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Iowa Dove Hunters Will Use Lead Shot

10,000 Birds

A panel of the Iowa legislature decided to ignore common sense, wildlife professionals, and Iowa’s own Natural Resources Commission and allow lead shot to be used for the new Mourning Dove hunting season. This decision is just plain dumb. Hat-tip to John.

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University of Iowa Animal Lab Goes Underground

Critter News

The Iowa Board of Regents approved $11.2 million for an underground vivarium that will house University of Iowa animal research laboratories. From the Des Moines Register. The 35,000-square-foot facility would connect the Medical Education Research Facility and Carver Biomedical Research Building on the west side of campus.

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Iowa to Allow Hunting of Mourning Doves

10,000 Birds

For the first time since 1918 hunters will be able to hunt Mourning Doves in Iowa – but with one big caveat. Lead ammunition will not be allowed.

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Mercy for Animals Exposes Cruelty at Iowa Select Farms

Critter News

Safeway and Kroger have announced they're halting all purchases of the farm's pork. Mercy for Animals is trying to convince Costco to do the same. News story is from the end of June. Almost let that one slip by!

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More Alleged Abuse At Iowa Egg Farms

Critter News

Another undercover video from the Humane Society.

Egg Farm 113
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Horrible Animal Abuse at Iowa Pig Farm

Critter News

Horrific. (..)

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Why Did the Prairie Chicken Cross the State?

10,000 Birds

112 was released in Iowa and has since traveled a circuitous route of more than 1,100 miles across two states. 112′s meanderings across Iowa and Missouri. According to the Missouri Department of Conservation, “The upper green dot is a lek at the Kellerton Wildlife Management Area in Iowa where Bird No.

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FBI Serves Search Warrant to ALF Supporter

Critter News

From the Iowa City Press-Citizen. A federal judge in Iowa issued the warrant. Law enforcement there has a long-running investigation into animal releases at a University of Iowa laboratory. The FBI served a search warrant Monday on a Salt Lake City home occupied by a supporter of the Animal Liberation Front.

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10,000 Birds goes eBirding – Part II

10,000 Birds

A few states still have no checklists at all: Nebraska , Minnesota , Iowa , Kentucky , West Virginia , Mississippi , and Alabama. The Collective added six new states in the past three years, but none have eclipsed the century mark: Wisconsin ( 74 ), Utah (55), Hawaii (38), Oklahoma (18), Rhode Island (9), and Connecticut (5).

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Stamping the First Robin of Spring

10,000 Birds

” Several years later, in 2012, we got a comment from someone named Fred Jacob that said the following: When I was a boy growing up in Iowa some sixty years ago, we would “stamp” the first robins in spring. You see, back in 2009, I put up a blog post called “ First Robin of Spring.”

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Endangered and Disappearing Birds of the Midwest by Matt Williams

10,000 Birds

Focusing on an often under-appreciated portion of the continent, the book showcases forty species found in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Iowa, Indiana, Michigan, and Ohio – but perhaps not for long.

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Farm Sanctuary Wary about Tom Vilsack for USDA

Critter News

Barack Obama has picked Tom Vilsack, former Governor of Iowa, to be the next Secretary of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). As Iowa’s Governor, Tom Vilsack took steps to protect animals, including vetoing a bill that allowed dove hunting. Bauer is the president and co-founder of the Farm Sanctuary.

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Wildlife Rehabilitation in Tulsa

10,000 Birds

And to top it all off, the day before I left Kim drove me to the Grey Snow Eagle House, where we were given a breathtaking tour by Iowa Tribal Elder Victor Roubidoux. I just arrived home and since I’m too tired to write this week’s post, I’ll speak it instead. More on this trip to come.

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Animal Legal Defense Fund Ranks States on Animal Protection

Critter News

And the worst: Alabama, Alaska, American Samoa, Arkansas, Guam, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Kentucky, Mississippi, Montana, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Northern Mariana Islands, South Dakota, Wyoming You can check out the whole report on their web site. Among the best: California, Illinois, Maine, Michigan, Oregon.

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Minnesota Activist Indicted for Animal Terrorism

Critter News

The Animal Liberation Front claimed responsibility for vandalizing two labs and three offices at the University of Iowa on Nov. According to the indictment, unsealed today, DeMuth committed "animal enterprise terrorism and cause[d] economic damage to the animal enterprise in an amount exceeding $10,000" between Nov.

