10 award-winning wildlife photos give a rare look at birds around the world

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10 award-winning wildlife photos give a rare look at birds around the world

 

A greater roadrunner feasts in this photo by Christopher Smith. Christopher Smith/Audubon Photography Awards

 

• The National Audubon Society recognizes the best photos of birds in the wild in its annual Audubon Photography Awards.
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• Photos were divided into four categories: Professional, Amateur, Youth, and Plants for Birds.
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• This year's winning image shows a double-crested cormorant diving gracefully underwater.

 

Bird-watching can be a blink-and-you-miss-it endeavor. The agile creatures can be difficult to spot in the wild, much less photograph clearly. But every year, the National Audubon

 

Society awards the talented photographers who successfully capture birds in their natural habitats around the world.

 

The Audubon Photography Awards recognize photos in four different categories: Professional, Amateur, Youth, and Plants for Birds. There's also a Fisher Prize Winner named for

 

Audubon's former creative director Kevin Fisher, as well as a Grand Prize Winner.

 

In addition to celebrating evocative photos of birds, the competition hopes to raise awareness of how climate change puts two-thirds of North American birds at risk of

 

extinction.

From over 6,000 submissions, here are the 10 winning images from the 2020 contest.

 

This photo of an Anna's hummingbird taken by Bibek Ghosh earned him an Amateur Honorable Mention.

The Amateur Honorable Mention. Bibek Ghosh/Audubon Photography Awards

 

Ghosh encountered the Anna's hummingbird at Ardenwood Historic Farm in California.

 

The Amateur Winner was Gail Bisson with a snapshot capturing the full length of a bare-throated tiger heron's neck.

The Amateur Winner. Gail Bisson/Audubon Photography Awards

 

Bisson photographed the bird in the Tárcoles River in Costa Rica.

 

Natalie Robertson won an Honorable Mention in the Plants for Birds category with a picture of a Tennessee warbler eating a gooseberry.

The Plants for Birds Honorable Mention. Natalie Robertson/Audubon Photography Awards

 

 

Robertson spotted the warbler in Point Pelee National Park in Ontario, Canada.

 

Travis Bonovsky earned the Plants for Birds category award with his photo of an American goldfinch.

 

The Plants for Birds Winner. Travis Bonovsky/Audubon Photography Awards

 

 

Bonovsky took the award-winning photo in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

 

This photo of a greater sage-grouse won Gene Putney the Professional Honorable Mention.

The Professional Honorable Mention. Gene Putney/Audubon Photography Awards

 

 

Putney took the photo in Jackson County, Colorado.

 

The Professional Winner was Sue Dougherty with a dramatically lit photo of a magnificent frigatebird.

The Professional Winner. Sue Dougherty/Audubon Photography Awards

 

Dougherty took the picture on Genovesa Island in Ecuador.

 

The Youth Honorable Mention was won by Christopher Smith, who captured a feasting greater roadrunner.

The Youth Honorable Mention. Christopher Smith/Audubon Photography Awards

 

Smith took the photo in Fresno, California.

 

Vayun Tiwari was the Youth Winner with a picture of a northern jacana.

The Youth Winner. Vayun Tiwari/Audubon Photography Awards

 

The northern jacana was located in Sunnyvale, California.

 

The Fisher Prize Winner was Marlee Fuller-Morris with a photo of an American dipper mid-splash.

The Fisher Prize Winner. Marlee Fuller-Morris/Audubon Photography Awards

 

Fuller-Morris photographed the bird in California's Yosemite National Park.

 

Joanna Lentini won the Grand Prize with her photo of a double-crested cormorant.

The Grand Prize Winner. Joanna Lentini/Audubon Photography Awards

 

Lentini took the photo in Los Islotes, Mexico.

 

 

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