American Coot
American Crow
American Flamingo*
American Goldfinch
American Kestrel
American Robin
American Tree Sparrow
American White Pelican
Bald Eagle
Baltimore Oriole
Barn Swallow
Barnacle Goose*
Belted Kingfisher
Black-and-White Warbler
Black-Capped Chickadee
Black-Headed Gull*
Black Vulture*
Blue Jay
Blue Tit*
Blue-Winged Teal
Bobwhite
Broad-Winged Hawk
Brown Creeper
Brown-Headed Cowbird
Brown Thrasher
Bufflehead
Canada Goose
Canvasback
Cape May Warbler*
Carolina Chickadee*
Carolina Wren
Cedar Waxwing
Chipping Sparrow
Common Gallinule
Common Goldeneye
Common Grackle
Common Gull*
Common Moorhen*
Common Pochard*
Common Redpoll
Cooper's Hawk
Dark-Eyed Junco
Dicksissel
Double-Crested Cormorant
Downy Woodpecker
Eastern Bluebird
Eastern Goldfinch - See American Goldfinch
Eastern Kingbird
Eastern Meadowlark
Eastern Phoebe
Eastern Towhee
Eastern Wood Pewee
Eurasian Blackbird*
Eurasian Collared Dove
Eurasian Coot*
Eurasian Jackdaw*
Eurasian Magpie*
European Serin*
European Starling
Fox Sparrow
Golden-Crowned Kinglet
Gray Catbird
Graylag Goose
Great Black-backed Gull*
Great Blue Heron
Great Egret
Great Spotted Woodpecker*
Greater Flamingo*
Greater White-Fronted Goose*
Hairy Woodpecker
Harlequin Duck
Hermit Thrush
Herring Gull
Hooded Crow*
Horned Lark
House Finch
House Sparrow
House Wren
Indigo Bunting
Killdeer
Laughing Gull*
Lesser Black-backed Gull*
Lesser Scaup
Lincoln's Sparrow
Magnolia Warbler
Mallard (Domestic)
Mallard (Wild)
Mourning Dove
Mute Swan*
Neotropic Cormorant*
Northern Cardinal
Northern Flicker
Northern Rough-Winged Swallow
Northern Shoveler
Orange-Crowned Warbler
Palm Warbler
Red-Bellied Woodpecker
Red-Breasted Nuthatch
Red-Headed Woodpecker
Red-Legged Thrush*
Red-Tailed Hawk
Red-Winged Blackbird
Ring-Billed Gull
Ring-Necked Duck
Rock Pigeon
Rook*
Ross's Goose*
Ruby-Crowned Kinglet
Ruddy Turnstone*
Scarlet Tanager
Smooth-Billed Ani*
Solitary Sandpiper
Song Sparrow
Spotted Sandpiper
Swamp Sparrow
Tricolored Heron*
Tufted Duck*
Tufted Titmouse
Tundra Swan*
Turkey Vulture
White-Breasted Nuthatch
White-Cheeked Pintail*
White-Crowned Pigeon*
White-Crowned Sparrow
White-Eyed Vireo
White-Throated Sparrow
White-Winged Dove
Wild Turkey
Wilson's Warbler
Yellow-Bellied Sapsucker
Yellow-Rumped Warbler
Ants (Formicidae)
Bee Flies (Bombyliidae)
Blow Flies (Calliphoridae)
Brown Lacewings (Hemerobiidae)
Bumble Bees, etc. (Apidae)
Carrion Beetles (Silphidae)
Cellar Spiders (Pholcidae)
Centipedes, House (Scutigeridae)
Cicadas (Cicadidae)
Common Sawflies (Tenthredinidae)
Crane Flies (Tipulidae)
Emeralds (Corduliidae)
Fireflies (Lampyridae)
Flower Flies - See Syrphid Flies
Funnel-Web Spiders (Agelenidae)
Honey Bees - See Bumble Bees, etc.
Hornets - See Yellowjackets, etc.
Hover Flies - See Syrphid Flies
Ichneumon Wasps (Ichneumonidae)
Jumping Spiders (Salticidae)
Katydids (Tettigoniidae)
Ladybird Beetles (Coccinellidae)
Leaf Beetles (Chrysomelidae)
Leaffooted Bugs (Coreidae)
Leafhoppers (Cicadellidae)
Lightning Bugs - See Fireflies
Longhorned Beetles (Cerambycidae)
Mantid Flies (Mantispidae)
Mantids (Mantidae)
Minettia Flies (Minettia)
Narrow-Winged Damselflies (Coenagrionidae)
New York Weevils (Ithyceridae)
Orb-Weavers (Araneidae)
Paper Wasps - See Yellowjackets, etc.
Picture-Winged Flies (Ulidiidae)
Plant Bugs (Miridae)
Robber Flies (Asilidae)
Scarab Beetles (Scarabaeidae)
Scentless Plant Bugs (Rhopalidae)
Short-horned Grasshoppers (Acrididae)
Signal Flies (Platystomatidae)
Soldier Beetles (Cantharidae)
Soldier Flies (Stratiomyidae)
Spittlebugs (Cercopidae)
Stink Bugs (Pentatomidae)
Swallowtails (Papilionidae)
Sweat Bees (Halictidae)
Syrphid Flies (Syrphidae)
Tiger Moths (Arctiidae)
Tiphiid Wasps (Tiphiidae)
Yellowjackets, etc. (Vespidae)
hello Moe,
Very nice website! Nice photos.
I have just moved to Bettendorf from Europe and am a keen birdwatcher. Today I was in Burlington, IA at Starr’s Caves and saw a small warbler with an orange throat and black cap. The only thing I can identify from my field guide is a Blackburnian Warbler. Is this possible?
Stephen Leese
April 27th, 2008 at 8:20 pmWow!! It definitely could be a blackburnian warbler this time of year, as they come through here during migration. That would be a great find!
April 29th, 2008 at 7:00 pmFor several hours above our pasture (north of Dixon Iowa) we spotted a huge flock of at least 30 birds….they appeared to be vultures. (dark, very broad wings…couldn’t see their heads much during flight) It was a freakish sight, for sure. They circled slowly in huge groups, and stayed in the area all afternoon. In fact, I’ve seen one again this morning. At one point, they all flew and perched on a cell phone tower. Is this common behavior to be in such a large flock? Otherwise, what could they have been.
July 3rd, 2008 at 10:00 amCindy – Turkey Vultures definitely do hang out in groups. This time of year they can often be seen in a large group sitting in a tree or other object getting sun and stretching their wings.
The best way to tell if they are turkey vultures when they are soaring is to look at the coloring under their wings (like the 3rd picture, above). The dark body with dark parts at the top of the wing, with all white lower wing parts often gives them away.
July 3rd, 2008 at 10:51 am[...] it’s important to note that Turkey Vultures, in particular, were well-loved by, and even inspirational to, the people that lived here before [...]
May 9th, 2013 at 1:44 pm