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2021 Audubon Photography Awards Winners Announced
8 July 2021
The National Audubon Society has announced the winning photographs of the Audubon Photography Awards eight prizes in four divisions. In its 12th year, the winning entries and honorable mentions emerged from 2,416 entrants from all 50 states, Washington D.C. and 10 Canadian provinces and territories.
Winners. Clockwise in a grid from top left: a Red-tailed Hawk claws for a chipmunk; a Red-winged Blackbird dips her bill into a lily pad flower; a Northern Cardinal in flight; a Greater Roadrunner with its back to the camera; a Purple Sandpiper resting; a Sandhill crane adult and chick..
For the first time, the competition awarded the Female Bird Prize and Video Prize.
- The Female Bird Prize was introduced to draw attention to female birds, which are often overlooked and underappreciated in both bird photography and conservation.
- The new Video category aims to illuminate unique and fascinating ways birds behave and interact with their environments.
Previously featured prizes, such as the Plants for Birds Prize and Fisher Prize, were also awarded in this year's contest.
Following is a slide show of the winners and honorable mentions:
Links to the video winners follow:
- Winner: Bill Bryant 0:18
- Honorable Mention: Brent Cizek 0:29
For more information see the news release below.
2021 Audubon Photography Awards Winners Enchant with Birdlife Imagery
The leading North American bird photography competition broadens winners with the first year of prizes for female birds and bird videos.
NEW YORK -- Today, the National Audubon Society named the winning photographs and videos of the Audubon Photography Awards, with eight prizes across five divisions. In the twelfth year, winning entries and honorable mentions emerged from 2,416 entrants from all 50 states, Washington D.C. and 10 Canadian provinces and territories.
For the first time, the competition awarded the Female Bird Prize and Video Prize. The Female Bird Prize was introduced to draw attention to female birds, which are often overlooked and underappreciated in both bird photography and conservation. The new Video category aims to illuminate unique and fascinating ways birds behave and interact with their environments. Previously featured prizes, such as the Plants for Birds Prize and Fisher Prize, were also awarded in this year's contest.
Winning photos and videos will be featured in the Summer issue of Audubon magazine. Top photos and honorable mentions will also be showcased in a virtual Audubon Photography Awards exhibit. The Audubon Photography Awards team worked in collaboration with the photographers to ensure that the intent and essence of each photo was incorporated into vibrant alternative text in order to make the awards accessible to the largest audience possible.
As these photos and videos enchant people with the beauty of birds, two-thirds of North American birds are threatened by extinction from climate change according to Audubon's 2019 climate science report, including species featured in the winning and forthcoming Top 100 collections. Learn more about how climate change will affect the birds in your backyard and communities by entering your ZIP code into Audubon's interactive Birds and Climate Visualizer.
Grand Prize: Carolina Fraser
In the midst of an evening dust bath, a Greater Roadrunner stands proudly, backlit by the sun. Brilliant, golden light exposes white-tipped tail feathers that contrast with downy feathers fanning out from its sides. Dust from a recent roll in the dirt lingers in the air.
Category: Amateur
Species: Greater Roadrunner
Location: Los Novios Ranch, Cotulla, Texas
Camera: Nikon D500 with Nikon 500mm f4.0 lens; 1/3200 second at f6.3; ISO 2000Story Behind the Shot: One of my favorite places to take photographs is among the oil pumps and open space at Los Novios Ranch in South Texas, where wildlife weaves through cacti and birds perch on fence posts. On a blazing hot summer day just before sunset, I found myself lying facedown at an uncomfortable angle, my elbows digging into a gravel path as I photographed this roadrunner. I manually adjusted the white balance until I captured the bird bathed in golden sunlight as it took a dust bath.
Bird Lore: An icon of the southwest, the Greater Roadrunner is uniquely adapted for living on the ground in dry country. It can run considerable distances at 20 miles per hour and derive the moisture it needs from lizards, rodents and other prey. When water is available, it drinks readily, but it seldom if ever uses water for bathing. Instead, frequent dust baths are the rule for roadrunners, along with sunbathing on cool mornings.
