Red-winged Blackbird. Photo: Kathrin Swoboda/Audubon Photography Awards
The Audubon Photography Awards are celebrating their tenth year with an array of bird images that capture moments often missed by the human eye. In the contest’s grand prize winning photo, amateur photographer Kathrin Swoboda presents a red-winged blackbird emitting what appears to be perfect rings of smoke from its beak into the cold morning air. Another image by photographer Kevin Ebi catches an unbelievable rabbit theft in which a bald eagle struggles to steal dinner from an unsuspecting fox.
A new category revealed in this year’s contest is Plants for Birds, which honors Audubon’s Plants for Birds program. The category asked photographers to present unique depictions of birds alongside local plant life, as a way to addresses the importance of native plants to the survival of surrounding wildlife. This winner of the inaugural award was the San Diego-based photographer Michael Schulte who presented a hooded oriole gathering bits of palm fibers for a nest. You can see the rest of this year’s award winners on Audubon’s website.
Great Blue Herons. Photo: Melissa Rowell/Audubon Photography Awards
Bald Eagle and red fox. Photo: Kevin Ebi/Audubon Photography Awards
Horned Puffin (captive). Photo: Sebastian Velasquez/Audubon Photography Awards
Hooded Oriole on a California fan palm. Photo: Michael Schulte/Audubon Photography Awards
Greater Sage-Grouse. Photo: Elizabeth Boehm/Audubon Photography Awards
https://www.thisiscolossal.com/2019/07/2019-audubon-photography-awards/