2021 Hindsight

Welcome to the online version of the Loess Hills Audubon Society’s 2021 Holiday celebration! Here are highlights of the year from our chapter’s photographers and videographers. Each contributor has their own section. Contributors are organized alphabetically by their last name. Please explore and enjoy!

Bill Huser

Above image copyright 2021 by William F. Huser, used with permission.

Marla Kerr

All above images copyright 2021 by Marla Kerr, used with permission.

  1. Bee on thistle

  2. Blue Jay eating a peanut

  3. Cold bird

  4. Flower at the Phoenix Botanical Garden, 2016

  5. Goldfinch

  6. Harris’s Sparrow

  7. Harris’s Sparrow bathing

  8. Hungry baby sparrows

  9. Sedge Wren at Luton Wildlife Management Area, Building Better Birders program

  10. Nuthatch

Jan Null

All above images copyright 2021 by Jan Null, used with permission.

Slide Show Key:

  1. Snow Geese near Blue Lake - 3/2/21

  2. Loggerhead Shrike, Birch AV - 6/14/21

  3. Indigo Bunting, Owego Wetlands Complex - 7/22/21

  4. Common Gallinule, “The Square” - 6/14/21

  5. Cinnamon Teal (front) and Blue-winged Teal (back), DeSoto National Wildlife Refuge - 5/2/21

  6. Black Swallowtail on Blazing Star, Owego Wetlands Complex - 8/4/21

  7. Upland Sandpiper near O’Brien Prairie - 7/6/21

  8. Wood Ducks, DeSoto National Wildlife Refuge - 5/7/21

  9. Hooded Mergansers, DeSoto National Wildlife Refuge - 5/13/21

  10. Great Horned Owl, Owego Wetlands Complex - 3/6/21

  11. Willow Flycatcher, Owego Wetlands Complex - 6/14/21

  12. Guest of Honor in Terril, IA - 8/1/21

All above videos copyright 2021 by Jan Null, used with permission.

John and Sharon Polifka

All above images copyright 2021, John and Sharon Polifka, used with permission.

We took a road trip today (Black Friday) south of Mapleton and passed through Audubon, Iowa. Audubon is a small town (population approximately 6,000) in southwest Iowa. The town of Audubon was named for John James Audubon. The library has murals, Audubon prints and books, and a mobile consisting of 1,200 paper cranes.

  1. On the corner of a Victorian building in the town center is a 21 foot stained glass clock of Audubon. It’s lighted at night and actually works.

  2. Audubon plaza (park) is in the center of town. In the plaza, there is a life-sized statue of Audubon.

  3. Also in the plaza are a number of 2’ by 2’ ceramic tile mosaics showcasing replicas of Audubon’s prints from “Birds of America. The clock, statue, tiles were done by Audubon natives.

Maria Rundquist

All above images copyright 2021 by Maria Rundquist, used with permission.

  1. Male White-winged Crossbill at the Rundquist home

  2. Female White-winged Crossbill at the Rundquist home

  3. Ovenbird, Preparation Canyon State Park, Morehead, Iowa

  4. Horned Lark, Pawnee National Grasslands, Colorado

  5. Lark Buntings, Pawnee National Grasslands, Colorado

  6. Sandhill Cranes, Carlos Avery State Wildlife Area, Minneapolis

  7. Upland Sandpiper, Wood Lake Road, Nebraska

  8. Yellow-crowned Night Heron, Maskunky Marsh, Ottumwa, Iowa

  9. Ruby-throated Hummingbird at the Rundquist home

  10. Snow Buntings, Kramper Lake, Hubbard, Nebraska

Rex Rundquist

All above images copyright 2021 by Rex Rundquist, used with permission.

  1. Female Blue-winged (back), Hudsonian Godwit (middle), and Pectoral Sandpiper (front), Snyder Bend

  2. Hudsonian Godwit (left) and American Avocet (right), Snyder Bend

  3. White-throated Sparrow, white-striped morph., Bacon Creek

  4. Eastern Bluebird, Stone State Park

  5. Male Blackpoll Warbler, Bacon Creek

  6. Marsh Wren, Bacon Creek

  7. Female Blackpoll Warbler, Bacon Creek

  8. Eastern Kingbird, Bacon Creek

  9. Clark’s Nutcracker, Chalk Creek, Mt. Princeton, Colorado

  10. Pygmy Nuthatch, Chalk Creek, Mt. Princeton, Colorado

Ed Sibley

All above images copyright 2021 by Ed Sibley, used with permission.

  1. Mandarin Duck

  2. Wood Duck (left) and Mandarin Duck

  3. American Bittern

  4. Avocets in flight

  5. Bald Eagle

  6. Barred Owl

  7. Lesser Yellowlegs

  8. Red-breasted Nuthatch

  9. Red-tailed Hawk

Rob Towler

All above images copyright 2021 by Rob Towler, used with permission.

  1. Wilson’s Snipe, Sandhill Lake – 3/7

  2. Cattle Egret, LHAS Outing to Snyder’s Bend – 4/10

  3. American Avocet, Snyder’s Bend – 4/7

  4. American Avocet, Snyder’s Bend – 4/7

  5. Semipalmated Plover, Snyder’s Bend – 4/25

  6. Raccoon, South Ravine Park – 5/2

  7. Yellow-crowned Night-heron, Bacon Creek – 5/3

  8. Clay-colored Sparrow, Brower Lake – 5/8

  9. Grasshopper Sparrow, Brower Lake – 5/13

Jerry Von Ehwegen

All above images copyright 2021 by Jerry Von Ehwegen, used with permission.

  1. LHAS Outing 6/5/2021 Oak Grove State Park

  2.  LHAS Outing 7/10/2021 O’Brien Prairie and Broken Kettle Grasslands

  3.  LHAS Outing 8/21/2021 Blue Earth Mounds and Touch the Sky Prairie

  4.  LHAS Outing 9/25/2021 Union Grove State Park

  5.  LHAS Outing 10/16/2021 Little Sioux Park

  6.  2008 Powder Creek

  7.  2009 Owego

  8.  2014 Broken Kettle

  9.  2015 Loess Hills State Forest

  10.  2020 Bob’s Birthday-02 12/2/2020

  11.  Bob’s Birthday-01 12/2/2021

Randy Williams

All above images copyright 2021 by Randall D. Williams, used with permission.

  1. Sunrise at Adams Homestead, 3/19/21

  2. Sunrise at Bacon Creek, 6/16/21

  3. Green Heron at Bacon Creek, 6/21/21

  4. Sunrise at Kramper Lake, 5/2/21

  5. Building Better Birders workshop, Dorothy Pecaut Nature Center, 3/20/21

  6. Union Bridge Trail, Little Sioux Park, near Correctionville, Woodbury County, Iowa, 6/23/21

  7. Upper Geyser Basin Trail, Yellowstone National Park, 9/11/21

  8. Grand Prismatic Overlook, Yellowstone National Park, 9/10/21

  9. Possession, grizzly bear on elk kill, Yellowstone National Park, 9/10/21

  10. Harlequin Ducks, Yellowstone National Park, 9/10/21