DUBUQUE AUDUBON

Welcome!

Anyone interested in birdwatching, nature, or the quality of the environment is welcome to become a member of the Dubuque Audubon Society.

Our tri-state region is a great place for birds, and one of the great things about birds is that you can enjoy them at all levels of involvement.  You may be surprised how many different species we have in the area at different times of year and how quickly you can begin to identify many of them once you start looking.  (Binoculars help!)  Any time of year is a great time to be a birder, and we hope you’ll join us!

Our Mission

The mission of the Dubuque Audubon Society is to provide educational opportunities to the people of the tri-state area and to preserve the natural habitat of birds and other wildlife.

Dubuque Audubon November Program

Mississippi River Fish, Turtles, & More!

Thursday, 11/14/24
6:45 PM Social/Sharing Time
7 – 8 PM Program

EB Lyons Interpretive Center
8991 Bellevue Heights Road
Dubuque, IA 52003
View Map

Denny Weiss  worked 35 years for the Iowa DNR in fisheries research on the Mississippi River at the Fairport and Bellevue fisheries stations.  Denny will share his knowledge and hands-on experience about the unique and interesting fish, turtles, and animals that call the Mississippi River their home.

Denny Weiss grew up in Burlington, Iowa, spending a great deal of his time on the Mississippi River.  He graduated from Iowa State University with a B.S. degree in Fisheries and Wildlife Biology in 1978.  He worked 35 years for the Iowa DNR in fisheries research on the Mississippi River at the Fairport and Bellevue fisheries stations.  While employed with the DNR, Denny would often present 80-100 talks about fish, turtles, furbearers, and other topics to a wide range of audiences each year.  He would volunteer to give presentations both weekends in the DNR building at the Iowa State Fair every year.

Now that Denny has retired, he has more time for his favorite hobbies in life: hunting, fishing, commercial fishing, and fur trapping.  Retirement has allowed him to spend more time with his wife, daughters, and four granddaughters.  Denny loves to be called a “Mississippi River Rat” because the river has always been in his blood.  Denny is usually on the river 2-3 days/week in the spring, summer, and fall months, catching catfish in the hoop nets that he makes himself, and he sells his fish.  From November through February, Denny is fur trapping almost every day for all of the various furbearing species that live in Iowa.  Denny and his wife (Theresa) have also enjoyed traveling to many places for the big game hunting that Denny enjoys.  Denny’s hunts have taken them to some neat places in British Columbia, Kodiak Island, Alaska, Utah, Wyoming, Colorado, Ontario, New Zealand, and Australia.  For the past 10 years since his retirement, Denny normally does 20 or more presentations each year to a wide range of audiences to share his knowledge and hands-on experience about the unique and interesting fish, turtles, and animals that call the Mississippi River their home.

Calendar of Events

We hold monthly meetings from September through May, with programs on a variety of topics related to nature and the environment.

We also hold an annual Christmas bird count, an annual Duck Waddle trip to Green Island (traditionally the 2nd Saturday in March), and an annual spring species count (traditionally the Saturday before Mother’s Day), and we offer additional field trips throughout the year.  

You can tailor your birding to your interest and activity level, and all levels of experience are welcome.

Latest Newsletter

Fall 2024

Recent Posts

Event

Thanks to everyone who came out to the raptor watch at the Mines of Spain! We counted 53 Broad-winged Hawks. When they seemed to drop down on us from above, we speculated that there may have been many more that we couldn't see due to the cloud coverage.

Event

We had a nice-sized group for our pop-up field trip yesterday at the Whitewater Canyon Wildlife Management Area. The warblers did not cooperate by showing up at the overlook, but we had an enjoyable morning!
Henslow's Sparrow

Project

Dubuque Audubon's 3-year survey of grassland birds at Whitewater Canyon Wildlife Management Area is complete!
Eastern Bluebird

Project

Our volunteers monitoring bird houses at Mines of Spain counted 99 Eastern Bluebird eggs, 72 nestlings, and 52 fledglings this year!
Dubuque Audubon Society Favicon

eBird isn’t just a way for you to keep track of the birds you see; it’s a great resource for finding birds you’ve never seen.

Try out the links below to explore Dubuque County in eBird.

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