The 2024 Audubon Photography Awards: Winners and Honorable Mentions

Birds advanced over hundreds of thousands of years to thrive in particular habitats, but they’re additionally remarkably adaptable. Many reside in our cities and alongside our infrastructure and readily unfold to unfamiliar terrain. The Birds in Landscapes Prize, a new class on this 12 months’s Audubon Images Awards, celebrates the great thing about birds within the broader context of each pure and developed environment. Its winner, a picture of the globe-trotting California Quail in its most popular scrubby turf, is a stunner—as are all of the photographs and movies that comply with.

This 12 months, our judges, nameless entries, reviewed greater than 8,500 submissions. Annually it appears to get more durable for them to choose their favorites. Luckily, you’ll be able to sit again and benefit from the outcomes. 

The 2024 Judges 

Beginner, Skilled, Youth, Grand, Crops for Birds, Fisher, and Birds in Landscapes Prizes

• Sabine Meyer, pictures director, Nationwide Audubon Society
• Lucas Bustamante, environmental photojournalist and biologist
• Preeti Desai, senior director of social media & storytelling, Nationwide Audubon Society
• Daniel Dietrich, wildlife photographer, filmmaker and cinematographer
• Morgan Heim, conservation photographer, filmmaker and adventurer
• Noppadol Paothong, nature/conservation photographer
• John Rowden, conservation marketing consultant and native vegetation knowledgeable 

Video Prize

• Mike Fernandez, video producer, Nationwide Audubon Society
• Rina Miele, wildlife photographer and videographer
• Mick Thompson, wildlife photographer and videographer

Feminine Chook Prize

• Alyssa Bueno, wildlife photographer, Feminist Chook Membership
• Founders of the Galbatross Undertaking: Brooke Bateman, Stephanie Beilke, Martha Harbison, Joanna Wu

Judging standards: technical high quality, originality, inventive advantage

Grand Prize: Mathew Malwitz

Class: Beginner
Species: Blackburnian Warbler
Location: Promised Land State Park, Greentown, Pennsylvania
Digital camera: Nikon Z9 with a NIKKOR 500mm f/4G ED VR lens; 1/2500 second at f/4.0; ISO 1250

Behind the Shot: Whereas out for a stroll, I had been following the track of a Magnolia Warbler alongside a path when two quarreling Blackburnian Warblers dropped from the timber above. They landed just a few toes in entrance of me, prompting me to rigorously step again. They remained immobile, and I fearful that the autumn had injured them, however a second later they started battling once more. As soon as I noticed the pair had been too busy to note me, I slowly dropped to the bottom at their stage to get a greater look into their world. I adjusted my settings for motion and snapped as they fought. The scene lasted a couple of minutes earlier than they let one another go and returned to the cover.

Chook Lore: The fiery throat of the male Blackburnian Warbler may recommend tropical warmth, however this long-distance migrant principally avoids the most well liked zones. On their South American wintering grounds on the slopes of the Andes, Blackburnians vary via cool, moist forest and blend peacefully amongst flocks of resident tropical birds. On their breeding grounds in northeastern North America, they flit about in shady coniferous groves—however the scene can get heated as males fiercely compete to assert the very best nesting territories.

Choose’s Take (Daniel Dietrich): This picture incorporates a lot of what all of us hope for in a spectacular picture. The photographer had the data to get very low to create a foreground and background that completely highlights the topic. The extreme motion is captured completely as the 2 animals grasp at one another’s beaks. The symmetry of the wing place and colour of the birds are good.

Skilled Award Winner: Liron Gertsman

Species: Willow Ptarmigan
Location: Kluane Nationwide Park, Yukon, Canada
Digital camera: Canon EOS R5 with a Canon RF 100-500mm f/4.5-7.1 L IS USM lens; 1/5000 second at f/7.1; ISO 1600

Behind the Shot: Completely tailored to harsh situations of alpine and subalpine habitats, ptarmigan are well-known for altering their feathers to match both snow in winter or rocky environment in summer season—a mastery of camouflage that makes them tough to seek out all 12 months. After I noticed a covey transferring via snowy terrain in whiteout situations, I captured this high-key picture as a gaggle flew previous.

