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DNR News Releases

Archive by tag: owlReturn

Resurgence of avian influenza in wild birds

• 12/16/2024 7:01:00 AM
• View Count 2362

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and its federal partners have been monitoring for the presence of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in Iowa’s wild birds since early 2022. After nearly a year without detections in sick or dead birds, Iowa has seen a sharp jump in affected waterfowl across the state mostly, north of Interstate 80 since early December, spurred on by the stress of migration and the severe cold.

Learn to Hunt program opens registration for waterfowl course

• 7/16/2024 12:20:00 PM
• View Count 3928

DES MOINES - The Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is offering a program to teach skills needed to hunt, field dress and cook waterfowl to women who have little to no waterfowl hunting experience.

Spirit Lake man identified as victim of Saturday’s hunting incident

• 10/23/2023 1:18:00 PM
• View Count 6886

MILFORD - Joseph Salmon, 18, of Spirit Lake, was injured Saturday morning while waterfowl hunting along the shore of a slough at the Spring Run Wildlife Area, in Dickinson County.

Iowa’s teal-only hunting season opens Sept. 1

• 8/29/2023 2:02:00 PM
• View Count 4364

Iowa’s 16-day teal only hunting season begins statewide Sept. 1, offering hunters an opportunity to enjoy Iowa’s wetlands and shallow lakes during the mild late summer weather.

Learn to Hunt program opens registration for women-only waterfowl workshop

• 8/1/2023 12:06:00 PM
• View Count 3121

Polk City, Iowa - The Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is offering a program to teach skills needed to hunt, field dress and cook waterfowl to women who have little to no waterfowl hunting experience.

Learn to Hunt program opens registration for youth waterfowl workshop

• 7/25/2023 11:55:00 AM
• View Count 2942

Polk City, Iowa - The Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is offering a program to teach skills needed to hunt, field dress and cook waterfowl to youth who have little to no waterfowl hunting experience on Aug. 26, at the Olofson Shooting Range, near Polk City.

Four states partner in Operation Early Birds waterfowl hunting enforcement project

• 11/22/2022 11:36:00 AM
• View Count 4803

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) joined its fellow agencies in Missouri, Kansas and Nebraska on a joint project to check waterfowl regulations compliance over a 36-hour period from the evening on Nov. 4 to the morning on Nov. 6.

Duck hunters encouraged to use safe boating practices while on the water

• 9/30/2022 2:39:00 PM
• View Count 3477

Duck hunters who hunt from a boat are encouraged to include boating safety as part of their hunting plan. Waterfowl hunters use boats on some of the coldest days of the year.

Duck season begins Oct. 1 in Iowa’s north zone

• 9/30/2022 2:31:00 PM
• View Count 3624

Waterfowlers have waited all year for this: for the next three weekends in Iowa, there will be an opening day for duck and goose hunting. The north zone opens on Oct. 1, the central zone opens on Oct. 8 and the south zone opens on Oct. 15. Each zone is open seven days, then close for seven days, before re-opening.

Refuge portion of the Hawkeye Wildlife Area changes designation to waterfowl refuge, restricting access until after duck season

• 8/15/2022 2:03:00 PM
• View Count 3885

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources has changed the designation for the existing refuge on the southeast section of the Hawkeye Wildlife Area, in Johnson County, from a “Wildlife Refuge” to a “Waterfowl Refuge.”

Learn to Hunt program opens registration for waterfowl course

• 8/9/2022 2:26:00 PM
• View Count 4311

DES MOINES - The Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is offering a program to teach skills needed to hunt, field dress and cook waterfowl to adults who have little to no waterfowl hunting experience.

Learn to Hunt program opens registration for youth waterfowl workshop

• 8/2/2022 12:11:00 PM
• View Count 3332

DES MOINES - The Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is offering a program to teach skills needed to hunt, field dress and cook waterfowl to youth who have little to no waterfowl hunting experience on Aug. 27, at the Olofson Shooting Range, near Polk City.

DNR monitoring for avian influenza in wild birds

• 4/8/2022 9:15:00 AM
• View Count 3464

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources and its federal partners are working together to monitor for the presence of avian influenza in Iowa’s wild birds.

Snowy Owls In Iowa

• 12/14/2021 3:34:00 PM
• View Count 5660

Snowy Owls breed in the open landscapes of the Arctic Tundra. During summers with abundant food (particularly lemmings), many young are produced, and the following winter, many of those young owls disperse south into the US to look for winter prey.

