Photography courtesy of Lowell Washburn, all rights reserved. If I had to pick one month of the year as my favorite, October would certainly rank high on the list.  October is the Gateway to Fall — the final transition between […]

Photography courtesy of Lowell Washburn, all rights reserved.                 It’s late September.  Skies are clear and afternoon temperatures have climbed to the mid-70s.  Right on cue, migrating great egrets are passing through Northern

Photography courtesy of Lowell Washburn, all rights reserved. Perfect weather.  Lots of ducks.  Happy hunters.  That’s the general assessment for this year’s Opening Day of the early segment of the 2013 Iowa Duck Season — or at least that’s how

Photography courtesy of Lowell Washburn, all rights reserved.    My friend Joe Wilkinson and I spent a good part of our morning shooting waterfowl and wetland video in North Central Iowa.  Overall habitat conditions are excellent and every area we

Photography courtesy of Lowell Washburn, all rights reserved.   Showy and colorful, the goldenrod is one of my favorite fall flowers.  The annual appearance of the goldenrod’s bright yellow flowers offer proof positive that summer heat and humidity are on

Photography courtesy of Lowell Washburn, all rights reserved.   It didn’t take a trained meteorologist or PhD level ornithologist to read the signs.  With starry nighttime skies, daily high temperatures dropping off dramatically, and steadily freshening breezes, the message was

Photography courtesy of Lowell Washburn, all rights reserved.   Saturday morning and a large scale bird migration was in full swing.  I had hunkered into the soggy edge of North Iowa mudflat to enjoy the show as flocks of blue-winged

Photography courtesy of Lowell Washburn, all rights reserved.   This year’s dove season has been providing local hunters with some pretty good shooting.  But during the past couple of mornings, things have tailed off dramatically with fewer and fewer birds

Photography courtesy of Lowell Washburn, all rights reserved.             Northern Iowa’s prairie wetlands have made a dramatic comeback during 2013.  Following two years of searing drought, improved water levels have led to excellent production of

Photography courtesy of Lowell Washburn, all rights reserved.   The 2013 Iowa Dove Opener was accented by strong hunter turnout, unseasonably mild weather and, hunter success that ranged all the way from fair to excellent:  that’s the official assessment of