AUGUST is here. Maybe it is just another month on the calendar but it is an important transition time in our northern hemisphere. Long summer days are getting shorter. Plants are at full growth and maturing to set seed. Some birds are beginning to stage themselves for migrations. Young wildlife populations are born or hatched and taking on the rigors of life. The earth’s passage on its orbit will come close enough to allow for visual sightings of meteor showers. And the State Fair is only a couple of weeks away.

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Birds that migrate have different time-tables depending on the species. Starting this month, SWALLOWS will begin to congregate into large flocks. They are still about one month away from taking a serious journey in a southward direction. Look for average departure dates of Rough-winged swallows on Sept. 4, Cliff swallows on Sept. 18 and Bank and Barn swallows the week after that.

BLUE-WINGED TEAL and MOURNING DOVES will also begin to gather into larger flocks by the third week of August. For the waterfowl species of teal, a slow but persistent move south from Alaska, the Yukon and other Canadian prairie provinces will add to the resident birds of America. As colder weather and first frosts provide strong hints of the winter to come, these birds know they must move south. Winter up north is cold, food sources will soon disappear, and survival means going to warmer places where foods still can be found.

HUMMINGBIRDS must prepare to move south. Feeding intensity increases during August and early September. Even though Oct. 1 is a traditional date for departure of hummingbirds from Iowa, they can’t wait for the last moment. Preparation begins by using August as the time to lay up stocks of fatty tissues they can draw upon later when the big push to cross the Gulf of Mexico is inevitable. Year after year they make it happen. Keep good supplies of fresh sugar water available for hummers at least until mid September, then take the feeders down, clean them and store until next spring.

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The new 2015-16 Federal Migratory Bird Hunting and Conservation Stamp is now available for purchase at major post offices. The artwork selected for use on the new “federal duck stamp” is a Ruddy Duck by artist Jennifer Miller. This stamp, plus an Iowa Migratory Game Bird Fee, hunting license and habitat fee are required for most outdoor enthusiasts that like to hunt waterfowl.

Iowa hunters, about 250,000 of them, buy hunting licenses each year. By doing so they take the lead in conservation efforts through the license dollars they contribute. In addition to these funds, purchases of ammunition, firearms, other hunting equipment adds the total through the 11 percent excise tax on those purchases. Money from the sale of Iowa hunting and fishing licenses goes into the Fish and Wildlife Trust Fund, a constitutionally protected fund that can only be spent to expand hunting and fishing opportunities, land management, access, and research.

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DEER HUNTING LICENSES go on sale Aug. 15 for the fall seasons, archery or gun. Deer season dates for 2015-16 will be as follows: Youth and/or Disabled Hunter Sept. 19 through Oct. 4; Archery deer Oct. 1 through Dec. 4 and Dec. 21- Jan. 10, 2016; Early muzzleloader dates are Oct. 17-25; Late muzzleloader is Dec. 21 through Jan. 10, 2016; Shotgun season one is Dec. 5-9 and season two is Dec. 12-20.

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ARCHERS may want to take note of a Sheels 3-D archery shoot on August 15-16. The 40 target range will be in place at the Black Hawk Wildlife Area in Grundy County, one-half mile north of highway 175 on county road T-53 at Morrison. Forty realistic stations in woodland and prairie, tower stations and over water will be offered. The cost is $10 per adult. Youth ages 12 and under are $5. Shoot hours are 7:30 a.m. until 12:30 p.m. each day

If you don’t want to wait for two weeks, today and tomorrow at the Pine Lake Archery Club range north of Upper Pine Lake, is the annual IOWA BOWHUNTERS ASSOCIATION Fall Festival. Two ranges of 20 targets each is offered. Vendors will be on site with merchandise, food is available for purchase on site, and evening activities tonight are offered also. Limited camping is available on site. Shooting hours are all day long both days. Join the IBA to add your support for bowhunting in Iowa.

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For weather watchers … note this bit of data from the history book. On Aug. 20, 1950, northern Iowa had a hard freeze with 30 degree temperatures noted in the towns of Sibley and Britt. Early frost or late frost date, on average low overnight temps in the low 30s is still a long way off. Birds take note however. For some species, cold temps like that are a great incentive to move out.

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STATE FAIR dates this year are Aug. 13-23. This annual summer tradition is a reason for people to “migrate” to Des Moines to attend, participate or show during competitions the results of a year of long hard efforts. Livestock exhibitions are just one item for FFA or 4-H member boys and girls as they proudly walk their animals around the show ring hoping for the judges eye and big blue ribbon.

Conservation exhibits are a top draw also at the DNR building. The central aisle of aquariums filled with every species of Iowa native fish draws crowds of people curious to see what the fish really look like close up and personal. People will be as busy as bees preparing for and taking in the sights and sounds of the Iowa State Fair.

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ROADSIDE WILDLIFE COUNTS begin today. An emphasis will be placed on pheasant counting along 217 standardized routes all over Iowa. Each route is 30 miles long. Biologists and conservation officers conduct the survey routes in their respective territories preferably on a morning with heavy dew the night prior, calm to light winds and mostly clear skies. Driving slowly beginning at sunrise, the route is driven at about 10-15 mph, and all the while carefully scanning the road ahead for birds seeking to dry off their feathers by letting the new sun warm and dry them off.

Pheasants will be a major focus. However, other critters will be noted such as doves, quail, rabbits, partridge or others. Tabulating the data after Aug. 15, and preparing a report of the trends for these wildlife populations will be posted on the DNR website in September. Todd Bogenschutz, Upland Wildlife Biologist with the wildlife bureau expects the fall 2015 numbers to be interesting. Stay tuned for what the data will indicate. Hopefully the trend line for pheasants will show growth. Time will tell.

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HUNTER SAFETY CLASS, the last one for Marshall County this year, will be Aug. 20 and 22. As per the usual classroom and field time, Thursday evening’s session begins at 6 p.m. and lasts until 9 p.m. Saturday the 22nd is an 8 a.m. until 4 p.m. day during which additional time will be spent on firearms identification, safety, and live-fire at the range activities. First aid will be covered along with additional ethics emphasis, archery, game care, and the final test. Youth ages 12 or older must pre-register on line at this site: register-ed.com/iowa. This is a new website effective today, an improvement that the DNR has wanted for and finally has in place for citizen use.

Once a person is at this website, click on “View Upcoming Events” under the corresponding course desired. To sign up for a class, click “View Event” and then all the details of the class, location, directions, time and dates will be noted. To actually register, click on the green “Register Now” button and fill out the registration information.

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Look up during the late evening hours of Aug. 12 or the early morning hours of Aug. 13 to see the PERSEID METEOR SHOWERS. If the skies are clear, the perfect setup is in store to watch pieces of the comet Swift-Tuttle come apart and send sparks of burning material into earth’s upper atmosphere. Because a new moon (darkest sky time) will be Aug. 14, light interference from the moon will not be a factor. Look north, northeast and try to find the constellation Perseus. Slightly above and to the left is where the highest intensity of meteors will be seen, about 60-100 per hour of viewing. It is best to get away from city street lights. Find a dark place in the country to do watch from. Meteor watching is a waiting game for this type of natural history in action event. Enjoy.

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Garry Brandenburg is a graduate of Iowa State University with BS degree in Fish & Wildlife Biology. He is the retired director of the Marshall County Conservation Board. Contact him at P.O. Box 96, Albion, Iowa 50005