Tuesday, February 24, 2015

Tips for Owl Calling

February’s full moon is nicknamed the owl moon, as the crisp night air is filled with the calls and hoots of mating owls. Crunch the snow and trek into the woods with a child—or the young at heart—to practice calling owls.

Use the moonlight reflecting off the snow-covered ground to illuminate the surroundings as you follow the sound of an owl’s call. Move slowly and patiently to glimpse owls silhouetted on leafless trees by shimmering moonbeams. When an owl calls, try to mimic the sound and see if you get a response.

All eight species of Iowa owls are found here in the winter. The great horned, screech and barred owls are most common. The short-eared is on the state endangered species list and the barn and long-eared are on the threatened list. If you glimpse one of these, you are lucky indeed.

Barred
Very common, most often heard in summer, spring and fall. Search along forested areas in river bottoms across the state, except northwest Iowa.

Screech

Common. Small, but slightly larger than a saw-whet owl. Found year-round in Iowa. Nocturnal, but will respond to calls day or night. Nests early spring and summer.

Burrowing
The only owl that nests underground, often using old badger or fox dens. Most recorded sightings are in northwest Iowa.

Short-eared
Endangered. A prairie species, find them hunting over open grasslands. A summer nester and one of the last to nest. “We have a small breeding number during the summer, but more short-ears are in Iowa during the winter, when they move south from prairie areas in Canada,” says Doug Harr, who heads the DNR’s nongame program.

Great Horned
The largest and easiest owl to find, they hoot in a series of five or six in late December and January to attract mates. By following the sound, you can see them sitting in an old red-tailed hawk nest, incubating eggs, even during a snowstorm. Often lay eggs by early February. Their owlets take a long time to mature, so they are the earliest nesters, doing so to take advantage of an early food supply for their young. Owlets can hunt on their own by summer, perfect timing to catch early populations of rabbits and rodents.

Long-eared
Threatened. Find in conifer groves in winter and sometimes in groups. The only owls that form flocks. Usually found in the same location year after year.

Snowy
Not here during summer, when the all-white snowy resides in the Arctic. “They come down when the food base of lemmings and mice has a population crash,” says Harr. That happens about every four years. “Not responsive to calls, you will just happen upon them sitting on a fencepost or on a frozen clod of dirt in an open field. A ground nester, they like to get on a perch to scan for prey.” Most are found north of Interstate 80.

Northern Saw-Whet
Our smallest owl, “Probably a lot more common than we realize, this owl is very secretive,” says Harr. Often found in winter in red cedar trees. They perch close to tree trunks and sometimes close to the ground. Unafraid of people, they can be approached within a few feet. “This is a species that we are just starting to understand more about,” says Harr.

Barn Owl
Rare, with less than ten known nests in the state. “There are probably more than that, but they are hard to find,” says Harr. An oak savannah species, they thrived when fire and natural free-roaming grazers such as elk kept the forest floor open, with knee-high grasses. A rare and quickly disappearing habitat, the oak forests are now often choked with above-head tangles of brush and woody plants. Barn owls have a distinctive heart-shaped facial shape. Often found in abandoned barns, they are a year-round resident and a spring and summer nester.

Children and adults will enjoy listening to various owl calls online. Visit the famed Cornell Lab of Ornithology at
www.birds.cornell.edu and search for owls.

This article originally appeared in the January/February 2010 issue of
Iowa Outdoors magazine.

Tuesday, February 17, 2015

Winter Themed Games

Keep your students active this winter with these fun winter themed games.
 
Penguin Waddle Race
You’ll need:
2 or more players
1 blown-up balloon per child
Start and finish lines (pieces of string, etc.)
  • Players line up, pretending to be penguins.
  • Each player puts a balloon between his or her knees.
  • When the “Go!” signal is given, players race toward the finish line-waddling like penguins!
  • If a player drops a balloon, they must start the race over.
  • The first player to cross the finish line with a balloon between their knees wins. 
Iceberg Hopping
You’ll need:
2 or more players
6-10 paper or plastic plates to act as icebergs
  • Arrange plate “icebergs” in a line, spacing about 12 inches apart.
  • Penguin players line up and take turns hopping from plate to plate. They must land with both feet on each iceberg. If they don’t, they “fall into the ocean” and are out of the game.
  • Players who make it to the last iceberg must hop back across the icebergs. Space the plates a little farther apart for each new round until all but one penguin, the winner, has toppled.

