Rare bird seen mating in Western Iowa

It’s springtime — the season when the birds and the bees do their thing. One particular type of rare bird is doing its thing in western Iowa, causing feathers to fly among environmentalists. The prairie sharptail grouse was once plentiful in the Hawkeye state, but it virtually vanished, thanks to hunters. D-N-R wildlife biologist Jim Zohrer (ZOAR) says the sharptail has been spotted breeding in the Loess Hills, for the first time in decades — which could be the sign the birds are making a comeback. About one-hundred-80 of the chicken-sized sharptails will be released out west this winter.