The ruby-throated hummingbird is one of Iowa’s most endearing examples of backyard birdlife.  Although hummingbirds nest throughout the state, they are never more plentiful than during fall migration.   Beginning in late August, visitors from as far away as northern Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Ontario, Canada will have begun arriving in Iowa.  Although hummingbird numbers usually peak
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One of the things I enjoy most about Iowa’s early duck seasons – in addition to the ducks, of course – are the sights and sounds provided by the vast diversity of life forms that make the autumn marsh their home. Some days are more dramatic than others and my latest best example occurred near the
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Iowa’s cattail marshlands represent one of our greatest natural treasures.  Marshlands aid in flood control, store surface water, and recharge vital underground aquifers.  But wetlands are most famous for their wildlife.  Marshes provide homes for hundreds of resident and migratory wildlife species ranging from mink to mallards, from dragonflies to egrets.  In spite of all this
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Tempus fugit.  I think what those words mean is -- Time Flies When You’re Huntin’ Ducks.  I’m sitting in a duck blind right now, enjoying some leftover grilled teal as I watch as some live ones swim about.  Hard to believe that it is already the last day of this year’s special, sixteen-day Iowa teal
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Our nights are becoming cooler; the days growing shorter.  Right on schedule, monarch butterflies are winging their way across the Iowa skies.  Enroute to ancestral wintering grounds, the migration provides an annual explosion of color.  Of all the wonders the Iowa outdoors has to offer, perhaps none is greater; perhaps none is harder to fathom
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This year’s multi-segmented duck hunting seasons kick off with a special, 16-day teal-only hunt beginning September 1.  Providing outdoor enthusiasts with more than two weeks of bonus, back-to-back, sunrise to sunset recreational opportunities, Iowa’s special teal seasons haven proven to be the best single change in waterfowl regulations in the past fifty years.  A flock of
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On the Hunt – A red-sided garter searches for prey. Leopard frogs and American toads provide common summer menu items. Spend much time exploring Iowa’s summer marshlands, and you’re likely to encounter a somewhat colorful reptile known as the red-sided garter snake.  The species is named for the obvious red dash marks that occur between the
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For those who enjoy outdoor foraging, July is the month that keeps on giving.  As we roll into midsummer, North Iowans are presented with an abundance of wild, healthy, and highly nutritional foods that are free for the taking.  Summer woodlands currently abound with an array of wild edibles including several varieties of mushrooms, raspberries,
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The wood duck is one of the Mississippi Flyway’s – and Iowa’s -- most recreationally important waterfowl.  This fact is especially true for me.  During the course of a year, I spend more time hunting, observing, photographing and working with wood ducks than any other single species. Drake wood duck In addition to its elegantly crested head
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Letting go can be hard to do – especially when it’s something you love.     McGregor,IA -- It was a brilliant spring day, and my wife Carol and I were admiring the view from atop the highest bluff at Clayton County’s Pike’s Peak State Park.  Five hundred feet below, the sprawling island studded expanse of the
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I’m not one of those people who is big on naming wildlife.  But in the case of Bobtail, it was hard to resist. Bobtail is a white-tailed doe that, at some point in her life, has literally had her tail chopped in half.  The squared off portion that remains makes her easy to identify. Bobtail [bringing up
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For Iowa birding enthusiasts, the month of May is a time like no other -- the absolute high-water mark of the annual outdoor calendar.  The reason is simple.  After spending the winter months in food rich habitats in the Caribbean, Central America, and South America, millions of neotropical songbirds are making their way to northern
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