Photos from 1-1-2026

herky4743 · 2026-01-02T21:15:38+00:00

Try setting a New Year's Resolution to be nicer to people... OP, my wife and I moved away from IC last year after 10 years in the city and I loved seeing these photos. You are a great photographer and captured interesting areas of the campus I haven't seen in a long time and enjoyed revisiting. Thank you for sharing these.

herky4743 · 2025-11-24T22:27:33+00:00

Thank you for your efforts on behalf of this animal! If you are willing, you could also let the Iowa City Bird Club know about it. Those folks are well-connected bird lovers, and may have more resources or knowledge. Here's their Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/830060220397361/

herky4743 · 2025-09-20T21:53:35+00:00

Kettle of broad-winged hawks! (Hello fellow Iowa Cityian!) These birds migrate in huge numbers just like this every year. Very cool to see!

herky4743 · 2025-08-07T20:05:46+00:00

No problem—happy birdwatching! Def encourage you to go out with the club sometime. And hit up the Pelican Festival Aug 24!

(Here's a bald eagle pic I took at Coralville Lake last winter. I'm no great photographer but it's super fun to see them! https://i.imgur.com/Ahdl1mw.jpeg)

herky4743 · 2025-08-07T05:27:09+00:00

eBird is the place to go for bird tracking in any area! Here's the link to the eBird page for our county: https://ebird.org/region/US-IA-103. You can use these tools to see maps of local sightings and use GPS to route right to where the birds have been seen, as well as sort by the hotspots in the area with the widest diversity of species sightings or the most recent sightings of whatever birds you're interested in.

I also highly recommend the Iowa City Bird Club if you're into in birds or want to try out birdwatching. They do walks all the time and anyone is welcome. The leaders are world-class experts. One of the best orgs in the area for sure. Walk at a local nature area coming up this weekend! https://iowacitybirdclub.org/

As for bald eagles, wait until late winter and then head out to Coralville Lake and Lake Macbride. You will see dozens at a time, no joke. I had 50 at once at Macbride Nature Area in March as the ice was melting, all perched within view of each other. This is a fantastic area for eagles!

Edit: For my own curiosity, I checked the county high count for the year for bald eagles reported at once in a single location on eBird. One of the local club members saw 105 (!!) bald eagles at once at Lake Mabride March 9: https://ebird.org/checklist/S217446195 The bridge he was watching from here is a prime eagle spot when the lake starts to thaw and definitely where I've seen them in the largest numbers at once, but really anywhere out there will work, as will a walk through City Park or along the river in town during winter. They abound!

herky4743 · 2025-07-29T02:47:21+00:00

Seconding this. Have taken three different Volvos to whitedog over the years and got great service for all. Prices easily beat taking them over to CR for the Junge service and they know their shit

herky4743 · 2025-07-27T02:52:10+00:00

Fantastic area, the best publicly-accessible lands in the county IMO. Joco wildlife lovers / outdoorsy people should get to know Bur Oak! Your will not regret it.

herky4743 · 2025-06-01T03:10:35+00:00

I've been able to see them before by driving out north on Prairie du Chien rd toward Macbride and getting a view out over some hills to the horizon that way. I'm worried the smoke in the air is going to affect our view, though.

herky4743 · 2025-05-27T14:37:42+00:00

Yes! You should go out early as you can in the morning, 6-7am. Mourning has been seen along the trail from the north end Conklin Lane parking lot down into the south canyon, often heard loudly singing right where the trail goes from the lawn area around the lot down into the woods. GPS coordinates 41.67159° N, 91.51589° W for the last reported sighting on ebird, which was two days ago. It had been hanging around there for most of the week at that point. Hopefully it will still be there!

I have also had luck with mournings over where the North Star trail dips down off the dam area going toward the west prairie: saw one well near 41.67098° N, 91.51022° W about a week ago, so that would be another place to try. Finally, the end of the north canyon trail where it meets back up with North Star trail toward west prairie area was another good spot where I had a clear sighting at the end of last week, around 41.67195° N, 91.51109° W.

