60th Anniversary Weekend Events

October 24th, Saturday - 6:30 p.m.

Saturday Evening - October 24th

Sunday - October 25^th

October 24th, Saturday - 6:30 p.m.

Moonlight Hike Along the Yellow River Boardwalk

featuring an encounter with legendary 19th century effigy mound surveyor Increase Lapham, rediscovering and surveying a “lost” mound near the visitor center.

Call for reservations beginning Monday, October 19^th

October 25th, “Sunday in the Park”

Special U.S. Postal Service 60th Anniversary Pictorial Postmark

Cancellation Station inside the Visitor Center – Noon to 4:00 p.m.

Hike to Fire Point, 9:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.

featuring expert park ranger / archeologist staff

Ranger Talk on Establishing Effigy Mounds, 1:00 - 2:30 p.m.

Ellison Orr, Effigy Mounds and the National Park Idea in Iowa and the United States

featuring the rediscovery and surveying of a “lost” mound near the visitor center.

Sny Magill Effigy Mound Group Hike, 3:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.

featuring expert park ranger / archeologist staff

Special Museum Exhibits, 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.

On the History of the Upper Mississippi River Valley, the National Park Movement in

Iowa and Special Items from the Monument’s Ellison Orr Collection

Special Public Events and Programs

Join us throughout the year during our large scale public educational events or special topic ranger-led programs. Bird walks, living history "Moonlight Hikes", Winter Film Festival,  evening illustrated (slide) talks, American Indian cultural and archeology demonstrations are presented annually along with our largest attended event - "HawkWatch Weekend".


- 2009 Calendar of Events pdf
Effigy Mounds 60th Anniversary Year

- Annual HawkWatch Weekend

HawkWatch is a volunteer sponsored event. The program listed below this picture is the general listing for OCTOBER 2009.

HawkWatch will return next year, October 2nd & 3rd, 2010. The events from 2009 are left posted below as an example of our annual activities at HawkWatch!

HawkWatch at


Effigy Mounds


Schedule for 2009

 

Throughout The Day

 

 

Binoculars and spotting scopes are provided to assist raptor enthusiasts in identifying as many as eleven raptor species including Broadwings, Redtails, Swainsons, Sharp-shinned, and Coopers Hawks. Northern Harriers, Ospreys, and eagles can be included with all three falcons: kestrels, merlins and peregrines. A raptor banding station is staffed where migrating raptors are lured, banded, and released. The releases occur at the Effigy Mounds Visitor Center, so event participants can appreciate sharing the same air space with migrating birds.

 

Kid’s Activities

 

A variety of FREE “hands on” activities, such as drawing hawk silhouettes, falconry knot bracelets and making owl masks will run from 10:00am — 12:00pm and 1:30pm — 3:30pm each day. So enjoy yourself & go WILD!!!

 

Formal Program Presentations

Saturday, October 3^rd       

8:00 • Bird Hike with Dennis Carter. • Join Upper Iowa Audubon’s birding expert Dennis Carter for an early morning hike to find different species of songbirds, ducks, raptors and others. This hike is a great warm up for HawkWatch!

 

9:00  •  Video  “American Eagle” • This hour long video contains photography of three-time Emmy-winning wildlife cinematographer, Neil Rettig. This intimate portrait of North America’s most recognizable aerial predator features nesting, feeding, and everyday struggles of the Bald Eagle.   

 

10:00 • Begin HawkWatch presentations, kids activities and live bird programs!

 

10:00 •  Hawk ID for Beginners’ • Mike Havlik. This program will give you the basics on identifying different hawks in flight. Take this opportunity to learn some key field marks in a fun atmosphere, and create your own i.d. guide.

 

11:30 • Kay Neumann of S.O.A.R. will present Lead Poisoning in Iowa Wintering Bald Eagles. With up to one-fifth of the lower 48 states' entire eagle population wintering in Iowa during the hunting seasons, lead poisoning has become an alarming problem. Eagles admitted to Iowa wildlife rehabilitators over the last several years have had over 50% abnormal lead levels. Getting the lead out of our recreational activities is the healthiest thing to do for our kids and our eagles!

1:00  • Return of the Peregrine Falcon  • Bob Anderson, Director of the Raptor Resource Project, and special guest speaker at HawkWatch. Bob’s presentation will focus on Returning the "Falcon of the Rock" to the Mississippi River Cliffs: a Ten Year Review. Bob will speak about the efforts it took to return the peregrine falcon to its historic haunts on the Mississippi River cliffs. 

2:30 •  What do the birds have to teach us?  •  Naturalist and educator Mike Havlik will explore what birds can teach us about living in the modern world. 

 

Sunday, October 4^th

 

 

10:00  • Osprey Reintroduction • Pat Schlarbaum. This presentation will cover recent activity in the state of Iowa to bring back the Osprey. 

 

11:30 • Hunters of the Sky • Kay Neumann of SOAR (Save Our Avian Resources). Kay will talk about birds of prey basics. Keen eyesight, a specially equipped beak, and strong talons set raptors apart as hunters. Join Kay with live birds of prey for a closer look at what makes raptors unique and essential links in the natural food chain.

 

1:00 •  Big Owls Hoot, Little Owls Toot • Mike Havlik. This program will feature legendary presenter Mike Havlik for a fun and factual look at owls! Owls hold a special place in our lives, dating back to Greek mythology. Get to know some of these nocturnal predators, their incredible adaptations to night hunting, and find out why they have such a strong presence in our myths and legends.  

2:30 •  Bird Monitoring and Raptor Migration along the Mississippi River   • Jon Stravers.