Waterfowl refuge at Hawkeye Wildlife Area closed until mid-December

• 9/28/2021 9:36:00 PM
• View Count 1711

SWISHER, Iowa - The waterfowl refuge at the Hawkeye Wildlife Area is currently closed to hunting all species to allow waterfowl and other birds a place to rest during the fall migration. The refuge closed Sept. 24, and will reopen to hunting mid-December.

Iowa’s youth only waterfowl season starts Sept. 25 in the north zone

• 9/14/2021 3:06:00 PM
• View Count 1650

The first of Iowa’s two-day youth waterfowl seasons begin Sept. 25 in the north zone, allowing the kids to experience the fun of the hunt, without the pressure of keeping up with the adults, or fighting lousy weather. 

Learn to Hunt program opens registration for virtual waterfowl Q& A session

• 8/17/2021 11:47:00 AM
• View Count 1747

DES MOINES - The Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is offering a virtual program to that allows participants to ask questions from statewide experts and waterfowl hunting enthusiasts.

Learn to Hunt program opens registration for Sept. 11 waterfowl workshop

• 8/10/2021 1:21:00 PM
• View Count 1775

DES MOINES - The Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is offering a program to teach skills needed to hunt, field dress and cook waterfowl to youth who have little to no waterfowl hunting experience.

Learn to Hunt program opens registration for youth waterfowl workshop

• 7/28/2021 11:44:00 AM
• View Count 1787

DES MOINES - The Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is offering a program to teach skills needed to hunt, field dress and cook waterfowl to youth who have little to no waterfowl hunting experience on Aug. 28, at the Olofson Shooting Range, near Polk City.

Hunting restricted at Otter Creek Marsh, Hawkeye Wildlife Area refuges to non-waterfowl species

• 12/8/2020 7:08:00 PM
• View Count 2652

The 450-acre wildlife refuge section of Otter Creek Marsh Wildlife Area in Tama County will open for public use on Dec. 9, including for trapping and hunting game species other than waterfowl.  

Virtual clinic aims to improve hunter skills

• 11/3/2020 12:29:00 PM
• View Count 2988

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources is hosting a free virtual wing shooting clinic designed to help hunters age 16 and older become more effective waterfowl and upland bird hunters.

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service provides guidance related to waterfowl hunting in damaged crop fields

• 8/19/2020 7:17:00 AM
• View Count 6085

Hunters planning to hunt waterfowl in fields damaged by the derecho storm on Aug. 10 need to be aware of what has taken place in the field after the fact to stay in compliance with the regulations.

Learn to Hunt program opens registration for virtual waterfowl hunting workshop

• 8/19/2020 7:00:00 AM
• View Count 2326

DES MOINES - The Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is offering a free virtual workshop to teach skills needed to hunt, field dress and cook waterfowl to individuals who have little to no waterfowl hunting experience.

Dewey’s Pasture Wildlife Complex is a bucket list destination

• 7/28/2020 12:24:00 PM
• View Count 4067

The 8,000-acre Dewey’s Pasture complex, in northwest Iowa, is one of the best representatives of pre-settlement grassland-wetland ecosystems in the state and one of Iowa’s premier public areas.

3 ducks you may not know live in Iowa

• 2/11/2020 10:15:00 AM
• View Count 10469

Some ducks in Iowa aren’t as common as mallards, wood ducks or blue-winged teals. Check out these duck species you might not know live here:

Proposed waterfowl rules available for public comment

• 2/9/2020 2:48:00 PM
• View Count 3325

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is accepting comments on proposed waterfowl and coot hunting seasons and bag limits, which includes 2021-22 season dates, and the proposed restructuring of the hunting zones and seasons for 2021-2025.

Meet Iowa's smallest owl

• 1/24/2020 9:41:00 AM
• View Count 8865

What has bright yellow eyes, weighs less than a lemon, and winters in Iowa? The northern saw-whet owl!

Duck hunters are optimistic with the main season underway

• 10/22/2019 3:37:00 PM
• View Count 3061

The September rain was a game changer for Iowa duck hunters, improving habitat conditions across most of the state by creating a number of shallow water areas where food is available.

Waterfowl hunters reminded of rules for hunting in flooded crop fields

• 10/15/2019 11:45:00 AM
• View Count 2867

Iowa’s unusually wet spring and fall has created a unique situation in certain parts of the state where floodwaters are reaching crop fields and causing issues regarding what waterfowl hunters can and can’t do in these areas.