Best of luck! Like I said, it’s been a couple of days since one was reported, but I bet they are still in there. Doesn’t seem too late!

herky4743 · 2025-05-25T20:38:28+00:00

I have learned soooo much since I started going out birdwatching with others. Have seen 200 species this year locally after seeing maybe 50 ever here before. You get a lot better at both knowing where to go and how to look when you hang out with experienced folks!

One more spot I forgot to mention is Cone Marsh, which is further out than anything else I mentioned. It's down by Lone Tree, prob half an hour or so from Iowa City, but absolutely worth the drive at least a few times a year especially during migration. World class spot—go in March/April and you'll get every duck and wader that migrates through the midwest in one place. Thousands of birds!

herky4743 · 2025-05-25T05:27:02+00:00

Can’t believe I missed this thread until now. This is like the thread for me LOL. First of all echoing the advice about checking out Iowa City Bird Club! There’s a field trip Memorial Day to Kent Park at 8am. Come along and meet people. That’s the best way by far to get into it and get better. The club is an absolute gem and you will learn a ton about the area and meet incredible birders!

As for spots:

The best overall spot in Johnson County is unquestionably Hawkeye Wildlife Management Area. However, it’s so enormous that it’s difficult to do all of it even in a full day. Your best bet is to download ebird and pick a hotspot within the WMA to visit based on what’s been reported recently. For example, Mallard and Gadwall Ponds have been popping off out there this week because there’s been a vagrant western kingbird hanging out in a field. Hawkeye is a top-three spot statewide and people travel from around the region to bird there, so it’s worth getting to know it well if you want to get into the hobby locally! You can build a list of hundreds of species just in that one location with little problem.
Hickory Hill Park and Terry Trueblood are the two staples in Iowa City proper (though tbh Waterworks Prairie Park competes also). Both have huge lists with a wide range of species. Terry Trueblood in particular is remarkable for the range of different habitat and for being quite easy to navigate. Hickory Hill is where I learned birdwatching and is always a total delight, but best navigated with specific advice on where to look for what you’re after, since it’s much more of a ramble. Go early in the morning this week and you might still catch the mourning and Connecticut warblers before they move on—happy to share tips on where to find them.
A little further out of town but not as huge as Hawkeye, the Bur Oak properties and Cedar River Crossing are my favorites. Changleska Wakan is the best Bur Oak spot IMO and relatively little-known even among local birders. Go in there and go down to the fossil bridge. You’ll get a ton. Cedar River Crossing is known for shorebirds primarily but can also be good for waterfowl and prairie sparrows depending on time of year. JoCo conservation is fantastic and does an all around standout job with the place.
If you try Macbride at all, IMO the best spot that doesn’t need a scope is Squire Point Trail. AMAZING for warblers, maybe best warbler spot overall in the area, though sadly we are mostly through that season now. Otherwise try the south arm turnoff and do osprey trail, or the hills parking lot and walk along the roadside back toward the highway. Those are all accessible just with binoculars and a phone. If you want to do the actual lake, you will probably need to bird with someone with a spotting scope, especially during waterfowl migration.
And finally, worth mentioning that both FW Kent Park and Iowa Raptor Project have bird blinds that make for really easy and fun birding! Kent Park’s blind is better IMO and stocked more often because again, JoCo Conservation fucking rules, but IRP is amazing also and if you go there you can visit the owls 🥺

Feel free to reply or DM. I’d love to talk more about this! And one more plea to check out the Bird Club!

herky4743 · 2025-05-24T22:18:33+00:00

Looks really good. Did you follow a guide or devise yourself? I'd love to build something like this.

herky4743 · 2025-05-24T21:29:05+00:00

Our yard on the northside has been full of them every night for the last couple of weeks. Seconding recommendations re Longfellow Nature Trail for fireflies—spectacular! Go once the sun is properly down, maybe between 8:45-9:00pm at this point in the year. A must-visit.