Amateur Award Winner: Robin Ulery
A newborn Sandhill Crane colt rests atop its mother, its body curled around her red-crowned head. The colt's orange and white fluffy body contrasts the mother's blue-gray feathers, their profiles against a blurry yellow background.
Species: Sandhill Crane
Location: Johns Lake, Winter Garden, Fla.
Camera: Sony A9 with Sony FE 200-600mm f5.6-6.3-GB OSS lens; 1/800 second at f 6.3; ISO 1600Story Behind the Shot: For three years I've watched a pair of Sandhill Cranes that nest near my house, observing and photographing them from my kayak. On a blustery day this spring, I took my camera and paddled out to check on them. Two colts had finally hatched. The wind, though, made for a challenging photo shoot. There was no solid land to anchor to and I bounced up and down, sometimes missing the birds completely. So I increased my shutter speed and ISO to compensate. Capturing this scene under those conditions felt like a once-in-a-lifetime moment.
Bird Lore: Sandhill Cranes have long childhoods. The youngsters -- called "colts" for their long-legged, awkward look -- learn to fly after about two months, but then stay with their parents for another seven or eight months, until the following spring. When cranes are very young, like the one in this portrait, they spend much of their time in physical contact with one of their parents, nestled under a wing or among the feathers of their back.
Fisher Prize: Patrick Coughlin
More than a dozen purple blooms on a Pride of Madeira plant obscure all but a blurred wing and one eye of an Anna's Hummingbird. The hummingbird faces the viewer with its eye clearly visible between two flowers, appearing to be making eye contact with the photographer.
Category: Amateur
Species: Anna's Hummingbird
Location: Claremont Canyon Regional Preserve, Berkeley, Calif.
Camera: Nikon D500 with AF-S Nikkor 500mm f5.6E PF ED VR lens; 1/1600 second at f5.6; ISO 1400Story Behind the Shot: For me, photographing feeding hummingbirds is a near-perfect combination of challenge and reward. In the spring, Anna's, Allen's, Rufous, Costa's and Calliope Hummingbirds -- many of them adult males with glittering gorgets -- sip nectar from purple pride of Madeira flowers in this preserve. When I looked through the photographs that I shot one spring day, this image of a relatively unassuming female, a juvenile Anna's Hummingbird, immediately grabbed my attention. Though most of the bird is obscured by blooms, I caught that momentary flicker of eye contact through the petals.
Bird Lore: Hummingbirds are often described as preferring to feed at red tubular flowers. While many such flowers may have evolved specifically to be pollinated by hummingbirds, that does not mean the birds ignore other kinds. Anna's Hummingbird, present year-round in most of its range, must adapt to whatever blooms are available. It quickly learns which flowers are providing nectar at a given time and will focus on those, regardless of color or shape.
Female Bird Prize: Elizabeth Yicheng Shen
A female Northern Harrier flies over a wetland, her broad wings raised over her head. Her long tail striped with white and brown spreads out like a fan, her round face looking down.
Category: Amateur
Species: Northern Harrier
Location: Coyote Hills Regional Park, Fremont, Calif.
Camera: Sony a9 with Sony 400mm f2.8 GM FE OSS lens and 2x Teleconverter; 1/2000 second at f5.6; ISO 1600Story Behind the Shot: I was waiting for Fernando the Chilean Flamingo to wake up from his afternoon nap. People have reported seeing the lone flamingo in the park since 2010, so I went out to photograph him. A commotion from the nearby water, where a Great Blue Heron stalked prey and a few gulls rested, attracted my attention. A Northern Harrier had come out of nowhere to hunt. I quickly adjusted my camera settings so I could get her owl-like face. This kind of unexpected encounter is why I always carry my camera when I venture into nature.