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Obama's Rules Freeze May Help Wolves

Critter News

Wildlife conservationists say the freeze will delay and possibly prevent the removal of gray wolves from the federal endangered species list in Montana, Idaho, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan, and also in portions of Washington, Oregon, Utah, North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio.

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H1N1 and your pets.

4 The Love Of Animals

Although it was previously believed that cats were also safe, a cat in Iowa has now tested positive for the 2009 H1N1 influenza virus. Experts are continuously keeping an eye on the situation for any changes. Cats should be monitored.

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Not enough Woodpeckers

10,000 Birds

”).

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Demand for Palm Oil Threatens Orangutans

Critter News

There are only an estimated 50,000 to 60,000 orangutans left in the wild, 90 percent of them in Indonesia, said Serge Wich, a scientist at the Great Ape Trust of Iowa. Over the years, Galdikas has fought off loggers, poachers and miners, but nothing has posed as great a threat to her "babies" as palm oil.

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The Birds of March Madness

10,000 Birds

Iowa State Cyclones (represented by Cy the Cardinal). Miami Hurricanes (represented by their American White Ibis, Sebastian). Florida Gulf Coast Eagles. Liberty Flames (represented by their American Bald Eagle, Sparky). Temple Owls. Louisville Cardinals. LIU-Brooklyn Blackbirds. Creighton Bluejays. Kansas Jayhawks. Marquette Golden Eagles.

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How To (And Not To) Transport Wild Birds

10,000 Birds

And another one,” she added, “in a tampon box.” “A Big Brown Bat in a large glass terrarium,” said Marlene Ehresman in Iowa, “because the people wanted to make sure it wouldn’t escape.” Debbie Faires in South Carolina had a baby squirrel delivered in a mink hat.

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What is the State Bird of New Jersey?

10,000 Birds

The legislature named the goldfinch the state bird in 1935 , sharing the designation with Washington and Iowa. .” While certain New Jersey decisions may be dubious, their state bird, the American Goldfinch, is a beautiful choice.

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Some Chinese Pheasants

10,000 Birds

As a popular game bird, the Ring-necked Pheasant seems to have such high importance in the US that there are several papers just discussing the species in individual US states. Examples: California. Connecticut. New Jersey. North Dakota. Rhode Island. South Dakota. Washington. Wisconsin.

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I and the Bird: What is a Swallow?

10,000 Birds

Northern Rough-winged Swallow in flight – Michael Motto, Iowa Voice. Barn Swallow – Michael Motto, Iowa Voice. Northern Rough-winged Swallow , Stelgidopteryx serripennis. Northern Rough-winged Swallow: Wings on Wednesday – Larry Jordan, The Birder’s Report. Barn Swallow , Hirundo rustica.

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All Three Populations of North American Trumpeter Swans Are Increasing

10,000 Birds

During the 1980s, the Pacific Coast Population swans became the source of eggs for several restoration programs in Minnesota, Michigan, Ohio, Wisconsin, and Iowa 2.

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10,000 Birds goes eBirding

10,000 Birds

Some states have no species at all, not even a pigeon, crow, or sparrow: Hawaii , Utah , Nebraska , Oklahoma , Minnesota , Iowa , Wisconsin , Kentucky , West Virginia , Mississippi , Alabama , Connecticut , and Rhode Island. , the Biggest Week in American Birding in Ohio). Even the nation’s capital has been ignored.

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Who Wants To See a Greater Prairie Chicken?

10,000 Birds

There are no individuals remaining within an area of nearly 56,900 sq miles which once formed the core of the range of this truly magnificent bird, This area where the highest densities were recorded stretched from central and northern Iowa into western Illinois before covering most of northeast Missouri.

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Flying with Determination

10,000 Birds

Even after living in Iowa for ten years it seems to me that dark-morph juvenile Pomarine Jaegers tend to show up more than Parasitics in the interior United States. Parasitic Jaegers show a few white primary shafts without the clumping of white. When out lake birding this fall be sure to look out for these dark beauties.

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Are Farm Animals Usually Killed in a Humane Manner?

Critter News

One of my closest friends worked as an accountant for IBP (formerly Iowa Beef Producers, now Tyson’s) and, he won’t speak of it, but there were some bad things that happened there. Shove them in, shove them out. There are horror stories of animals not completely dead before they are being processed.

