Staff from Iowa Magazine recently rode along with Iowa Raptor Project Director Dave Conrads to experience a raptor survey that revealed an assortment of bald eagles and red-tailed hawks.
This expedition, which highlighted the science behind Iowa’s birds of prey, was documented in stunning detail in the latest edition of the UI Center for Advancement's publication.
The following excerpt is from that article:
“It’s a cloudless and chilly February morning when Iowa Raptor Project director Dave Conrads pulls up to the Levitt Center for University Advancement, home of Iowa Magazine. Photographer Seth Diehl (07BA), art director Nick Beecher (03BA), and I are heading out with Conrads’ team for a leg of their winter raptor survey—an annual count of the area’s birds of prey.
Before we pile into Conrads’ SUV, though, something catches our eye. A sizable bird swoops down, likely in pursuit of its unsuspecting meal. It lands near the office window I look out of every day, unaware of these natural dramas unfolding just beyond the glass. The bird has bluish-gray plumage, a hooked bill, and a beret-like cap. It’s instantly recognizable to our birding guides: a Cooper’s hawk, one of the many species of raptors commonly found in Iowa.
Our goal today is to locate and identify more of these regal hunters—and, if possible, catch and band one. Each winter, the Iowa Raptor Project—part of the University of Iowa College of Education’s UI WILD department—conducts surveys across Johnson County to study population trends and habitat needs for bald eagles, rough-legged hawks, northern harriers, and other birds of prey.
Spotting the Cooper’s hawk before we’ve even left campus is a good sign, we agree, but maybe not unexpected. Soon, we’ll see firsthand why Iowa is the home of the Hawks.