural Iowa standards, Winnebago County’s Linden Township Cemetery is a quiet place. Although bordered
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It’s late summer and the season is moving on. In the woodlands bordering Iowa’s lake and river systems, the last of this year’s crop of green herons are leaving the nest. Cloaked in a bizarre mix of baby fuzz and half grown feathers, the gangling birds aren’t much to look at -- at least at
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  Later this summer, the tabulated results of the DNR's August Roadside Surveys will be used to monitor the population trends of several important Iowa wildlife species.  The noble ground hog [a.k.a. woodchuck] will not be one of those species. But if the DNR were to conduct an official Annual Chuck Count, I'm guessin' this year's tally
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When autumn winds blow and fall weather sets in, Iowa waterfowl hunting enthusiasts can anticipate a strong duck migration during 2015.  That’s the official assessment for this year’s North American Breeding Duck and Habitat Survey released this week by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. Conducted every spring since 1955, the annual survey measures trends in
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    Common Wetland Resident Provides Uncommon Opportunity for Bird Study   Many of my most interesting wildlife encounters have occurred as complete surprises rather than carefully planned activities.  A good example began while birding the shallow margins of a local cattail marsh.   I was hoping to photograph newly hatched broods of baby wood ducks when I noticed a female
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