Traveling Through Iowa

I wasn't expecting to look for birds during my trip to Iowa this last week. I was flying in on Tuesday, making a presentation Wednesday morning, and flying out early that afternoon - total time portal to portal; 5:30 AM, Tuesday to 11:00 PM, Wednesday. On the ride from the Des Moines airport to the hotel in West Des Moines, I was able to watch the scenery go by, not a care in the world - other than having to finish my presentation by 6:30 the next morning. The hotel driver mentioned this week was beautiful compared to the last. Iowa had received a lot of rain, and the river was believed to be cresting in the next day or two because of all of the runoff. Everything was lush green, and the air temperature perfect.

Right after getting on the freeway bypass, I began noticing Red Wing Blackbirds (a) fly across fields with regularity- one after another - the red patch on their wings easily visible. I have only seen one while driving in a wooded area north of Annapolis since being here.  Also

darting everywhere were Tree Swallows (b) - the light colored feathers on the side of their bodies showing as they turned away. I soon arrived at the hotel, and didn't think much more about birds - I had to finish preparing my presentation.

After the workshop the next day, some colleagues drove me to the airport - we talked the whole way, so I wasn't looking for birds. After a late lunch at the terminal, boarding the plane bound for Chicago, and taxing out to the runway, I noticed a Mississippi Kite (c) hoovering over the freshly mowed grassy area between the taxi-ways and the runway. It maneuvered back-and-forth - gliding effortlessly to each new position. As I watch it for a few minutes, a UPS (United Parcel Service) 757 freight jet accelerated down the runway in the background and took off - climbing steeply and then turning to the right and continuing back around to the south. The kite carried on with its routine... my plane moved towards the runway... I sat back, and then we were off.