Brett Reece

A person doesn’t need to travel far into the Iowa countryside to know there are a lot of cottontail rabbits out there, which is good news for rabbit hunters.

“Cottontail populations on average are 50 percent higher than we’ve seen over the last 10 years,” said Todd Bogenschutz, upland wildlife biologist with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources. “Our cottontail populations remain strong statewide with the highest densities in southeast Iowa.”

Iowa’s cottontail rabbit population estimate is part of the August roadside survey that will be available online in early September at HYPERLINK ““http://www.iowadnr.gov/pheasantsurvey”>www.iowadnr.gov/pheasantsurvey“ “http://www.iowadnr.gov/pheasantsurvey”>www.iowadnr.gov/pheasantsurvey.

Iowa’s squirrel population generally follows the acorn production and 2014 was a pretty good year for bur oak and red oak acorn production, meaning 2015 should be a pretty good year for squirrel numbers.

Rabbit and squirrel hunting was once an important part of our heritage but hunter interest has shifted to other species, primarily deer. Rabbits and squirrels are definitely an underutilized resource. It is a rare sight now-a-day to come across a rabbit or squirrel hunter.

Rabbit and squirrel hunting is an inexpensive way to introduce novices to hunting with little competition and is a great way for experienced hunters to get their equipment out from storage and sharpen their outdoor skills before pheasant and deer seasons begin.

Rabbit season is Sept. 5-Feb. 28, 2016, with a daily bag limit of 10 rabbits and a possession limit of 20. Shooting hours are sunrise to sunset.

Squirrel season is Sept. 5-Jan. 31, 2016, with a daily bag limit of six squirrels and a possession limit of 12. There is no restriction on shooting hours.

There are two small changes for the 2015-16 waterfowl seasons. The bag limit for canvasback was increased from 1 to 2. A change for the goose season defines “dark geese” as Canada geese, white-fronted geese and brant, which will have an aggregate bag limit of 5; of which no more than 2 can be Canada geese from September 26 to October 31 and no more than 3 from November 1 through the end of the season. During the Special September Canada goose season in the Des Moines, Cedar Rapids/Iowa City and Cedar Falls/Waterloo zones, the daily bag limit is 5 Canada geese. The possession limit on waterfowl is three times the daily bait limit, with the exception of light geese for which there is no possession limit.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will use a new process and schedule for setting annual migratory game bird hunting seasons for the 2016-17 hunting season. Proposed hunting season frameworks will be developed in the fall of the prior year.

The 2015 Iowa Migratory Game Bird Hunting Regulation booklet is now available on-line at HYPERLINK ““http://www.iowadnr.gov”>www.iowadnr.gov“ “http://www.iowadnr.gov”>www.iowadnr.gov. A hard-copy of this booklet should be available by mid-September and available at most license vendors.

The Amateur Astronomers of Central Iowa invite the public for a telescopic view of the night sky at 8pm, Friday, September 11, at the observatory located at Green Castle Recreation Area south of Ferguson in Marshall County. The topic will be on eclipses. At the same location on October 16, at 7pm, the organization will meet to discuss fall constellations. These events are weather dependent. For further information regarding these events or this organization call Jim Bonser at 641-751-8744 or visit their website at HYPERLINK ““http://www.amateurastronomersofcentraliowa.org”>www.amateurastronomersofcentraliowa.org“ www.amateurastronomersofcentraliowa.org.