By Steve Weisman
Every spring since I moved to northwest Iowa in 1978, I’ve looked forward to fishing for bluegills and crappies at the Triboji boat ramp and Turtle Lake (east of Crescent Beach) on West Okoboji. The fish come into the shallows, and it’s cool to be able to fish from shore.
While I fish, I watch the antics of multiple pairs of Canada geese. Each spring it is the same. The mating pairs battle for their nesting rights. There is a constant battle…one pair will be swimming together in the water, when suddenly here comes a pair from above. The noise is incessant, both pairs of geese honking nonstop. Then to compound the situation another pair will enter the fray! One or more of the pairs will be chased off. The remaining pair will take over the area…until the scene happens again, and the Canada duel begins all over.
It will be that way until everything finally gets sorted out. Later in May the pairs have hatched their brood, and the battles will be pretty much over.
She’s back
A year ago, I shared the story of the hen mallard that hatched a brood of ducklings right in the middle of our raised rock garden. I have no idea why a hen mallard would ever pick this spot nearly 200 yards away from the lake. The only thing it has going for it that it is isolated in the middle of a large yard with multiple clumps of prairie grass for cover.
It was cool watching it happen and then getting the chance to help herd the hen and her 12 ducklings to the safety of the waters of East Okoboji.
So, I watched this spring to see if she would come back to nest. However, until late April I saw nothing. So, I decided to use my blower and clear the old oak leaves out of the bed. Right at the end I saw it. There was the mallard nest with 12 eggs. I never saw the hen mallard through all of this, so maybe she was gone for a little bit when I intruded in her nesting space.
Once I saw the eggs, I shut down the blower. However, I had dislodged two of the eggs from the nest. They weren’t cracked or broken so I placed them back in the nest. From what I have researched, human scent will not scare the hen away.
So, as quickly as I could, I left the area. Within five minutes, she was back. I watched as she waddled up the rocks, looked around at her nest and then covered them with her body.
My wife and I check on her later that afternoon, and there she sat. Both years I have gotten fairly close with my mower, and she just sits perfectly still, blending into the clumps of grass.
She’s definitely a dedicated mother as she sat perfectly still on her nest during the snowfall on Sunday morning (April 25).
My hope is that later I will be able to say that another brood will have hatched and made their way safely to the lake. Hoping and praying that predators don’t happen to catch her scent or stumble on her nest!
One old muskie
During this spring’s gill netting at the Iowa Great Lakes, one of the crews captured the oldest recorded female muskie in Iowa! Originally netted and fitted with a PIT tag on April 24, 2001, this fish, which had been freeze branded to identify her as part of the 1996 year class, was recaptured (and again released) this spring. Ready for this? It also means she avoided 1,996 net sets since 2001! Happy 25th!