Chook Lore: One of the vital widespread grouse, the Willow Ptarmigan lives at snowy northern latitudes across the globe. It not solely molts its brown feathers in winter, it additionally grows “snowshoes”: stiff feathers on the toes that assist it stroll atop the drifts. However there’s regional variation. Within the extra temperate British Isles, the native subspecies (the Purple Grouse) is darkish brown all 12 months.

Choose’s Take (Lucas Bustamante): This picture awakens a sense of peace and sweetness in me, and that is exactly how I understand nature. As well as, the accuracy of framing all of the flying ptarmigans in a harmonious composition is spectacular—as is the right distinction of the white snow and the birds with their black dots. The photographer really freezes the artwork of nature!

Beginner Award Winner: Tristan Vratil

Species: Nice-tailed Grackle
Location: Austin, Texas
Digital camera: Canon EOS R5 with a Canon EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM lens and Viltrox EF-R2 Canon EF Lens to Canon RF Digital camera Mount Adapter; 1/6 second at f/13; ISO 400

Behind the Shot: As I drive residence in visitors after a protracted workday, I stay up for witnessing a day by day gathering of grackles. I lean onto my steering wheel to lookup on the birds flying in a chaotic sample and ponder whether different drivers discover their magnificence. One night, I grabbed my digicam and tripod and arrange at a nook fuel station, positioning my lens to indicate the commonplace environment. I used a slower shutter pace to seize the flying birds’ hectic actions whereas maintaining these perched on the ability traces in focus.

Chook Lore: A century in the past, Nice-tailed Grackles in the USA lived solely in southern Texas. Now widespread, they breed in colonies as far north as Minnesota and Idaho and sometimes collect in massive, communal roosts. Metropolis facilities are widespread spots for congregations, maybe as a result of fewer predators are round.

Choose’s Take (Lucas Bustamante): I fell in love with this picture. It has a lot to inform: first and most significantly, that you just don’t must journey abroad or exterior your metropolis to discover a spectacular second. It additionally exhibits us that nature exists not solely as an remoted or pristine surroundings, but in addition on the intersection of the wild with people. And final however not least, the attention of the photographer to symbolize the motion utilizing motion and take this picture on-the-fly makes this a well-deserved profitable picture

Crops for Birds Award Winner: Linda Scher

Class: Beginner
Species: Black-capped Chickadee
Location: Richfield, Minnesota
Digital camera: Nikon Z9 with a Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 500mm f/5.6E PF ED VR lens and a Nikon AF-S Teleconverter TC-14E; 1/1250 second at f/8.0; ISO 18000

Behind the Shot: I used to be strolling across the Wooden Lake Nature Heart, an city protect that I usually go to, after I noticed a number of Black-capped Chickadees and goldfinches having fun with broad-leaf cattail seeds; this little man was particularly acrobatic and entertaining. I elevated my ISO to maintain my shutter pace quick sufficient to seize the rapidly transferring topic. I really like birding in late summer season, when seedeaters appear to have an countless provide of meals.

Chook Lore: As a result of Black-capped Chickadees keep on their northern breeding grounds all 12 months, they need to adapt to the altering seasons. These tiny omnivores devour all kinds of bugs, seeds, small fruits, and different fare. Transferring about their territories, they’re continually alert for brand spanking new meals sources. This chickadee is only some weeks outdated, as indicated by its free feathers and dusky cap, but it surely’s already exploring this seeding cattail.

Choose’s Take (John Rowden): To me, this picture captures what many individuals love about Black-capped Chickadees—their large, inquisitive hen vitality packed right into a tiny physique. The picture invitations you into an ephemeral second with the industrious hen bending the cattail to its will with no small effort on its half. The flying items of tiny fluff add motion to the tableau, and the picture even incorporates a shock: Zooming in you’ll be able to see a tiny caterpillar within the chickadee’s invoice. 

