The final segment of Iowa’s four-part spring turkey season is currently underway.  The season ends May 15. As is the case with most outdoor activities, turkey hunting success depends largely on local weather conditions.  Like most of us, spring gobblers prefer clear skies, warm sunrises and light or no wind.  Generally speaking, toms spend more time
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For Iowa mushroom hunters, it’s been a cold, dark, and windy spring.  At a time when succulent morels should begin emerging in numbers, nighttime temps hover near or below freezing on an all too frequent basis.  As popular woodlands remain void of emerging foliage, some enthusiasts are giving up hope.  If it gets much later,
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The white-hot stars of a spring night were rapidly fading into nothingness.  Meanwhile, the eastern horizon was being set ablaze by strengthening hues of the impending sunrise.  A new day was beginning at the Ventura Marsh. The transition was greeted by a symphony of familiar wetland sounds – the soft splashing of waves, the brittle rustle
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To paraphrase former U.S. President, Ronald Reagan, “Here we go again.” A new wave of highly pathogenic avian influenza [HPAI] is currently sweeping across North America.  Similar to the outbreak which occurred during 2015, a Eurasian-origin strain of HPAI [commonly known as bird flu] was first detected in a captive, multi-species Canadian bird flock in December
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Although Iowa’s spring turkey seasons are still a few weeks away, local gobblers are already strutting their stuff.  By the sounds of it, this morning would be no exception.  In spite of chilly temperatures and a brisk northwest wind, turkeys had begun sounding off at the first hint of dawn.  As daylight increased, the gobbling
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For Iowa outdoor enthusiasts, the sighting of a seldom seen bird is a rare treat.  And when it comes to birding in the Tall Corn State, the sightings don’t get much rarer than when focusing your binoculars on a wild gyrfalcon.  The species is such an infrequent visitor, in fact, that most birders – even
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Iowa bucks are suddenly losing their heads -- or at least the showiest parts of them. By the time mid-February rolls around, North Iowa’s white-tailed bucks will have begun dropping their antlers.  For outdoor enthusiasts, it’s an annual Call to Arms as a willing legion of shed hunters invade local woodlands in search of lost treasure. 
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On February 23, 1994, United States Congressman, John Porter [R-Il] officially proclaimed February as National Bird Feeding Month.  Reading his proposal into the Congressional Record, Porter noted that February is the most difficult month for wild birds.  Expounding the educational, entertainment, and ecological values of wild birdlife, the Congressman encouraged an increased public participation in providing
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We’ve all heard that oft repeated ditty -- How much wood can a woodchuck chuck?   Well, maybe it’s time to put a new spin on that old line by begging the question -- How much corn can a greenhead guzzle? The question came to mind while recently enjoying a late January falconry duck hunt along a partially
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Winter Adventures Provide Both Fond & Not So Fond Memories Frostbite Creek got its name when my friend Ross Dirks, almost lost his hand there.  The incident occurred during a 2019 falconry duck hunt.  Environmental conditions were downright polar that day; an unbearable blend of howling wind, blowing snow, and a wind chill that had dropped
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Iowa goose hunters are feeling a bit down this week.  As of sunset January 22, hunting seasons are now closed in all of the state’s three-tiered goose zones.  This year’s goose chase is over.  Time to clean the shotguns, stow the decoys and begin dreaming of next season. For Canada goose enthusiasts, there is good reason
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I love bow hunting – especially during the November rut when big Iowa bucks are on the move.  In spite of some close calls, I don’t necessarily bag a buck, of course.  In fact, on most years I don’t, which is why I find myself returning to the woods in January.  Subzero white-tail – Although most
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