Jan 30, 2015
By the time late January rolls around, a lot of bird hunters will have enjoyed their fair share of pheasant breast recipes. I agree that properly prepared pheasant breast is a real taste pleaser. But every once in awhile it’s also fun to shift gears a bit. Here’s a quick and easy way to break the mid-winter ‘pheasant breast...
Jan 30, 2015
Falconry: the pursuit of wild game with a trained raptor; the sport of hunting with hawks. Humans have been chasing wild game with trained hawks for somewhere in the vicinity of 4,000 years now, making falconry one of our most ancient forms of hunting. I’ve been practicing the sport for 30. t its most basic level, falconry has the potential to...
Jan 17, 2015
Iowa’s late archery seasons [deer and turkey] closed January 10th. But that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s time to stow the bow. There are still plenty of reasons to roam the winter woodlands and pursuing the gray squirrel is certainly one of them. Although squirrels don’t present much of a target they are abundant and– with...
Jan 11, 2015
Late Season Archery – Round 1: I could already tell that it was going to be a challenging morning in the great out-of-doors. The overnight temperature had plunged to ten degrees below zero and increasing NW winds were howling in excess of 30 mph. Wind chill values were at 40 below – or an even more painful minus 65 if you’re still...
Jan 11, 2015
North Central Iowa: Six beautiful inches of new powder fell on the region this week. But for most people, the natural winter beauty was soon overshadowed by subzero temperatures, polar winds and wholesale school and other public events closings. By the time daylight arrived this morning, temperatures had dropped to ten below and increasing NW winds...
Born in North Central Iowa, Lowell Washburn has enjoyed a lifelong interest in the out of doors. He began photographing wild birds at age 10, and outdoor photography soon became his passion and eventually a career. Washburn is best known for images that portray migratory waterfowl and other wetland wildlife in their natural habitats. His best photographs are often obtained after spending hours floating amid natural marshlands, half submerged within the dark confines of a floating muskrat house blind.
Upon completing military service as a sergeant with the Fourth Infantry Division in the central highlands of South Vietnam, Washburn returned to Iowa in 1970. His wildlife photos began appearing in Iowa newspapers in 1971 and he began authoring outdoor news columns in 1978. Today, his photos and writing have appeared in over 50 national and international magazines including Outdoor Life, International Wildlife, Field&Stream, Ducks Unlimited, Pointing Dog Journal, the NAFA Journal, and others.
After working as a naturalist for Iowa’s county conservation board system, Washburn was recruited by the Department of Natural Resources in 1984. His primary duties included statewide communication with Iowa newspaper, television, and radio news agencies with a primary goal of increasing the level of public awareness and appreciation for Iowa's natural resources. During his tenure he also served as staff member for the Iowa Conservationist Magazine and for the DNR’s Iowa Outdoors Magazine. Washburn retired from the DNR in 2010.
In addition to wildlife photography, his ongoing outdoor passions include falconry, traditional bow hunting, waterfowling, spending time with hunting dogs of all types, and herpetology.