Bird Lore: Northern Harriers hunt by gliding low over open marshes and fields, watching and listening for prey. When the slender raptors detect a small mammal or bird, they abruptly turn, hover briefly and then drop. Even an experienced adult may succeed in making the catch only about one-third of the time. Young harriers -- like this juvenile, which is identifiable as a female by her brown eyes -- may have a much lower success rate at first, but their skills improve with practice.
Youth Award Winner: Arav Karighattam
On a wet, rocky shore, a Purple Sandpiper sits with its beak tucked under its brown and gray wing, the blurred blue ocean waves in the background.
Species: Purple Sandpiper
Location: Rockport, Mass.
Camera: Nikon D850 with AF-S Nikkor 200-500mm f5.6E ED VR lens; 1/800 second at f7.1; ISO 320Story Behind the Shot: I was searching for eiders, scoters and other diving ducks along the Atlantic coast on a cold February day. Suddenly a Purple Sandpiper flock landed right next to me. The birds fed, chatted, chirped and chased each other, occasionally fluttering up when the waves washed over the shore. As the weather turned gustier, the sandpipers preened and settled down amid the rocks. I lay down flat, close to the water's edge. I positioned my camera, resting it on a rock and focused on one of the Arctic visitors, the purple in its feathers highlighted by the morning sun.
Bird Lore: No other members of the sandpiper family have such a northerly range, on a year-round basis, as Purple Sandpipers. These tough birds thrive in the harshest conditions. From their Arctic breeding grounds, they drift south in late fall to places where icy ocean waves crash violently onto coastal rocks. The sandpipers are perfectly at home in this turbulent scene, clambering about to seek tiny crustaceans and even sleeping peacefully among the boulders.
Professional Award Winner: Steve Jessmore
A red male Northern Cardinal seems to float above the snowy ground, the crest feathers on its head blown backward in the wind as it flies in profile in front of gray plant stalks. The bird's three wing feathers touch the white carpet of snow, its shadow connecting below.
Species: Northern Cardinal
Location: Rural Muskegon County, Michigan
Camera: Sony a9 II with Sony FE 200- 600mm f5.6-6.3-GB OSS lens; 1/5000 second at f6.3; ISO 250Story Behind the Shot: On a bitterly cold winter day I went searching for eagles and Snowy Owls in rural Michigan. Cruising side roads, I noticed a Rough-legged Hawk perched atop a pine tree, but all I captured was its tail as it flew away. It was then that I spotted a male Northern Cardinal flying from plant to plant, feeding on the seeds, his red feathers reflected in the bright white snow flecked with ice crystals. I took the first shot when he took flight. By the second frame, the striking songbird was gone.
Bird Lore: Our familiar redbird is called "Northern" Cardinal to distinguish it from other cardinals in the tropics. Within our borders, it is most numerous toward the south. Seven U.S. states have chosen it as their official state bird, but curiously, none of those is in the Deep South. It may be that cardinals are most popular where people can enjoy the stunning sight of the brilliant red males against winter snow.
Video Award Winner: Bill Bryant
Hovering in a stiff wind, a Red-Tailed Hawk seems to be suspended in the air with wings outstretched as it cocks its head to the side to scan the ground for prey. The dark gray wing feathers turn upward as its yellow feet dangle below, the green trees in the background.
Species: Red-tailed Hawk
Location: Golden, Colorado
Camera: Canon EOS-1D X Mark II with Canon EF 600mm f4L IS II USM and Canon Extender EF 2x III; 1/60 second at f8; ISO 100Story Behind the Shot: Over several days I watched a pair of Red-tails taking advantage of the strong early summer winds streaming down from the Rockies, hovering in midair while scanning the foothills for mice and ground squirrels. This one floated almost level with my lens. His head stayed still while his body moved, his wings and tail steadying him and his dangling feet acting as ballast.
Bird Lore: Red-tailed Hawks most often hunt from a raised perch, as flying low enough to scan for prey usually requires more flapping and more energy. At times, however, wind conditions are such that they can hang motionless, hardly moving their wings, resting in the air as they study the ground below.
