{"id":7055009,"date":"2026-09-02T20:00:40","date_gmt":"2026-09-02T20:00:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/peraltafinancing.com\/aerospace\/these-20-breathtaking-bird-images-from-the-audubon-photography-awards-capture-the-wonder-of-the-winged-world\/"},"modified":"2026-09-02T20:00:40","modified_gmt":"2026-09-02T20:00:40","slug":"these-20-breathtaking-bird-images-from-the-audubon-photography-awards-capture-the-wonder-of-the-winged-world","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=7055009","title":{"rendered":"These 20 Breathtaking Bird Images From the Audubon Photography Awards Capture the Wonder of the Winged World"},"content":{"rendered":"


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The winners of the 17th annual contest reveal the beauty of birds, the splendor of their migratory journeys and the risks they face<\/h2>\n
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Carlyn Kranking<\/a><\/p>\n

| Associate Web Editor, Science<\/span><\/p>\n

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The annual contest highlights not only birds but their behaviors, habitats and threats.
\n Rodrigo Gonz\u00e1lez Pairoa \/ Audubon Photography Awards<\/span>
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From a seabird flying above an erupting volcano to a woodpecker with its face plunged into a flower, the winners of the 17th\u00a0Audubon Photography Awards<\/a>\u00a0celebrate birds, the places they go and the incredible ways that they survive.<\/p>\n

Today, the National Audubon Society<\/a> shared the winners<\/a> and honorable mentions<\/a> of its annual contest, which recognizes photos and videos of bird behavior.<\/p>\n

For its first 15 years, the competition was only open to residents of the United States and Canada. Last year<\/a>, the nonprofit added a parallel competition for photographers in Chile and Colombia\u2014two countries that \u201chost some of the world\u2019s most astounding avian biodiversity,\u201d wrote<\/a> the editors of Audubon <\/em>magazine last year. Incorporating parts of South America into the competition highlights \u201chow birds connect people across geographies and ecosystems,\u201d according to a statement from the National Audubon Society. Separate panels of judges<\/a> assessed<\/a> the entries for each of the two regions.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe judges loved the action, drama and striking lighting\u201d in the grand prize-winning shot for the U.S. and Canada contest, as Mary Anne Karren<\/a>, a contest judge and wildlife photographer, tells Audubon <\/a><\/em>magazine<\/a>. The winning photo, captured by photographer Jacqueline Burke<\/a>, features a roseate spoonbill bathing. It\u2019s \u201can unusual take on a popular species,\u201d Karren adds, as the birds are often imaged while foraging.<\/p>\n

In the Chile and Colombia contest, the grand prize winner also captures a spectacular bird: a lesser horned owl. \u201cSet against a dimly lit backdrop, the captivating gaze of this majestic owl\u2019s intense yellow eyes stands out against its snow-white face, creating a fairy-tale atmosphere,\u201d judge Sebastian Herzog<\/a>, Audubon\u2019s protected areas strategy director for Latin America and the Caribbean, tells Audubon<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Beyond the grand prizes, the judges picked winners across wide-ranging categories that honor not just birds but many aspects of their ecology. The \u201cbirds without borders\u201d category shows the far-flung places that host migratory species, while \u201cplants for birds\u201d highlights the importance of their habitats. One prize even recognizes female birds, which tend to be overlooked<\/a> in wildlife photography and science alike.<\/p>\n

The following 20 photos are this year\u2019s category winners, along with a few honorable mentions. Audubon will share the top 100 images from the contest on September 23. Until then, take a look at the biodiversity and beauty captured in these commended photographs.<\/p>\n

