On Monday September 1, 2014 we traveled to Northern Iowa to visit Union Slough National Wildlife Refuge. The day started out a bit on the gloomy side, but before long the sun broke through and it turned into a fairly decent day despite the windy conditions. I'd wanted to visit Union Slough National Wildlife Refuge for a long time. So long in fact that I could not even remember why I wanted to visit there. It took us a long time to visit because they are only open to the public for such a short time. There are no trails available to walk on so we walked along the auto tour road.

While spending the day there some of the birds we enjoyed seeing include Double Crested Cormorants, Great Blue Herons, Trumpeter Swans, American White Pelicans, Mourning Doves, European Starlings, Great Egret, Song Sparrows, Tree Swallows, Pied-billed Grebes, Mallards, Turkey Vultures, a female Common Yellowthroat, Northern Shoveler, Canadian Geese, Goldfinch, Wood Ducks, Northern Harrier, and Blue-winged Teals.

Some of the flowers we were able to identify include Oxeye Sunflower, Bull Thistle, Goldenrod, Swamp Smartweed,  and Woodland Lillies.

We spotted a crawfish crawling along the auto route. At first glance I thought it was a tiny crab, but once I jumped out of the vehicle and got a good look at it I realized it was a good sized crawfish. I never expected to see one out of the water. We also saw a Leopard Frog, American Toad, and a Tiger Salamander.

Some of the insects we were able to see include Yellow and Purple Geometer Moth, Eastern Tailed-Blue (male), GoldenRod Soldier Beetle, White-faced Meadowhawk, Common Eastern BumbleBee, Banded-winged Meadowhawk, Northern Bluet Damselfly, Silvery Checkerspot, American Lady, and Common Green Bottle Fly.

At one point we got to watch a couple of Double Crested Cormorants fight over a fish. It was pretty comical. We also saw a Pied-billed Grebe tackle a snack of crayfish. A pretty big meal for a pretty small bird. It was an epic battle, but the Pied-billed Grebe eventually won out.

It turned out to be another fun trip and I'm glad I finally got to visit this small refuge.

'Til next time.

Karla and Aaron