Snowball Tag
Mark off a play area with cones (snowball fight area). Place several mats in a nearby area (snow angel area). Give each student two yarn balls. Scatter extra yarn balls in the "snow fight" area. Students have a "snowball fight" by throwing the yarn balls at each other below the knees. Students may not hold more than 2 snowballs at a time. If a student is hit by a "snowball," he/she must go and make a "snow angel" where the mats are located.

Thursday, February 12, 2015

Enjoying Iowa's Winter Outdoor Activities


Being prepared and wearing the right clothes can help your family enjoy all the best Iowa’s outdoors offers in the winter.

Always keep an eye on the weather and wind chills and limit your exposure to the elements when needed. 

Follow these basic tips for staying warm during your winter adventures. 

Know your layers.
Dress properly to shed layers when heating up and add layers when cooling off. Kids should wear snowpants.


Start with a wicking layer.For the wicking layer against skin, wear synthetic long underwear to transfer moisture away from the body. Avoid cotton as it absorbs sweat and doesn’t insulate when wet.

Warm up next.Over the wicking layer, wear fleece, wool sweaters or down jackets. 

Top it off.
To protect yourself from the wind, rain or snow, top with a parka or outer shell layer to repel wind and snow.


Don’t forget the extras.You’ll want sunglasses to reduce glare, especially off of bright snow. Wear thick, warm socks of wool or fleece and snow-proof boots. Bring warm hats and gloves, lip balm, hand and foot warmers, and water bottles insulated in a heavy sock to prevent freezing. A scarf or facemask helps cut the ever-present prairie wind. And don’t forget that sunburns are still possible on a bright winter day or through the clouds, so bring sunscreen, too.

Make Your Own Snowman Bird Feeder

Add bird and wildlife foods to your snowman to make this seasonal rite of passage fun and functional.

Keep Frosty chilled by building him on the shady north sides of buildings. “A lot of feeder birds need a perch,” says the DNR ’s Tim Gedler who not only manages Walnut Woods State Park, but is an avid birder. He advises adding twigs to the snowman.

To attract dark-eye juncos, white-throated sparrows, mourning doves and field sparrows, spread mixed seed on the ground. “They are ground feeders,” he says.

Use these tips to adorn your snowman with treats for birds and wildlife:
1. Peanuts provide a nutritious diet for birds,including black-capped chickadees, nuthatches, tufted titmice, woodpeckers, jays and cardinals. Unsalted brands are safe for birds. “Whole peanuts in the shell are absolutely the number one food for bluejays,” says Rick Crouch, owner of Wild Birds Unlimited in Davenport. Use peanuts for buttons and eyes.

2. "Carve out some niches to place chunks of suet,” says Gedler, or from sticks hang the high energy snack in onion sacks. Place suet high, out of reach of dogs. Don’t use bacon grease, which is too salty and full of preservatives, says Crouch,who adds that suet chunks make great teeth, eyes and ears for any snowman.

3. Smear peanut butter onto an old corn cob to use for a nose. Also add to pine cones, then dip and roll the cone in seeds. Tie ribbon or twine to the cone to hang around the neck and arms.

4. Providing high oil and fat content is easy with black oil sunflower seed, which is less expensive and easier to crack and digest than the striped variety.

5. Dress your snowman with food strings of popcorn and cranberries to increase the food variety and attract colorful birds. Chickadees and nuthatches will feed on the popcorn,wintering robins, cedar waxwings, woodpeckers and cardinals will eat the cranberries, and blue jays will dine on both. Use unsalted, unbuttered popcorn.

6. Load a wide-brimmed hat with sunflower seeds, raisins and cracked corn. A light colored hat will absorb less heat so Frosty can keep his cool.


This article originally appeared in the January/February 2007 issue of Iowa Outdoors magazine.