Experts try to determine what killed 32 rare trumpeter swans in Iowa

Associated PressPublished 3:17 p.m. CT Feb. 9, 2018

The remains of a trumpeter swan are being analyzed in hopes of solving the mystery of what killed 32 of the rare birds in western Clinton County.

The Quad-City Times reports a hunter found remains of the birds on Jan. 30 in a privately owned wetland area. Most of the birds had been scavenged but at least one full carcass remained and it along with partial remains were sent to the Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory at Iowa State University.

Mark Roberts, of Clinton County Conservation, called the discovery "shocking."

Trumpeter swans, North America's largest waterfowl species, were once on the brink of extinction but thanks to a decades-long effort now have an estimated population of more than 63,000 adult birds.

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Peterson, Iowa, prairie to become bird conservation area

11 hours ago • By Nick Hytrek

PETERSON, Iowa | A wildlife area near Peterson will soon be named Iowa's newest Bird Conservation Area....

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources will dedicate the Waterman Prairie Wildlife Management Area and a portion of the Little Sioux River watershed as a Bird Conservation Area at an 11 a.m. ceremony March 7 at the O'Brien County Prairie Heritage Center, about four miles west of Peterson on the north side of Iowa Highway 10.

"Designating this complex as a Bird Conservation Area will add to its recognition by indicating its importance for nesting and migratory grassland and savanna birds," Bruce Ehresman, DNR wildlife diversity program biologist, said in a news release.

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Iowa forest called 'globally important bird area'

HARPER'S FERRY, Iowa (AP) — Officials and bird lovers will gather later this month in northeast Iowa to officially designate the state's first "globally important bird area."

The Effigy Mounds-Yellow River Forest Bird Conservation Area will receive the designation May 31. The area includes 135,000 acres along the Mississippi River in Allamakee and Clayton counties, according to the Dubuque Telegraph Herald (http://bit.ly/1giFDtb ).

Much of the credit for the designation goes to Jon "Hawk Man" Stravers, who has spent years documenting that habitat and birds in the conservation area, which the Iowa Department of Natural Resources calls the "largest unfragmented forest remaining in Iowa."

Stravers has focused his study on the red-shouldered hawk and the cerulean warbler, a small bird with a buzzy chirp that winters in eastern Peru and southern Venezuela.

"It's one of the rarest birds in the U.S. and least understood," Stravers said of the warbler. "It's one that's missed a lot."

Great Britain-based BirdLife International and the National Audubon Society teamed up for the "globally important" area designation, which requires extensive documentation. It's intended to help protect critical habitat for declining bird species to nest or use when migrating.

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Authorities say 2 teens shot eagle perched in tree

Posted: Feb 14, 2014 7:46 PM GSTUpdated: Feb 14, 2014 7:46 PM GST

MONTEZUMA, Iowa (AP) - Authorities say two teenagers shot a bald eagle near Montezuma, injuring the bird so severely that it died.

Poweshiek County Sheriff Thomas Kriegel told The Des Moines Register (http://dmreg.co/M0KTD8 ) deputies were called Wednesday afternoon to property near Montezuma, about 50 miles east of Des Moines.

Kriegel says the bird was shot once, injuring its wing and knocking it from a tree. It was shot again on the ground.

A property owner gave deputies a description of a car at the site, and deputies soon stopped the vehicle.

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DNR proposes bird conservation area for Moulton

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The Iowa Department of Natural Resources is proposing to establish a bird conservation area in a wildlife management area along the Chariton River in southern Iowa near Moulton.

Bird conservation areas are at least 10,000 acres and include permanently protected bird habitat.

The proposed location is part of the Sedan Bottoms Wildlife Management Area, a 5,500-acre region of grassland, woodland and wetlands home to at least 113 nesting bird species.

DNR Wildlife Biologist Bruce Ehresman says many are declining in population at an alarming rate. They include the red-shouldered hawk, wood thrush, red-headed woodpecker, northern mockingbird, the northern bobwhite and bobolink.

The DNR plans a public meeting Jan. 24 at the Rathbun Lake Fish Hatchery to discuss the plans.

If approved, it would be Iowa's 18th bird conservation area.

http://globegazette.com/news/iowa/dnr-proposes-bird-conservation-area-for-moulton/article_94bde9c4-5bec-11e2-afa6-001a4bcf887a.html