Jan 27, 2016
It was a classic encounter of predator and prey. When a hen turkey was approached by a foraging fox, she immediately moved into the thickest cover available which in this case, wasn’t all that much. At a distance of mere feet, the advancing hunter stopped as the two animals sized each other up; both obviously contemplating their next move. Waiting...
Jan 22, 2016
With the November rut long past, Iowa white-tails have no further need of their magnificent antlers. So what do deer do with something they don’t need anymore? The same thing we do; they throw it away. Bucks annually accomplish this task through an involuntary process called shedding. Sudden spikes in stress levels may hasten the event. A...
Jan 13, 2016
My first encounter with the Gray Faced Buck occurred on November 1st, 2014. It was during my first bow hunt of the season, and the annual rut was in full swing. Prior to first light, I had set a ground blind along a strip of hay ground bordered on one side by an oak woodlot and by a corn field on the other. The action came quickly. As soon as the...
Jan 10, 2016
At first glance, the blue jay-sized northern shrike looks pretty harmless. But for resident mice, shrews, and juncos this slate colored songbird is anything but harmless. In reality, the shrike is a complete carnivore — as brutally predacious as any raptor could hope to be. The shrike’s list of fair game includes just about anything and...
Jan 6, 2016
Overcast skies, chill winter wind, rural landscapes cloaked in nine inches of new snow. Absolute perfect conditions for an end of December goose hunt. But for hunting companion Curt Stille and I, the anticipated slam dunk outing was rapidly turning into the proverbial wild goose chase. The dilemma wasn’t for a lack of birds. There were plenty of...
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.