Meeting in Oelwein to discuss waterfowl season, zone structure moves to Oct. 17

• 9/24/2019 12:54:00 PM
• View Count 2579

The meeting to present the waterfowl season and zone structure of the 2021-2015 season originally scheduled for Oct. 16, has been moved to Oct. 17, due to a scheduling conflict.

Out of sight wetland at Blackhawk Bottoms is in plain view of waterfowl

• 9/24/2019 12:51:00 PM
• View Count 4729

Burlington, Iowa - It’s not often that a trip to the grocery store ends with an unsolicited public endorsement but that’s what Andy Robbins got last year while walking to his vehicle.

Meetings set to discuss waterfowl season, zone structure for 2021-2025

• 9/19/2019 2:16:00 PM
• View Count 3053

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) has scheduled five meetings across the state in October to present its proposed waterfowl season and zone structure for the 2021-2025 waterfowl hunting seasons.

Wildlife Notes

• 12/4/2018 3:54:00 PM
• View Count 6103

Brief updates on wildlife and hunting news

Meet Iowa's winter raptors

• 11/29/2018 12:08:00 PM
• View Count 10082

Get out your binoculars! These raptors can only be found in Iowa during the winter as they breed elsewhere -maybe you'll get lucky and catch a glimpse of these winter residents!

Waterfowl hunters reminded of rules for hunting in flooded crop fields

• 10/19/2018 12:27:00 PM
• View Count 5078

Iowa’s unusually wet fall has created a unique situation where floodwaters are reaching fields and causing issues regarding what waterfowl hunters can and can’t do in these areas.

Barn Owl Nesting Bonanza

• 11/2/2017 8:45:00 AM
• View Count 7385

While the documentation of 17 Barn Owl nests and 33 total records in 2016 was an all-time record high for Iowa, that record was more than doubled this year. Currently, 38 Barn Owl nests are documented in 26 counties, and 71 young Barn Owls have fledged from 26 nests.

DNR seeking comments on furbearer, waterfowl and falconry regulations prior to drafting rules

• 10/30/2017 8:59:00 AM
• View Count 4300

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources is accepting public comments on 2018 furbearer, waterfowl and falconry regulations, from Nov. 1-8.

Locked up and feet down, Iowa duck hunters are ready for opening day

• 9/19/2017 2:38:00 PM
• View Count 4574

Waterfowlers have waited all year for this: for the next three weekends in Iowa, there will be an opening day for duck and goose hunting. The north zone opens on Sept. 23, the south zone opens on Sept. 30 and the Missouri River zone opens on Oct. 7.

Reports of nesting barn owls on the rise

• 9/5/2017 12:58:00 PM
• View Count 8024

State wildlife experts are crediting a series of mild winters and an abundance of meadow vole prey in grasslands for a nesting boon for barn owls, primarily across southern Iowa.

Look for expanded waterfowl zone and deer hunting options in 2017-18 Iowa hunting regulations

• 7/25/2017 1:15:00 PM
• View Count 4621

The 2017-18 Iowa Hunting, Trapping and Migratory Game Bird Regulations will be arriving at license vendors across the state in the next few weeks.

Hunting seasons starting to close

• 1/3/2017 12:18:00 PM
• View Count 4949

Iowa’s pheasant, late muzzleloader and archery deer, and archery fall turkey seasons close on Jan. 10.  Furbearer seasons, squirrel, quail, partridge and grouse remain open until Jan. 31.

Iowa owl identification guide

• 12/5/2016 2:51:00 PM
• View Count 102020

That tell-tale disc-shaped face tells you it’s an owl, sure – but which one? Iowa has nine different species that call our state home, whether full-time or part-time, and you can find them in a number of different habitats. Here’s what to look for.

Waterfowl refuges closed to any access until duck seasons end

• 12/2/2016 10:16:00 AM
• View Count 5426

Iowa waterfowl refuges are closed to all access until the day after duck season closes. This year the duck season closes later than previous years and the later season dates may impact some deer hunters who have hunted the areas in the past. 

DNR looking for opinions on current migratory game bird seasons

• 11/16/2016 10:00:00 AM
• View Count 4618

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources is asking Iowa migratory game bird hunters what they liked and disliked about the 2016 migratory game bird seasons, as a first step in developing proposed 2017 migratory game bird season dates. 

Endangered barn owls thriving in one Iowa woodlot

• 10/7/2016 2:06:00 PM
• View Count 15979

Join Iowa DNR Biologist Bruce Ehresman as he describes a night among barn owls, great horned owls and raccoons – all in one special north Iowa woodlot.

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