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Grand prize, Chile and Colombia:<\/strong>\u00a0Patagonia\u2019s largest and most powerful owl<\/a> sat quietly on a cactus in Paposo \u200b\u200b\u200b\u200bNatural Preserve in Antofagasta, Chile. The photographer slowly approached the bird, hiding behind plants as he went, in an attempt to avoid disturbing it. Only when he had gotten close enough to see the creature in his viewfinder did it become clear what he\u2019d found: a magnificent lesser horned owl<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Francisco Castro Escobar \/ Audubon Photography Awards<\/span><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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Grand prize, U.S. and Canada:\u00a0<\/strong>Amid a bright and lively rookery, where wading birds gather to nest, a roseate spoonbill<\/a> splashes and bathes, lit by a sunbeam. Here, at Florida\u2019s St. Augustine Alligator Farm Zoological Park, the alligators deter animals that might otherwise prey on bird eggs or hatchlings.<\/p>\n

Jacqueline Burke \/ Audubon Photography Awards<\/span><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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Youth, Chile and Colombia, winner:\u00a0<\/strong>The migratory Canada warbler<\/a> \u201crarely stays still,\u201d judge Herzog tells Audubon<\/em>, but in this moment, an adult male is captured in crisp focus as it pauses to stare at a spiderweb.<\/p>\n

Juan David Camacho M\u00e1rquez \/ Audubon Photography Awards<\/span><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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Youth, U.S. and Canada, winner:<\/strong> \u201cMost days, I dismissed pigeons as too common to document,\u201d photographer Ian Shultz<\/a> tells Audubon<\/em>. But when he saw a group of rock pigeons<\/a> flying in and out from beneath an old pier in Seattle\u2019s Puget Sound, collecting nesting material, he did an unusual thing and trained his lens on them. \u201cThe experience taught me a lesson: Even common birds can produce the day\u2019s most striking image.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ian Shultz \/ Audubon Photography Awards<\/span><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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Female bird, winner:\u00a0<\/strong>A female common merganser<\/a> carries a flatfish to protect her catch from other mergansers that were feeding nearby in Nova Scotia, Canada.<\/p>\n

Gail Bisson \/ Audubon Photography Awards<\/span><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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Birds in landscapes, U.S. and Canada, winner:<\/strong> White-tailed tropicbirds<\/a> made their nests in the caldera walls of K\u012blauea volcano in Hawai\u02bbi Volcanoes National Park. Photographer Liron Gertsman<\/a> spent ten days waiting for the right moment, and when the volcano erupted, he captured this seabird amid the gases, ash and lava.<\/p>\n

Liron Gertsman \/ Audubon Photography Awards<\/span><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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Birds in landscapes, Colombia, winner:<\/strong> An oilbird<\/a> flies through darkness in Colombia\u2019s Gu\u00e1charos Cave National Natural Park<\/a>. The nocturnal species, locally called the gu\u00e1charo<\/a><\/em>, lives in caves by day and emerges at night to feed on fruit, navigating with\u00a0echolocation<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Faber Mosquera Alvarez \/ Audubon Photography Awards<\/span><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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Birds in landscapes, Chile, winner:\u00a0<\/strong>Two crested caracaras<\/a> stand together in Torres del Paine National Park in the Magallanes and Chilean Antarctica region.\u00a0The birds of prey belong to the falcon family, but they scavenge from carrion like vultures do, in addition to hunting.<\/p>\n

Timothy Dhalleine \/ Audubon Photography Awards<\/span><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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Birds in landscapes, U.S. and Canada, honorable mention:<\/strong>\u00a0A great blue heron<\/a> stands among cypress trees in the Caddo Lake Wildlife Management Area in Karnak, Texas.<\/p>\n

Jay Vanos \/ Audubon Photography Awards<\/span><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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Birds without borders, Chile and Colombia, winner: <\/strong>With a tilt of its head, a black-browed albatross<\/a> makes eye contact with the camera in Magallanes and Chilean Antarctica. \u201cThe resulting image captures a fleeting moment of silent, intimate connection,\u201d photographer Rodrigo Gonz\u00e1lez Pairoa<\/a> tells Audubon<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Rodrigo Gonz\u00e1lez Pairoa \/ Audubon Photography Awards<\/span><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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Birds without borders, U.S. and Canada, winner:\u00a0<\/strong>A Tennessee warbler<\/a> perches on an elderberry branch amid hunting flying ants in photographer and wildlife biologist Nick Parayko<\/a>\u2019s backyard in Alberta, Canada.<\/p>\n

