A Surprising Encounter with Birds of Prey in Cedar Rapids: The Wild Side of Iowa’s Raptors (Gallery)

If you've ever taken a picture, you know it was once a process. The days of film cameras are over, except for the few weirdos who still keep one in the second drawer of the dresser in their spare bedroom and sometimes use it. But who could that be?

The Birds of Prey Are Plentiful in Cedar Rapids

When I returned to Cedar Rapids, I was given great recommendations for places to take good pictures, and I've run into birds of prey at many of them. I know I'm not the only one taking pictures.

Every time there is a new iPhone or Android smartphone, they tout the camera.  How great is it that you have that right at your fingertips?

No matter what camera you have, capturing a picture that makes you smile or feel good is great.

Why Are Birds of Prey in Iowa Unruly?

As someone who routinely tries to capture pictures of wildlife, birds of prey are a fantastic subject... if they cooperate. Many times, they do not, but every once in a while, the planets align. So far, Iowa has given me mixed results.

On this particular trip to Wanatee Park in Cedar Rapids, I was using a camouflage you may have heard of—it's called a Subaru. I emerged from my camo fortress, allowed this bird of prey to see me, and captured this amazing photo.

Trust me, it's not just birds of prey that react this way when they see this face. It's quite startling—scary, even!

After deciding I was not a threat, it went back to preening itself. By this time, I had been there for well over an hour. I had several hundred shots, just waiting for it to fly away so I could get that in-flight shot—hopefully.

It readied itself for flight—or so I thought. It was actually just taking a bathroom break. Shockingly, after reviewing my previous photos from years past, I have way more pictures of birds of prey relieving themselves than in-flight.

They look like they're about to take off, but don't. How do I know? Maybe that's a coffee table book idea.  I'll call it, "How Did I Know They Were About to Do That?" What if it sparked a musical?  One can only hope.

So, right after I took this picture, I heard a little chirp and turned to take this one:

As soon as I turned and took the photo, I could hear the limbs creaking and the sound of the bird of prey taking off. The way it flew made the shot not worth taking.

After clicking through all the pictures from this day, I found a few that I thought would give you a good look at a raptor in the great state of Iowa, plus some other random birds.  The raptor was big. Much bigger than the photos show.