Nov 28, 2014
Intermittent morning flurries had turned to steady snowfall by mid-day, and the weatherman was calling for additional accumulations of three to five inches. It didn’t take a genius to determine that whatever waterfowl remained in the area would be in a panic. Canada geese and mallard ducks would be looking for corn and were probably already staging...
Nov 23, 2014
A lot of folks are still wondering what happened to all those thousands of mallards that blew through Iowa a few days ago. Well, it appears as if a lot of them may have already ended up in Arkansas. This year’s just completed November duck survey revealed that Arkansas has recently been inundated with an amazing 550,000 mallard ducks. ...
Nov 19, 2014
“Have you thus sat on a snowy day and squinted through the white curtain at those mail-carrying bluebills? Until you have courted bluebills in the snow, you have not tasted of the purer delights of waterfowling.” Gordon MacQuarrie November, 1937 _ Although I love all types of waterfowl hunting, I especially love hunting that group of ducks...
Nov 19, 2014
Even by Northern Plains standards, the season’s first winter storm was one for the record books. The massive weather system — officially dubbed Winter Storm Astro — roared onto the mid-western scene on Tuesday, November 11, delivering subzero wind chills and dumping more than a foot of snow on portions of Minnesota and Wisconsin. In Minnesota,...
Nov 6, 2014
November the 8th. If I was only allowed a single day in the entire year to hunt white-tailed deer, then November the 8th is the date I’d be sitting in my stand – full of anticipation — praying, waiting and watching for the buck of my dreams to enter my life. By the time November 8th rolls around, the annual fall rut has moved into overdrive. For...
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.