Friday, August 23, 2013

Midwest Nature Quote of the Week

Champions of grass-roots biodiversity must face the realization that in much of the United States, local plants and animals do not stir deep emotions; paddlefish, while having a certain appeal all their own, are not pandas. Nevertheless, I suggest that if you can care about pandas, you can care about paddlefish or amphibians or dragonflies or even clams.



Wednesday, August 21, 2013

Biographical Dictionary of Iowa: Charles Reuben Keyes

Charles Reuben Keyes
(May 5, 1871-July 23, 1951)
--educator, archaeologist, ornithologist, professor of German language and literature at Cornell College (1903-1941), and director of the Iowa Archaeological Survey (1922-1951)--has been called the founding father of Iowa archaeology. His personal surveys and work for the State Historical Society of Iowa resulted in the accumulation of more than 108,000 artifacts and a correspondingly large set of notes, photographs, maps, correspondence, manuscripts, and memorabilia now known as the Keyes Archaeological Collection. Shortly after Keyes's death, Smithsonian Institution archaeologist Waldo R. Wedel described the Keyes Collection as "the largest and most comprehensive extant assemblage of Iowa archaeological materials." Former State Archaeologist Marshall McKusick observed that the collection "contains numerous outstanding specimens of aesthetic and interpretive importance."


The Biographical Dictionary of Iowa, edited by David Hudson, Marvin Bergman, and Loren Horton



Check out this review of THE RAPTORS OF IOWA

http://www.startribune.com/lifestyle/homegarden/blogs/218518401.html

Monday, August 19, 2013

Raptor of the Week: Burrowing Owl

Burrowing Owl
Athene cunicularia

The burrowing owl is a Great Plains species that rarely nests in Iowa, and these nests, as expected, are mostly in the western half of the state. It is our only owl that nests underground. In its principal range, it uses prairie dog burrows for its nest; in Iowa, it probably uses badger dens.


The Raptors of Iowa, paintings by James F. Landenberger