Hawk watchers event on Monday, sept. 16

If one is lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time, it will be possible to see hundreds of raptors over the Iowa River valley at Grammer Grove Wildlife Area. Mark Proescholdt keeps a list of raptors he and his partner observers tally from now through November. During 2023, his team recorded over 1,819 birds of prey.

Mark’s raptor list includes Turkey vultures, Ospreys, Bald and Golden Eagles, Northern Harriers, Sharp-shinned and Cooper’s Hawks, Red-shouldered hawks, Swainson’s hawks, Red-tailed, Rough-legged and Broad-winged hawks. Broad-wings can be a huge deal with hundreds seen

in just one day if you happen to be there.

In 2023, he observed 154 broad-wings on September 18th and another 123 on Sept. 29 followed by just 84 on Sept. 30. Other raptor species to be found will be American Kestrels, Merlins and Falcons.

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Today’s images are of a Rough-legged hawk and a Cooper’s Hawk. Each has their unique hunting styles.

The summer range for Rough-legged hawks is Alaska and all the northern portions of Canada. They will come south to spend winters anywhere in the lower 48 states. While many raptors have bare legs, Rough-legged hawks have feathers all the way down their lower legs to the toes. The dark belly band is another diagnostic thing to look for.

Cooper’s hawks are smaller, being about 16 to 20 inches long with a wingspan of up to three feet. It specializes in killing songbirds and small mammals. It can fly through thick forest tree limbs at top speed without hitting any branches to surprise a quarry and catch it mid air.

This bird is common and can be found in northern United States/Southern Canada during the summer and winters in much of the lower 48. Winter sightings in Iowa are common.

On the very smallest sized ledger of birds is our summer resident Ruby-throated Hummingbird. I was able to capture this inflight (hovering) hummingbird after many attempts with a long telephoto lens.

Hummingbirds have an average departure date from Iowa of Oct. 1. This species is common in the eastern one-half of the United States.

Some will tank up on food along the gulf coast before flying non-stop over the Gulf of Mexico to overwinter. That is an impressive task for such a little bird.

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Otter Creek Marsh and the Iowa River Corridor from Tama all the way to Coralville Reservoir is a great wildlife habitat. A lot of the land in this corridor got protection and current management status because of record flooding in 1993.

Subsequently, many landowners along the river bottom floodplain accepted an offer by the federal government to buy their flood prone property. It was part of a disaster recovery plan at that time.

The land is federally owned but is managed by the state DNR wildlife bureau personnel. Along the way, the entire corridor was later designated in 2004 as the Iowa River Bird Conservation Area (BCA), says Anna Buckardt Thomas, Avian Ecologist with the Iowa DNR.

Otter Creek Marsh has a public viewing platform with a high powered spotting scope permanently installed to allow visitors to look deep into some of the marsh segments. It is located not too far off Highway 30 and then follows the old frontage road west to this viewing platform. Incidentally, the platform deck is designed in the form of a large eagle with its wings spread wide.

Otter Creek Marsh has over 3,000 acres of land and pool areas where water can be held or pumped into to establish aquatic habitats. Birds are attracted to this mix of grasslands, marsh and shrubs.

Here is a partial list of birds on might see or hear: Sora and Virginia Rails, Yellow rails, warbling vireos, Indigo buntings, all species of woodpeckers, Barn owls, Northern Harriers, short-eared owls, grasshopper sparrows, bobolinks and black-crowned night herons.

Add to this list all the species of ducks and geese each spring and fall and a small resident group of Sandhill Cranes. The species list has over 230 birds in the area over a course of one year.

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National Hunting and Fishing Day will be held on Sept. 28, 2024. We are two weeks out from the 28th, so this advance information will help you get thinking of how important these recreational endeavors are.

This date is set aside to recognize the contributions of fishers and hunters to our outdoor heritage and long term financial support. President Richard Nixon declared the late September time frame to specifically help teach the American public about the contributions outdoor sports make to healthy lifestyles. Each president since then also endorses these activities for all Americans.

Part of the purpose of National Hunting and Fishing Day is recruitment, to gain new advocates and participants to these sports. Also a goal is to learn of the connections to conservation programs provided for anglers and hunters.

Through self-imposed fees on the purchase of sporting equipment, these folks over time have contributed more than $57 billion — that is more than $100,000 every 30 minutes dedicated for conservation. Fundraising is through federal legislation called the Pittman-Robertson Act whereby at the time of purchase, fees are collected that are later annually shared with each state.

It all adds up to having the United States utilizing the most scientifically and successful wildlife management system in the world. These hunting facts make the point.

In addition to the big financial input, hunting supports more than 25,000 American jobs. There are 9.2 million hunters over the age of 16 in the USA.

More people hunt each year than play soccer, tennis or baseball, and hunting is a huge source of food for millions of people, food that cannot be readily offered or even legally made available at grocery stores. This is the ultimate in “fast food” taken by hunters under legal and well regulated specific seasons.

Fishing dates back hundreds of thousands of years. From the earliest hunter-gather times, people have been drawn to fish and fishing. Eating was their main objective and thus survival, and fishing is a great equalizer since from the fish point of view, they could care less if the shoreline fishing person is a king, a peasant, great author or a kid having fun.

Since 1952, anglers and boaters have contributed $30.5 billion to wildlife conservation. On average, 83 percent of state fish and wildlife agencies’ total fresh water management budgets are viable due to fishing license sales, motorboat fuel taxes and special excise taxes on fishing gear.

More than 49 million Americans age six or older enjoy fishing at least once per year. Average anglers go on 18 fishing trips per year. Most got their fishing start by being introduced to fishing as a child with huge positive memories and pleasurable experiences, and 78 percent of anglers also participate in other outdoor activities.

Together, anglers and hunters are the backbone for conservation funding. Congratulations to all for these efforts.

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Another advance notice to hunters is this “Ruth Dolash Memorial” sporting clay shoot. It will be held Sept. 29 at the Marshall County Chapter of the Izaak Walton League at Marshalltown. It will be a 10-station, 100 bird event for anyone willing to try their hand at smashing clay birds in challenging course conditions. Registration will begin at 9 a.m. and close at 1:30 p.m.

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I’ll end today’s edition of Outdoors Today with these thoughts to consider: It is a quote from Johann Georg Von Zimmermann and goes like this.

“Half our life is spent trying to find something to do with the time we rushed through life trying to save.”

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Garry Brandenburg is the retired director of the Marshall County Conservation Board. He is a graduate of Iowa State University with a BS degree in Fish & Wildlife Biology.

Contact him at:

P.O. Box 96

Albion, IA 50005