Sep 17, 2017
High Plains Pronghorns Provide Outdoor Thrills On the high plains of western Dakota, autumn has arrived. Down in the valleys and creek bottoms, the cottonwood and aspens have turned a brilliant gold. Up here on top, the distinctive blue green of wild sage and bright red of dwarf rosebud offer colorful contrast to the tawny brown of sun scorched...
Sep 14, 2017
Arrayed in a dazzling cloak of pure white, the great egret is one of the world’s most spectacular birds. A long-distance migrant, the huge bird is equally at home on northern Minnesota lakes during summer and balmy West Indies lagoons in winter. In Northern Iowa, the...
Sep 5, 2017
Strong Hunter Turnout – Good Success For Iowa hunting enthusiasts, the Labor Day weekend is a big time, nonstop, action-packed event. The 2017 dove season began September 1st, and although large numbers of doves had already migrated out of the state, most of Iowa’s 10,000 participants appear to have enjoyed anywhere from good to somewhere beyond...
Sep 3, 2017
Booming From the Mists of Nowhere is a reading adventure — our latest best chronicle regarding the life and times of America’s greater prairie chicken. For those who love native prairie and the prairie chickens that inhabit its open spaces, this book is a mandatory read. Written by Greg Hoch and published by the University of Iowa Press, the book is...
Sep 2, 2017
Mix the sugar water; lock and load the feeders. The fall migration of ruby-throated hummingbirds has arrived in North Iowa. For anyone wishing to view good numbers of these tiny travelers; there’s no better time than now. Keeping an eye on backyard nectar feeders is one of the easiest and best ways to get a close up look at Iowa’s smallest migratory bird....
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.