Sep 11, 2019
Iowa’s September teal season is the best thing that’s happened to duck hunting in the past half century. Timed to take advantage of early migrating blue-winged teal, the season is offered to Mississippi Flyway states by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service as a sixteen-day, teal only bonus hunt. The special season is referred to as a bonus...
Sep 8, 2019
Mix the sugar water. Fill the backyard feeders. The fall migration of the ruby-throated hummingbird is underway. For those wishing to obtain an eyeball to eyeball encounter with our tiniest feathered travelers; there’s no better time than the present. Although some of the hummingbirds we’re seeing may be holdovers from birds raised...
Aug 21, 2019
Duck hunters can expect to see strong waterfowl numbers during the 2019 fall migration and hunting seasons, says the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service in a report released earlier this week. The assessment was based on data gathered during this year’s North American Breeding Duck and Habitat Survey. Conducted each year since 1955, the...
Aug 12, 2019
Intelligent, adaptable, unbelievably resilient; the white-tailed deer is one amazing creature. The white-tail’s resilience – its ability to survive under extreme circumstances — has never been more evident than it has this spring and summer. Everywhere I go, I see does with fawns. So, what makes this noteworthy? To put things...
Aug 7, 2019
Following months of austere reclusion, resident families of sandhill cranes are beginning to appear. Stealthily prowling marsh edge, cow pasture, and bean field; crane parents are busily teaching youngsters – more properly called crane colts — the useful art of frog spearing. Learning to successfully hunt frogs, snakes, and other edible...
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.