Plants for Birds Award Winner: Shirley Donald
Beak deep in a partially opened, yellow flower emerging from the water, a gray female Red-winged Blackbird stands balancing on a lily pad, her wings partially outstretched, revealing the touch of red on her shoulders. More yellow flowers color the background.
Species: Red-winged Blackbird
Location: Blue Sea, Quebec, Canada
Camera: Canon EOS-1DX Mark II with Canon EF 400 f4 DO lens and Canon Extender EF 2x III; 1/2000 second at f8; ISO 1600Story Behind the Shot: On an early July morning, I peeled the camouflage tarp off my canoe hidden in the marsh grasses along the edge of a small lake and stepped in, careful not to tip over. Paddling out amid the water lilies, I saw male Red-winged Blackbirds pluck dragonflies from the air to feed their nestlings. Females took a different tack: They hopped from lily pad to lily pad, plucking out insects inside the yellow and white flowers. I steadied my camera by setting it on my equipment bag, which was sitting on the floor and shot away.
Bird Lore: In summer North American marshes come alive with Red-winged Blackbirds. Males are conspicuous as they sing and defend territories, while the more cryptically colored females do most of the actual work of raising young. This female, seeking food for her nestlings, employs a technique called "gaping." Sticking her bill into the closed bloom of the water lily, she then opens her bill wide to spread the flower open, exposing insects hiding inside.
Amateur Honorable Mention: Tom Ingram
Atop a rocky cliff littered with feathers, a Peregrine Falcon stands with a red-crested Acorn Woodpecker in its bloodied talons. The tan and dark gray Falcon holds a feather in its beak as two other feathers, black at the top and white with blood stains at the bottom, float, crossing in midair.
Species: Peregrine Falcon
Location: La Jolla Cove, Calif.
Camera: Canon EOS 5D Mark III with Canon 600mm f4 IS II with Canon 1.4x III Teleconverter; 1/1250 second at f8; ISO 2500Story Behind the Shot: I had heard that a pair of Peregrine Falcons had built a nest near a cliffside hiking trail in La Jolla, so on a spring day I set off with the hopes of photographing them. As I walked, the raptors made screea calls and circled above. I stopped along the trail and watched a bird that had snatched an Acorn Woodpecker, commonly found in the palm trees nearby. The raptor landed on a ledge littered with feathers from past kills and began plucking the woodpecker, the feathers fluttering over the cliff's edge as it prepared its meal.
Bird Lore: Masters of the air, Peregrine Falcons are capable of capturing or killing practically any bird, from rapid fliers like swifts to geese larger than themselves. Peregrines are most famous for spectacular dives from great heights, plunging at speeds up to 200 miles per hour to strike prey out of the air, but they have other hunting methods. These falcons are likely to take a bird like a woodpecker in a short, powerful burst of level flight.
Youth Honorable Mention: Josiah Launstein
On a still wetland with green grasses and brown reeds in the background, a Canada Goose flies up from the water, its wings outstretched and beak agape as another Canada Goose, wings bent at 90-degree angles, honks back. Several Green-winged Teal watch the scene from the water below.
Species: Canada Goose
Location: Burnaby Lake, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada
Camera: Nikon D7100 with AF-S Nikkor 300mm f4D IF-ED lens and Nikon TC-14E II 1.4x Teleconverter; 1/640 second at f7.1; ISO 720Story Behind the Shot: I was photographing Green-winged Teal when one extremely territorial Canada Goose charged another goose that attempted to land in the area. I positioned myself at the edge of the water and watched for signs of its next onslaught, taking a short sequence of pictures as the goose launched itself from the water to fend off the intruder. I was happy that some Green-winged Teal swam into the scene, their quiet feeding a marked contrast to the goose's dramatic behavior. I guess the goose was determined to keep its corner of the wetlands all to itself.
Bird Lore: Canada Geese can be very aggressive, as many a person has discovered by getting too close to a nest. Their instinct to defend their territory is intense during the breeding season, when pairs actively drive away their own kind as well as other large intruders. Winter flocks are usually more peaceful. But as spring approaches, even a lone bird may shift into territorial mode and begin chasing away other geese.