Nick Parayko \/ Audubon Photography Awards<\/span><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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Birds without borders, U.S. and Canada, honorable mention:<\/strong>\u00a0Brown pelicans<\/a> gather on Cannon Beach,\u00a0Oregon, providing a lively foreground to the towering Haystack Rock.<\/p>\n

Erich Podbielski \/ Audubon Photography Awards<\/span><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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Plants for birds Colombia, winner:<\/strong>\u00a0Wax palm trees provide both a nesting habitat and a buffet for yellow-eared parrots<\/a>, which occupy holes made by woodpeckers and feast on the plants\u2019 small, reddish fruits. Here, two of the parrots preen each other.<\/p>\n

Santiago Giraldo \/ Audubon Photography Awards<\/span><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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Plants for birds, U.S. and Canada, winner:<\/strong>\u00a0A female gila woodpecker<\/a> sticks her head into a flower on a saguaro cactus in Tucson, Arizona. These flowers only stay open for about a day and a half, supporting pollinators like bats and birds.<\/p>\n

Mike Henry \/ Audubon Photography Awards<\/span><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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Plants for birds, Colombia, honorable mention:\u00a0<\/strong>At Alto del Zarzo in Caldas, Colombia, a golden-rumped euphonia<\/a> builds its nest with mosses and lichens. The birds also love mistletoe, which provides them with berries for food.<\/p>\n

David Paredes Bravo \/ Audubon Photography Awards<\/span><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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Plants for birds, U.S. and Canada, honorable mention:<\/strong>\u00a0A Brandt\u2019s cormorant<\/a> carries surfgrass<\/a> in Natural Bridges State Park in Santa Cruz, California. The species relies on these marine flowering plants to build its nests, \u201clinking the health of the nearshore ocean to their success on land,\u201d photographer Kevin Lohman<\/a> tells Audubon<\/em>. Lohman panned his camera and slowed his shutter speed to create this partially blurred composition.<\/p>\n

Kevin Lohman \/ Audubon Photography Awards<\/span><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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Conservation, U.S. and Canada, winner:<\/strong>\u00a0Northern gannets<\/a> nest on the cliffs of the Isle of Noss in the United Kingdom\u2019s Shetland Islands. Here, one has been killed by a piece of fishing line tangled around its neck, highlighting the risk of pollution to birds. \u201cThis species already faces many challenges, including climate change and disease; only the year before my visit, avian flu had decimated the colony<\/a>,\u201d photographer Josh Galicki<\/a> tells Audubon<\/em>. \u201cI took this image as a reminder of one more obstacle we put in the way of this charismatic species.\u201d<\/p>\n

Josh Galicki \/ Audubon Photography Awards<\/span><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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Conservation, Chile and Colombia, winner:\u00a0<\/strong>A yellow-eared parrot<\/a> sits atop a wax palm tree trunk at the Anaime River Canyon in Tolima, Colombia.\u00a0Nearby, avocado plantations encroach on some of the last wax palm forests in the country.<\/p>\n

Santiago P\u00e9rez Rinc\u00f3n \/ Audubon Photography Awards<\/span><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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Coastal birds of Chile, winner:<\/strong>\u00a0A gentoo penguin<\/a> swims near a Chilean Navy vessel in the Magallanes and Chilean Antarctica region.<\/p>\n

Gonzalo Bertolotto Quintana \/ Audubon Photography Awards<\/span><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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Coastal birds of Chile, honorable mention:\u00a0<\/strong>A red-legged cormorant<\/a> flies in front of a bright sky, seen through a natural rock arch.<\/p>\n

Marcelo C\u00e1rcamo Vera \/ Audubon Photography Awards<\/span><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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