Of all the wild game the outdoors has to offer, no species is more predictably unpredictable than the elusive wild turkey.  To pursue the bird is to engage in a never ending cycle of extreme highs and extreme lows. Yesterday, the turkeys had it going their way.  I didn’t hear many birds at daybreak, but was
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  Spring has finally arrived; dandelions are beginning to bloom.  For ultra-urbanized lawn care fanatics, the annual appearance of the dandelion’s familiar yellow flower is most unwelcome.  But for those of us who stalk the elusive wild mushroom, it’s a sure sign of good things to come. No one can argue that the full flavored morel mushroom
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    There are few things I enjoy more than hunting blue-winged teal as they migrate through Iowa each September.  Although they can easily withstand a chill, they usually choose not to; and there is no denying that the speedy BWT is partial to warm climates.  The first to move south each fall, blue-wings are also the
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  Spring turkey hunting has many side benefits.  One of the most rewarding is all of the interesting things you encounter other than turkeys.  A good example recently occurred as I spotted an energetic little bird feeding along a brushy deer trail.  Although the bird was definitely "wren-like", I knew there was something different.   Slowly
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      Unless you spent the entire day in a corner of your Mother's basement, it would have been nearly impossible to miss the epic migration of broad-winged hawks that  moved into Northern Iowa during the afternoon of Friday, April 25, 2014.  It was one of those rare warm and sunny days [only the third time the sun had shown its
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  The stage is set.  The house lights are dimming.  Right on schedule, the evening performance begins.  As the sunset explodes into a dazzling array of color, a solitary, quail-sized bird launches from the forest floor.  Spiraling ever higher, the sky dancer’s black silhouette soon hovers more than 300 feet above its woodland home.  With the
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  It's likely that every Iowa turkey hunter has had dreams of finding themselves surrounded by cooperative spring gobblers.  Although the dream usually remains unfulfilled, that's the exact scenario that unfolded for Lake Mills Police Chief and traditional archery enthusiast Dave Thomas this weekend.  After placing his blind and a single decoy in the midst of
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  We all know that turkey hunting success -- or failure -- can spin on a dime.  My son Matt and I each got a good reminder of that this morning.  Sequestered in a favorite woodland, I heard my first gobble while it was still pitch black at 5:25.  The tom was soon answered by a
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  I'm thinkin' that this morning's kickoff to the 2014  Spring Turkey Season wasn't exactly what area hunters had in mind.  With heavy overcast, below freezing temperatures, a blanket of new snow on the ground, and winds gusting to 38 mph; the prognoses seemed bleak.  But it was still Opening Day after all, and no turkey
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Swarming northward from their winter resorts; tens of thousands of lesser scaup [bluebill] ducks are currently making their way through Iowa.  Ever since I was introduced to the species during the 1960s, I have loved watching and, of course, hunting bluebills.  With this spring's flight at its peak, I grabbed my camera and a big
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  The beauty of today's spectacular sunrise was enhanced even further by the rattling gobble of a nearby tom.  This morning, I had decided to visit a stand of oaks located about three miles from where I did yesterday's morning turkey shoot.  Although official sunrise was still 45 minutes away, a single bird was already sounding 
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