Plants for Birds Honorable Mention: Karen Boyer Guyton
The brown, cylindrical top of a cattail stands upright as a green Anna's Hummingbird half its size pulls away seed fibers, their fluff extending from her beak to the top of the plant. The sunlit cattail is illuminated around the edges
Species: Anna's Hummingbird
Location: Quilcene, Wash.
Camera: Sony a7R IV with a Sony FE 70-200mm f2.8 GM OSS lens; 1/5000 second at f4; ISO 800Story Behind the Shot: Here in western Washington, Anna's Hummingbirds are year-round residents. In spring females collect nesting material. Because I have some mobility issues, I do a great deal of my photography right outside my door. Getting the right lighting is always a bit tricky and timing the hummingbirds' visits to my patio is always a guess, so I've become very patient and observant. One of my favorite subjects is the Anna's as they collect cattail fluff. I find this hummingbird shows a certain elegance as she gently tugs the seed fibers from the cattail.
Bird Lore: Hummingbird nests are amazing structures: tiny, strong but flexible, capable of stretching as the baby birds grow. To build them, females must seek out the most delicate materials in nature -- like spider webs and plant down -- to form the felted walls of the nest. As the heads of cattails begin to disintegrate to disperse their seeds to the wind, they make a perfect source for the kind of light fluff that the hummingbirds need.
Video Honorable Mention: Brent Cizek
Snow gently falls across a wintery gray landscape with a Great Gray Owl perched on a thin branch. The owl slowly turns its head, revealing piercing yellow eyes and a bloodstained beak. Snow has accumulated on the face as it surveys its surroundings. The owl slowly spreads its wings and silently flies away.
Species: Great Gray Owl
Location: Koochiching County, Minn.
Camera: Canon EOS R5 with EF 600mm f4L IS II USM lens; 1/250 second at f4.0; ISO 800Story Behind the Shot: I spent a morning on northern Minnesota's backroads searching for an elusive Great Gray Owl. A heavy band of snowfall was in the forecast and I wanted to get footage of an owl hunting in the winter weather. After a few passes in my truck, I spied one sitting in a tree near the road. While the snow came down like crazy, I filmed the owl before it retreated to the woods to roost.
Bird Lore: Winter conditions don't seem to bother the Great Gray, North America's largest owl. Feathers make up much of its apparent bulk and its thick plumage allows it to thrive in subzero temps. It will plunge 18 inches into drifts to catch mice and other prey its keen ears detect moving under the deep snow.
Professional Honorable Mention: Steve Jessmore
A Red-tailed Hawk holds an open-mouthed chipmunk in its yellow talons, the rodent's head and front paws peeking out from a snowy perch. The raptor's head bends low as it looks at its chipmunk prey, a piece of fur in its blue, pointed bill.
Species: Red-tailed Hawk
Location: Kensington Metropark, Milford Township, Mich.
Camera: Sony a9ii with Sony FE 200- 600mm f5.6-6.3-GB OSS lens; 1/2000 second at f7.1; ISO 3200Story Behind the Shot: I was hiking on a snowy, dark winter afternoon with a new camera and lens combination when a friend spotted a female Red-tailed Hawk. She flew out of sight, but we found her nearby jumping and grabbing leaves, trying to get her missed prey to reappear. When an eastern chipmunk ran from beneath the debris a few minutes later, the hawk quickly caught it and carried it to a tree. It was incredible to see that connection between predator and prey -- one that I don't usually get to share in a wildlife photo.
Bird Lore: The most widespread of the soaring hawks in North America, the Red-tail also has the most generalized diet: At any given place and time, it hunts whatever prey animals are most readily available. It may focus on squirrels or rats in city parks, snakes in high desert regions or jackrabbits on sagebrush flats. Chipmunks are common prey in some places; even though they provide only a small meal, they're relatively easy to capture.
These winning images originally ran in the Summer issue. To receive our print magazine, become a member by making a donation today.