Youth Award Winner: Parham Pourahmad

Species: American Kestrel
Location: San Jose, California
Digital camera: Nikon D3500 with a Sigma 150-600mm f/5-6.3 DG OS HSM Modern lens; 1/1600 second at f/6.3; ISO 360

Behind the Shot: I discovered this kestrel pair consuming bugs and gravel to assist them digest prey. I later noticed them repeat these behaviors, besides this time the male would fly as much as the feminine and perch on her again to mate. As a result of pedestrians make kestrels skittish, I sat within the automobile with my mother, ready to get a photograph. Ultimately, the male approached the feminine once more. I clicked away, hoping to get his wings straight as much as keep away from any shadows. After I checked out my footage, I discovered my favourite. The golden dawn mild and darkish shadows of the hill make the picture for me.

Chook Lore: Kestrels make up a gaggle of greater than a dozen falcon species, however the American Kestrel—widespread from Alaska to South America—is the one one within the Western Hemisphere. Nesting in tree holes and different cavities, the feminine does a lot of the egg incubating, whereas the male performs a significant function in bringing meals for hatchlings. The identical birds sometimes pair up each breeding season so long as each are alive, however they usually spend the winter individually, reuniting in spring.

Choose’s Take (Sabine Meyer): Such a traditional fantastic thing about a photograph, with nice heat mild and saturated wealthy colours. The birds are caught within the act of mating and mesh collectively in a sublime composition that has simply the correct quantity of damaging area across the motion.

Video Award Winner: Steven Chu

Species: Purple Gallinule
Location: Christmas, Florida
Digital camera: Nikon Z9 with a NIKKOR Z 800mm f/6.3 VR S lens; 1/320 second at f/8.0; ISO 180

Behind the Shot: On a two-week journey, I spent my first day on the Orlando Wetlands and beloved it a lot that I wound up going there for the following 13 sunrises and sunsets. I used to be particularly interested in the Purple Gallinules’ good colours. Someday I seen two birds being bothered by a 3rd. Time and again the intruder flew close to the couple, who confirmed their agitation by squawking. Lastly, the pair used their toes to safe the intruder’s head and peck at it just a few occasions. The message was acquired.

Chook Lore: Most marsh birds have cryptic colours to go together with their shy habits, however the Purple Gallinule is a gaudy exception. Adults put on vibrant hues on their feathers, payments, and toes, as in the event that they’d given up hope of being inconspicuous. Disputes amongst Purple Gallinules are normally resolved by posturing and bluffing, but when that fails, highly effective kicks with these large yellow toes will rapidly determine the end result.

Choose’s Take (Mick Thompson): This gorgeous video caught our consideration immediately. The colours and lighting are good, and the motion tells an fascinating story. The 2 Purple Gallinules had been clearly not proud of the presence of the third, and it’s fascinating to observe the way in which they use their beaks and lengthy toes to get the purpose throughout. The main target and framing are good, and the videographer was capable of seize the entire story of those brightly coloured birds. 

Feminine Chook Prize: Travis Potter

Class: Beginner
Species: Wild Turkey
Location: Roseville, Minnesota
Digital camera: Canon EOS R7 with a Canon 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM lens; 1/640 second at f/5.6; ISO 2000

Behind the Shot: I seen this Wild Turkey whereas I used to be driving residence from my weekly go to to an assisted dwelling facility and watched as she scrounged across the corroded metal of an deserted railroad monitor for any little bit of meals. I walked rigorously onto the tracks to border the main traces of the rails. That’s when she stretched her wings right into a ballerina’s pose amid the chain-link fence, asphalt, and concrete. The distinction of pure and manufactured was stark. As people sprawl, the species that had been right here lengthy earlier than us carve new niches. Wild Turkeys that roam suburban alleys and yards are a marvel to some and a pesky nuisance to others. In capturing this picture, I witnessed the tough dance these birds stroll within the locations we name residence.

