May 24, 2020
Looking for something to do? Sure, aren’t we all? No matter who or where you are, the ongoing COVID-19 crisis has created some dramatically unwelcome changes in how we live. Most of us are into our third month of physical distancing and we’re all getting a little stir crazy – more than ready to get back to life as we knew...
May 21, 2020
Time flies when you’re havin’ fun; and I rarely have more fun than when hunting wild turkeys. But all good things must come to an end; hard to believe that all five segments of Iowa’s spring turkey seasons have come and gone. The final season ended last Sunday. As always, it proved to be an interesting spring with both...
May 6, 2020
One of the things I enjoy most about viewing wildlife is that you never know what’s coming next. My latest example occurred earlier today while photographing wood ducks at a small wooded pond near Cerro Gordo county’s Zirbel Slough. I’d been sitting in the blind for a couple of hours, when a blue-winged teal came zigzagging through the canopy...
May 2, 2020
The wait is over. The hatch is on. Newly emerged broods of baby Canada geese are appearing on wetlands across the state. And although the annual renewal of life should bring joy to all who witness it, perhaps no group has been more thrilled by the sight of newly hatched goslings than the residents of Clear Lake’s Apple Valley Assisted...
May 1, 2020
The spring season is quickly advancing. April has passed and it won’t be long until Iowa white-tails begin dropping their fawns. I was recently reminded of this fact when I spotted a pair of adult does slowly browsing through the sundrenched woodland in my direction. The deer kept coming until the closest had approached to within twenty...
Apr 27, 2020
I’ve spent much of April crouching in a blackout blind while observing the close range interactions between breeding pairs of wood ducks. Most of my time is spent around small woodland ponds where each wetland serves as headquarters for anywhere from seven to around a dozen mated pairs of woodies. Setting up well before first light,...
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.