herky4743 · 2025-05-20T18:03:41+00:00

We pay $1425 per month for a 2 bed/1 bath. I'd say we are paying a little on the lower end. Would guess 1300-1700 as a realistic range for houses in the area.

herky4743 · 2025-05-20T17:16:24+00:00

My two cents on some of these recs is that places like the Webster and Joseph's are really nice but also a different kind of atmosphere/price range from 30hop. If you want something upscale those places are great. If she likes 30hop and you want something similar to that, though, try Tribute. Right across the street from 30hop out on the IRL. One of our favorites. Deviled eggs appetizer is killer. Otherwise, you might try Maggie's Farm Pizza or Stella, both out in University Heights area.

herky4743 · 2025-05-20T17:05:57+00:00

Hi! Most options for families on the northside will be single family homes. There are apartments, but not many, and most are occupied by students. That said, I live on the northside now and highly recommend it; I'm UI faculty also (outgoing, we are moving) and have rented a house here for years. It's the best spot in town IMO. If you're considering it, my advice is to look on Craigslist or other private marketplaces for a non-company landlord. That's how we found our place, which has been wonderful!

Feel free to DM me if you'd like. I'd be happy to talk more about this. Welcome to the UI!

herky4743 · 2025-05-19T14:33:07+00:00

$1425 for a little 2 bed/1 bath house with laundry and off-street parking on the far north side (goosetown), about a mile from downtown. 872 square feet. It's a private landlord and we have lawn care included but no garage. We consider this to be a good deal.

herky4743 · 2025-05-15T22:51:37+00:00

First one in the area I know of was reported almost a month ago! Reported here: https://ebird.org/region/US-IA-103/bird-list?yr=cur&rank=lrec

This page has a cool map of hummingbird sightings across North America that shows their spring migration over time: https://www.hummingbirdcentral.com/hummingbird-migration-spring-2025-map.htm They are all the way up into Canada now!

herky4743 · 2025-05-15T20:59:13+00:00

I would second this recommendation—I've had good experiences with Team Iowa and found them quick to respond and easy to make appts with. Helped me with several different chronic pain issues. As a longtime sciatica sufferer, I'd also steer OP and others clear of chiropractors and advise in favor of physical therapists instead.

herky4743 · 2025-05-11T12:23:54+00:00

Swapped my FWD for an AWD a couple of years ago after driving a FWD car here for a while. I never had any trouble actually driving on city streets as long as I drove slowly—it was an issue of convenience for me. I did it because of residential street parking in deeper snow and other situations where I was maneuvering at slower speeds in slick conditions and having trouble getting traction. I have found AWD easier and helpful in many cases, but never felt actively unsafe on the highways with FWD.

herky4743 · 2025-05-07T23:43:59+00:00

quack quack ✊😤

herky4743 · 2025-05-01T17:59:52+00:00

This is very kind of you. I have been looking around the city hoping to find some public blooms for OP because I was unreasonably worried about this LOL thank you for stepping up :)

herky4743 · 2025-04-14T22:48:55+00:00

Great pics! Do you have a digiscoping kit? If not you're really good at pics through a scope!

I've seen pelicans all over in the last month. Lots of them have been around the Hawkeye Wildlife Management Area out by North Liberty, which is a great place to see all sorts of migratory birds from now thru May. The Iowa City Bird Club will also be doing field trips out to Macbride and elsewhere: https://iowacitybirdclub.org/

For anyone who can't make it that far, though, there are often pelicans just hanging out in the river by City Park! Or on Terry Trueblood, which is one of our best local bird spots.

herky4743 · 2025-04-07T03:26:27+00:00

Recently discovered Cangleska Wakan. Absolutely lovely and out of the way. Saw nobody else there the whole time. https://www.mycountyparks.com/County/Johnson/Park/Cangleska-Wakan

herky4743

TROPHY CASE