Mar 26, 2014
The spring waterfowl migration was put on temporary hold this week as another arctic cold front swept across Northern Iowa. Yesterday’s weather added insult to injury as strong winds and whiteout snow squalls raged off and on throughout much of the day. Although such days are extremely tough on equipment, who could dream of staying...
Mar 24, 2014
Yesterday afternoon, my wife, Carol decided that I needed a new turkey decoy. In reality, I probably did not. I already have a lot of turkey decoys. I have turkey silhouettes, folding turkeys, inflatable turkeys, hard rubber turkeys, plastic turkeys, hens, jakes, gobblers, and so on. In my search for the perfect decoy, I feel like I’ve tried them...
Mar 22, 2014
The annual mass migration of snow geese is one of creation’s most amazing spectacles. More than six million of the snow white birds are currently moving toward ancestral breeding grounds on the sodden tundras of the Canadian arctic. The northbound geese are unaware, of course, that nesting areas will remain locked under snow and ice until early to...
Mar 16, 2014
It’s mid-March, and the days are getting long. In spite of the fact that our North Iowa woodlands remain snow covered and spring turkey seasons are still nearly a month in the offing; I couldn’t resist getting out into the timber this weekend. Glad I did. Saturday morning was certainly no disappointment. Right on cue, and without any...
Mar 15, 2014
What a difference a week [or maybe a couple of days] can make! As recently as March 10, I still needed snowshoes to navigate across much of the North Iowa landscape and wind chills were still routinely dropping into negative numbers. And then came the Big Thaw. Snow depths that looked [and felt] as if they should take weeks to melt, have...
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.