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

Photography courtesy of Lowell Washburn, all rights reserved.The ruby-throated hummingbird is one of Iowa’s most endearing examples of backyard birdlife.  Although hummingbirds nest throughout the state, they are never more plentiful than during fall migration.   Beginning in late August, visitors

Photography courtesy of Lowell Washburn, all rights reserved.One of the things I enjoy most about Iowa’s early duck seasons – in addition to the ducks, of course – are the sights and sounds provided by the vast diversity of life

Photography courtesy of Lowell Washburn, all rights reserved.Iowa’s cattail marshlands represent one of our greatest natural treasures.  Marshlands aid in flood control, store surface water, and recharge vital underground aquifers.  But wetlands are most famous for their wildlife.  Marshes provide