Luckily, having trusty camera gear close at hand and ready to go meant I could try my best to record these moments. That is how I chose to share my good luck with you this weekend. Enjoy these images.

Deer are common, very common. From farm fields and forest edges, to city backyards, deer are now ubiquitous co-inhabitants of our landscape. People see them often in all kinds of places. They are interesting native animals who are part of a long conservation success story.

As our early pioneer settlers ventured from the east coast into the Midwest and all the way to the Pacific coast states, they encountered deer, along with many other big game animals. The truth was that back in those days of the 18th and 19th century, killing a deer meant feeding the family, or finding a market for the meat in any city.

During those times, the thought of long term conservation was not high on the priority list. Living, surviving and eating were top priorities.

That is until the American continent began a long arduous change in habitats due to settlement, and combined with unregulated hunting, started to make many once common big game animals much reduced in population or even rare. It is estimated that the white-tailed deer population nationwide got as low as 400,000 by the late 1800s.

Contrast that number with white-tailed deer numbers now of over 27 million, and you can see how this adaptable species responded to management plans that attempt to keep an acceptable balance in place from state to state through well regulated and science based hunting seasons. Regulating the off-take of deer each fall during archery and gun seasons is the primary method by which departments of natural resources across the nation accomplish this goal.

Iowa deer licenses for 2024-25 went on sale Aug. 15. Hunters who know their preferences for this coming fall deer hunt are making purchases now rather than waiting until the last moment. Iowa archery deer season begins Oct. 1 for bow with these exceptions: Youth and/or disabled archery bow tags are available for Sept. 21 through Oct. 6. Otherwise the regular bow and arrow deer season is Oct. 1 through Jan. 10, 2025, with the normal closed down time between Dec. 6 and the 23rd whereby gun seasons take place. And there are special deer population management January antlerless only opportunities from Jan. 11-19 in select Iowa zones or areas. See the DNR regulations booklet page 8 for more information if that is your interest.

An additional note concerning deer hunting: many Iowa cities have special urban deer archery only seasons. The reason is that deer have learned to adapt to and inhabit city limits territories where they may cause great harm to local habitats, urban garden plantings and landscapes, and get in the way of urban vehicle movements.

Each city has its own rules and guidelines on how to obtain special urban zones deer permits. Marshalltown is just one city that implemented an urban deer hunt plan over one decade ago. The process to obtain city hunt permits can be found at Marshalltown’s Park and Recreation office.

There is a need for additional archers to become qualified to hunt within the city limits. Pick up a copy of the rules and regulations at the Park and Recreation office if so interested. To visit and learn more about the urban deer program, this author is willing to share his knowledge of how best to proceed.

Contact me to make a meeting time that is convenient.

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Waterfowl seasons will begin soon. The early teal season for these early migrating duck species is exclusively for teal, the Blue-winged, Green-winged and Cinnamon, from Sept. 1-16, 2024. Duck hunters will find Teal at Otter Creek Marsh in Tama County, a 3,000 plus acre wetland habitat managed by the Iowa DNR.

While water was absent for the last several years due to drought, those super dry conditions have been overcome to a large degree. Water is flowing in Otter Creek, and water has returned to several of the pools of this management area. Any cool to cold weather events in Canada can cause Teal to move southward well before other duck species begin their migration duties.

Regular duck seasons begin later, in one of three Iowa zones. DNR officials use the area north of Highway 20 as the North Zone. Between Highway 20 and Highway 92 is the Central Zone. From Highway 92 south to the Missouri border is the South Zone. Start dates for ducks vary by zone. See page 9 of the 2024-25 regulation booklet for exact dates.

To warm up and check out duck hunter’s shooting skills, Ducks Unlimited’s Iowa River Chapter is hosting a five station trap shoot on Sunday, Aug. 25 at the Izaak Walton League grounds located southeast of Marshalltown. Any wing shooter hunter is welcome to attend, pay the fees, and see how your competitive skills and hand-eye coordination need to be enhanced. The course will be open at 9 a.m.

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Iowa’s popular ring-necked pheasant hunting season will begin on Oct. 26 and run through Jan. 10 of next year. The daily limit is three and possession limit is 12 male birds. During 2023, pheasant hunters were out and about taking an estimated 590,000 roosters.

Biologists note that the overall population can support an off-take of 600,000 birds. Last fall there were 83,600 hunters chasing pheasants.

The recently completed 2024 pheasant roadside survey results are still being tabulated. However, a preliminary summary indicated a population somewhat lower from last year. This is in part due to heavy rains this spring. Northern Iowa pheasants held well so it appears that bird

hunters can see good to fair numbers during fall hunts, and dove hunters will see their season open on Sept. 1.

Last year, an estimated 195,000 doves were taken. The same is likely during 2024. The dove season goes through Nov. 29. Dove hunting times begin one-half hour before sunrise and end at sunset.

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Regarding hunting license fees paid by hunters, it is important to note again that 100 percent of license fees go directly into Iowa’s Fish and Wildlife Trust Fund. No tax dollars are involved in this portion of the DNR budget.

Trust fund monies are invested and used in conjunction with federal funds, and other privately raised monies from other conservation clubs and organizations, for projects involving wildlife management and habitat development, public and private land access, fisheries management, boat ramps and ramp repairs, and fish and game law enforcement services.

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A few weeks ago I featured a story about armadillos. That story focused on a roadkill find of a dead armadillo near 18th Avenue and Highway 30. Since that time, and as recently as early this week, another roadkill armadillo was found in eastern Marshall County.

So what is happening to see this southern USA critter in Iowa? According to Rodney Ellingson, DNR wildlife biologist, it is entirely possible that this species is hitching a ride, involuntarily he will add, in the undercarriage of semi trucks and trailers.

Why is that? Well, it is well known that when an armadillo is confronted by vehicles on a roadway, the animal has a habit of jumping up several feet.

The jump is how they naturally try to avoid predators. But if the “predator” is a truck, the jump may entangle them in the undercarriage of the truck/trailer. Later, the dead critter becomes dislodged and falls out a long way from the initial contact location.

It is a legitimate factor not to be ruled out of why armadillo dead bodies are showing up. Finding more proof of that theory would be an important fact to find out.

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Garry Brandenburg is the retired director of the Marshall County Conservation Board. He is a graduate of Iowa State University with a BS degree in Fish & Wildlife Biology.

Contact him at:

P.O. Box 96

Albion, IA 50005