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The Newest Beat

10,000 Birds

He attended Iowa State University where he earned his B.S. Mike is a familiar face to anyone who regularly attends birding events as he is one of the faces of Nikon Sport Optics for the birding world. Mike Freiberg grew up in Philadelphia, PA, where his family introduced him to the world of birding. Over time the hobby grew into a career.

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How Do You Spell “Shitepoke?”

10,000 Birds

My father had stories he’d tell, time and time again, and one of them was from his one-room schoolhouse when he was a farm boy in Iowa. This is all you usually see of a shitepoke. They’re shy.

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I and the Bird: What is a Vulture?

10,000 Birds

Turkey Vulture – Michael Motto, Iowa Voice. Black Vulture – Michael Motto, Iowa Voice. A Vortex of Turkey Vultures During Fall Migration – Larry Jordan, The Birders’ Report. Turkey Vulture on Little Miami River – Kelly Riccetti, The Red and the Peanut. Vulture Follies – Suzie Gilbert, 10,000 Birds.

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What is a Titmouse?

10,000 Birds

A half-century ago, this species might have been restricted to Iowa or New Jersey, but now it can be found throughout New England and even south-eastern Canada. The Tufted Titmouse ( B. bicolor ), like the Red-bellied Woodpecker and Turkey Vulture , has expanded its range dramatically to penetrate northern reaches.

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An Open Letter to the Birds on the Webcams, Re: Nesting Season

10,000 Birds

I get that good nest sites are at a premium, whether you’re in the market for a box along a bluebird trail in Iowa or a ledge overlooking pigeon-rich Central Park. Again, I know you’re just doing what you gotta do. Drag some other bird bodily out of a hollow tree and thrash the feathers off them?

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The Most Birds

10,000 Birds

Sharon Stiteler , the Birdchick , has the all time high count of Canvasback , in Iowa back in 2010. The New Yorker in me likes that the world high counts of Black Scoter , Surf Scoter , and White-winged Scoter were all made off Montauk Point in January and February of 2011.

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Winging It In Tulsa

10,000 Birds

A rehabilitation facility founded and run by the Iowa Nation, it has an ICU, quarantine cages, spacious quarters for unreleasable birds, and a 150-foot curved flight cage that made me gasp, especially when a soon-to-be-released Golden Eagle sailed around the corner and landed on a perch above our heads.

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WPAs: America’s Duck Factories

10,000 Birds

The resulting properties—WPAs—are small ponds, wetlands, and associated grasslands, primarily in North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, and Montana, but also in Michigan, Nebraska, Wisconsin and Iowa. Most WPAs are small: they range from less than an acre to nearly 7,500 acres, averaging just 90 acres. million acres.

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Forgotten Prairies

10,000 Birds

I can certainly speak about the Midwest where states like Wisconsin, Iowa, Minnesota, etc. Outside of hardcore twitchers looking for specialty birds and after speaking to thousands and thousands of birders, I have concluded that most people really do not put much emphasis on our prairies. have over-developed these areas for agricultural uses.

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Push Land-Grant Universities Out of the Meat Industry

Animal Person

consider pointing out to a few of the biggest and most influential (food-wise) LGUs -- Iowa State, Cornell, University of California-Davis -- the harm they're doing globally by continuing to promote meat despite the known dangers to animals, people, and the environment.

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From Today's New York Times

Animal Ethics

To the Editor: Re “An Ape Types in Iowa” (column, Aug. 9): Gail Collins writes: “Human-ape conversation was a very hot topic back in the late 1960s, when researchers first taught a chimpanzee named Washoe to use sign language.

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From Today's New York Times

Animal Ethics

There are more humane alternatives available that would reduce that condition, and according to experts at Iowa State University, some forms of alternative sow housing could actually cost less in dollars and labor—savings that could potentially reach the customer.

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Birding and Safari-ing South Africa with the ABA

10,000 Birds

There were birders from a wide cross-section of the United States: Colorado, Ohio, Idaho, Iowa, Wyoming, Washington State, Pennsylvania, New York State, New Jersey, California, Texas, Florida. I’m sure there are states that I missed, but you get the idea.

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Peterson Field Guide to Moths of Southeastern North America and of Northeastern North America: A Review of Two Field Guides

10,000 Birds

The Northeast goes as north as southern Ontario, Quebec, and North Brunswick, west to the western borders of Minnesota, Iowa, and Missouri, and south to the southern borders or Missouri, Kentucky, and Virginia. The states covered in each guide are shown on the cover page in case you’re not sure if your area is covered.