Feeding the Kenue Park trumpeter swans
Check out the trumpeter swans on the wetland year-round with our live web camera. Click here.
You can also find more videos on our Videos page or watch what Teddy the turtle eats here.
Egret, crane or heron? How to tell which bird you have seen
Two big white birds — rehabilitated trumpeter swans — live on the Kenue Park wetland, but last week we also spotted three more white birds. Egrets? Cranes? Herons? We were trying to figure out what they were but we couldn’t see their necks, because it was breezy and they had their heads hunkered down. However, Read More »
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Four types of wetlands
Bog, marsh, swamp, fen. Often these words are used interchangeably, but in reality, each is its own type of wetland, which is a word used to refer to water-saturated landscapes. (Watch: What is a wetland?) A marsh is a wetland that is continually full of water. If you have been to the Florida Everglades, then Read More »
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Trumpeter swans were once gone from Iowa
Trumpeter swans are a majestic sight. Their graceful long necks. Their brilliant white feathers. Their long, slender wings that help them hover above the earth. As strong as they may look, being the largest waterfowl native to North America, they are not invincible. In fact, they were once extirpated — extinct in a local region Read More »
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Watch the Okoboji Osprey lifespan
From migrating north to reproduction and caring for chicks to migration south, the osprey lifespan is fascinating! Don’t forget to download the Okoboji Osprey Activity Book complete with word search, dot-to-dot and Migration Mad Libs. Click here to access the free activity book.
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4 ways to tell apart swans and snow geese
It’s a big, white bird paddling on that body of water. But what exactly is it? Most likely, it’s a trumpeter swan if you’re in Iowa. The trumpeter swans is native to the state and is the biggest waterfowl native to the U.S., its wingspan reaching up to 8 feet — that’s taller than Yao Read More »
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Swans standing like flamingoes
I turned on the live web camera at the nature center last week and zoomed in on the two rehabilitated trumpeter swans on the wetland. The weather was warm, and it appeared the waterfowl were having a ball in the springtime temperatures. They dipped their necks down into the water and then bent them back Read More »
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