Washburn’s Outdoor Journal

Photography courtesy of Lowell Washburn, all rights reserved.Pursuing late season cottontails is one of my favorite forms of winter recreation.  It’s a team effort, and I never go it alone but always include my longtime feathered hunting partner, Attila.  Attila […]

Photography courtesy of Lowell Washburn, all rights reserved.Iowa’s deer season ended January 10.  Wary, secretive, and highly intelligent, Iowa’s only species of big game is more than willing to provide hunters with a wide array of outdoor challenges.  For me,

Photography courtesy of Lowell Washburn, all rights reserved.          A Day With The Swans In Iowa’s North Zone, the goose season runs until January 7.  And although winter weather fronts were causing goose numbers to rapidly dwindle, I decided to keep

Photography courtesy of Lowell Washburn, all rights reserved.Sometimes it’s hard to tell which activity is most enjoyable – pursuing wild game, preparing wild game, or eating wild game.  What I do know is that all three endeavors rank high on

Photography courtesy of Lowell Washburn, all rights reserved.The wild turkey is an exceptionally wary bird.  Spooked of its own shadow, a seasoned gobbler is suspicious of everything he sees and hears.  Set on perpetual hair trigger, he’s ready to run

Photography courtesy of Lowell Washburn, all rights reserved.Those of us who pursue ducks, geese, or wild turkeys are well acquainted with the effectiveness of game calling.  Game calling is so important, in fact, that most waterfowl or turkey hunters utilize

Photography courtesy of Lowell Washburn, all rights reserved.Winter bird feeding has become one of Iowa’s most popular cold weather pastimes.  Strategically placed feeders provide we humans with fascinating, through-the-window entertainment while, at the same time, saving foraging winter birdlife valuable

Photography courtesy of Lowell Washburn, all rights reserved. “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

Photography courtesy of Lowell Washburn, all rights reserved.It’s late fall.  The days are getting shorter, the nights cooler.  Crisp sunrise landscapes are white with frost.  For Iowa’s 60,000 archery deer hunters, the message is clear.  Time has come to literally

Photography courtesy of Lowell Washburn, all rights reserved. With temperatures headed for the basement; it was time to make my move Have I ever told you how much I love wood ducks?  They’re unique in every way and I’ll do whatever