Chook Lore: Though Wild Turkeys had lengthy been a meals staple for a lot of Native American peoples, solely after Europeans arrived did the elevated searching strain drastically cut back turkey populations, wiping the birds out altogether over massive areas of the USA. The comeback of the Wild Turkey has been one of many nice conservation success tales of the previous century. The large birds have confirmed surprisingly adaptable in altered habitats; they’re now widespread across the edges of many cities, recurrently coming into suburban yards.

Choose’s Take (Alyssa Bueno): I am keen on this picture as a result of it captures the Wild Turkey in its city surroundings moderately than as a good close-up. She spreads her wings in a formidable, upright pose that radiates persona, completely befitting a Feminine Chook Prize winner.

Birds in Landscapes Prize: Kevin Lohman

Class: Skilled
Species: California Quail
Location: Santa Cruz, California
Digital camera: Nikon D6 with a NIKKOR 180-400mm f/4E TC1.4 FL ED VR lens and Constructed-in 1.4x teleconverter; 1/800 second at f/5.6; ISO 560

Behind the Shot: It was near sundown, and I used to be strolling alongside an open space, in search of wildlife. I heard a California Quail and noticed this male perched on high of a bush, appearing as sentinel for his flock—able to name out a warning if threats appeared. I moved to a spot the place I might see layers within the panorama and snapped this picture with a protracted lens. Having wildlife within the scene, versus a easy panorama, makes for extra of a particular second: The hen is just there fleetingly relative to the whole lot else.

Chook Lore: The well-named California Quail was initially native all through a lot of the state, in addition to the Baja California peninsula and small elements of Oregon and Nevada. Inside that vary, coveys run on the bottom in shrubby habitats like chaparral and sage scrub, avoiding each open desert and dense forest. That may recommend the species is choosy about the place it roams. However launched populations have confirmed in any other case, thriving elsewhere within the West and even in such far-flung locations as Hawai‘i, Chile, the Mediterranean island of Corsica, and New Zealand.

Choose’s Take (Daniel Dietrich): This can be a acquainted scene for me dwelling in Level Reyes, and one I don’t take without any consideration. Whereas close-up photographs could be dramatic, stepping again can create fantastic outcomes. Whereas the panorama is straightforward, it’s this quail’s residence, his world. He sits as a protector over his covey on this fantastically captured picture. The dramatic lighting, the fog, and hen place all come collectively so properly right here.

Fisher Prize: Douglas DeFelice

Class: Skilled
Species: Widespread Gallinule
Location: Tarpon Springs, Florida
Digital camera: Canon R3 with a 600mm F4 lens; 1/1250 second at f/4.0; ISO 640

Behind the Shot: I used to be visiting A. L. Anderson Park, capturing photographs of wildlife as common. I sat on a bench, observing two Widespread Gallinules as they rummaged for vegetation to eat. I seen one diving underwater for meals. I don’t see this habits usually, so I attempted to seize the gallinule because it submerged. It was virtually sundown, and the solar was backlit on the hen. I needed to seize the water droplets, so I underexposed the picture. I used to be fortunate to snap this because the gallinule dove under the floor.

Chook Lore: The lengthy, skinny toes of the Widespread Gallinule mirror each its life-style and household tree. It’s associated to rails, which prowl about dense marshes and moist mud, the place their lengthy toes assist hold them from sinking. It’s additionally associated to coots, which spend most of their time swimming. Coots have broad lobes alongside the toes’ edges, which serve like webbing on a duck’s foot for pushing in opposition to the water. The gallinule, which divides its time between the marsh and open water, lacks such lobes—maybe making it extra agile on land.

Choose’s Take (Daniel Dietrich): So usually we’re centered on eye contact or tight face photographs. I really like this picture for its creativity, and the chance in submitting it. There’s a magnificence within the construction of the legs and the splashing water. The reflections within the water distinction the chaos above very properly.

Skilled Honorable Point out: Kevin Lohman

Species: Forster’s Tern
Location: Mountain View, California
Digital camera: Nikon Z9 with a Nikon NIKKOR Z 600mm f/4 TC VR S lens; 1/6400 second at f/4.0; ISO 560

Behind the Shot: I watched Forster’s Terns flying over a lake and diving into the water, usually developing with small fish. Holding a protracted lens, I attempted to maintain the birds within the body as they rapidly flew out of the water, although it was tough to foretell the place they’d emerge. I used a quick shutter pace, however the vibrant sky and the terns’ white feathers required that I watch my publicity. This tern popped up close to me and did a fast shake, sending droplets in each course. When it twisted its head to take away the water, it regarded prefer it was flying the other way up.

Chook Lore: 4 species of medium-sized terns—Forster’s, Widespread, Arctic, and Roseate—look confusingly comparable. What’s extra, they forage in comparable methods, by plunging from the air to seize small fish just under the water’s floor. However they differ in breeding habits. Whereas the opposite three normally lay their eggs in easy scrapes on the naked floor of islands or seashores, the Forster’s is a marsh hen. It usually builds a considerable nest of plant materials in a clump of marsh vegetation or an analogous assist, similar to on high of a muskrat home.

Choose’s Take (Sabine Meyer): The right second of high-energy contortion makes this picture explode proper in entrance of us. We are able to virtually really feel the glistening water droplets splash onto our faces. The tern’s transfer is swish, and the road of water popping out of its beak helps join the composition from head to tail. I additionally love that this body freezes the attention’s nictitating membrane because the hen blinks, an ideal seize.

Beginner Honorable Point out: Erin Boisvert

Species: Barred Owl
Location : Newtown, Connecticut
Digital camera: Sony a7 IV Mirrorless Digital Digital camera with a Sony FE 200-600mm F/5.6-6.3 G OSS lens; 1/500 second at f/6.3; ISO 3200

Behind the Shot: After many quiet hours of birding on a blustery December day, I noticed a Barred Owl swoop via the timber. Two Purple-tailed Hawks flew in the identical course. Screeching erupted, and I adopted the sound to seek out the birds preventing over a squirrel impaled on a tree department. The owl got here out victorious, and the hawks retreated behind me. I watched in awe because the owl moved with the convenience of an Olympic gymnast to keep watch over the hawks and its dinner, and I captured this picture because it regarded in my course.

Chook Lore: The Barred Owl can’t thrive with out areas of deep forest, however inside that habitat it stays plentiful due to its versatile habits. The species feeds on a variety of prey, together with mammals, birds, snakes, frogs, fish, massive bugs, and crayfish. Its searching patterns fluctuate as properly: Though it’s normally nocturnal like most owls, it’s going to additionally hunt in daylight. One among its main predators is its bigger cousin, the Nice Horned Owl, which favors open areas—cause sufficient for the Barred Owl to stay to the deep woods.

Choose’s Take (Daniel Dietrich): That is an unbelievable second caught by the photographer. We have now all felt the challenges of photographing birds via thick branches. The photographer discovered the appropriate line to have minimal branches blocking the topic and prey whereas capturing the place of the owl, which was seemingly hanging from the prey momentarily. Sharp and uncooked in nature, this picture is a winner.  

Video Honorable Point out: Tim Timmis

Species: American Avocet
Location: Port Bolivar, Texas
Digital camera: Canon R3 with a Canon RF 100-500mm f/4.5-7.1 L IS USM lens and Canon 1.4x III tele-extender; 1/120 second at f/10.0

Behind the Shot: As I entered Houston Audubon’s Bolivar Flats Shorebird Sanctuary earlier than dawn, I noticed a small flock of American Avocets standing close to a sandbar offshore. I waded to an adjoining sandbar and lay down with my floor pod, positioning myself in order that the solar would rise behind the birds. I began filming video as rays peeked over the horizon. When the solar was about midway up, some birds took off. Seconds later the remaining launched and flew throughout the solar.

Chook Lore: With lengthy, skinny legs and payments, American Avocets are elegant in define and swish of their feeding habits. Though they could spot small creatures and choose them up, their trademark foraging transfer is to stroll ahead slowly in shallow water whereas sweeping their invoice ideas backwards and forwards just under the floor, discovering tiny invertebrates by contact. The place such small prey are plentiful, many avocets can feed with out direct competitors and will collect in flocks of dozens. The big numbers solely amplify their magnificence.

Choose’s Take (Rina Miele): This was a kind of scenes that transports you to a spot, to a second—and that’s very highly effective. The temper and emotion transcends our digital screens and brings us proper there on the water, feeling the heat of the solar, and the humidity within the air. I really like the way you see the lift-off via the departure of all the birds—they virtually dissipate into the dawn. And they’re distinctly avocets, which can also be a wonderful element. It’s a kind of scenes that takes my breath away, each time.

Crops for Birds Honorable Point out: Trisha Snider

Class: Beginner
Species: Sedge Wren
Location: Wallacetown, Ontario, Canada
Digital camera: Nikon D500 with a Sigma 150-600; 1/1250 second at f/8.0; ISO 560

Behind the Shot: It’s not usually our neighborhood sees a Sedge Wren, so after I discovered one was noticed on the John E. Pearce Provincial Park, I went to look. I heard the hen singing immediately after which seen him within the grasses utilizing the gray-head coneflowers as stilts as he moved alongside the trail. He would dip down into the grasses and are available again as much as the highest and sing. Photographing the small, quick hen was difficult. As I stood again to look at his magnificence and hearken to him sing, I felt honored to have this second. Birders famous that he attracted a mate: I’m hopeful they’ll return.

Chook Lore: A shy denizen of damp meadows, lurking among the many sedges and singing an not noticeable chattering track, the Sedge Wren is straightforward to miss. Lately, an odd seasonal sample has come to mild. Sedge Wrens on the northern Nice Plains could start nesting in Could or June. Farther south and east, they could go unseen in early summer season, instantly showing to breed in July. These is likely to be the identical people, nesting and elevating younger in two totally different elements of their vary—a really uncommon scenario.

Choose’s Take (John Rowden): Most frequently, vegetation present the secretive Sedge Wren with refuge and a spot to forage out of our sight. However on this picture, the gray-head coneflowers create a jungle gym-like construction for the hen to pop up and sing its staccato track. The sharpness of the picture, with crisp traces of stems and shadows contrasting with the smooth, subtly lovely plumage of the hen offers us a hanging—and fleeting—window into this shy hen’s life.

Youth Honorable Point out: Edwin ​​Liu

Species: Purple-necked Grebe
Location: Etobicoke, Ontario, Canada
Digital camera: Canon R5 with a Canon EF 400mm f/4 DO IS II USM lens; 1/1600 second at f/4.0; ISO 800

Behind the Shot: I went out early one June morning to see a Purple-necked Grebe household that I had been observing on the shore of Lake Ontario. I needed to watch for the appropriate time and discover the appropriate place with good lighting situations. To get an eye-level picture, I put a tripod into the water and made certain it was simply above the water’s floor. Issues occurred in a short time. Fortunately, I managed to get the shot I needed: this picture that exhibits feeding habits of fogeys and chicks of their habitat. Laborious work brings luck.

Chook Lore: Grebes are sometimes thought of primitive birds, however they take a contemporary strategy to household life: Each mother and father share basically equal roles in elevating their younger, a comparatively uncommon avian dynamic. Collectively the female and male construct a floating nest, anchored to marsh vegetation in shallow water. They take turns incubating eggs; then the hatchlings trip on the again of 1 mother or father whereas the opposite dives for aquatic creatures to feed them.

Choose’s Take (Daniel Dietrich): An outstanding picture timed completely by the photographer: The low angle creates a beautiful foreground with the reflection resulting in a pointy, well-composed picture of a young second in nature.