The 2026 Audubon Photography Awards: Honorable Mentions

Behind the Shot: I​​​​​​ frequently visit this area and had always wanted to capture an image of the Red-legged Cormorant in flight, framed by the natural arch formed by the rocks and bathed in the sunset light. However, I had yet to achieve that perfect shot despite previous attempts. On this occasion, the evening light was magnificent. After several tries I finally caught this cormorant in exquisite detail—wings fully spread, head tilted upward—set against the rolling waves, which added an extra touch as the light filtered through the water. 

Bird Lore: Primarily birds of cold nearshore waters, Red-legged Cormorants occur along the Pacific Coast of South America as far north as northern Peru, where the cool, nutrient-rich Humboldt Current keeps the sea temperature low. On the Atlantic side, they are restricted to southern Argentina. These cormorants build nests of seaweed and debris on ledges of rocky islands or mainland cliffs, and seldom disperse very far from their nesting colonies. Some populations have declined seriously in recent years, and the species is now classified as near threatened.  

Judge’s Take (Sebastian Herzog):  The rocky arch frames the sun-drenched waves at sunset, while a solitary cormorant spreads its wings, about to land. Light and composition dance in this unique scene.  

Behind the Shot: Golden-rumped Euphonias have always been one of my favorite species; I’m fascinated by how their contrasting blue and yellow tones stand out in their natural habitat. I sought them out in Alto del Zarzo, where a local energy company had implemented an environmental education program. As a result, the community was not only familiar with the bird but also working towards its preservation. Locals pointed me to where the species’ song could be heard. Over months, I walked the same path at least five times until, one quiet morning, I spotted a couple perched in a palm.​​​​ ​​​​This dynamic photo, depicting one of the birds building its nest with dried mosses and lichens, shows the intimate relationship between these Andean birds and the plants that sustain their life cycle.  

Bird Lore: Euphonias were once considered to be small, odd tanagers, until genetic studies showed they were more closely related to finches. Golden-rumped Euphonias are widespread in South America, with pairs and small flocks wandering through forests feeding on small fruits. Their favorite is mistletoe; the fruits of these parasitic plants make up the bulk of the species’ diet. When it comes time to nest, the male and female work together to build a messy globular structure of grass, moss, and plant fiber, often on an epiphyte-laden tree. The strategy helps hide their young from predators.  

Judge’s Take (Claudio Contreras Koob): The flight of this euphonia was masterfully captured at the precise moment its wings spread. The bird’s gaze directs our attention toward the vegetation where it is about to land, highlighting the importance of the environment to the survival of this beautiful creature. 
 

Behind the Shot: A year after my wife and I honeymooned at Cannon Beach, we came back to celebrate our anniversary. I was mesmerized as squadron after squadron of Brown Pelicans flew low across the water. I walked a mile up the beach and discovered their destination. Where a small creek met the ocean, hundreds of pelicans bathed in the fresh water. With Haystack Rock in the background, I positioned myself so I could capture one flock and got eye-level with the pelicans. That’s when I captured the image of a pelican flying in to join the congregation. I was physically shaking after the experience: an iconic coastal species at an iconic coastal landmark, reminding us that people and birds can share the shore. 

Bird Lore: Brown Pelicans are such familiar sights along the Pacific Coast that it’s easy to assume they’re always around. But in fact, some of these birds make major seasonal movements. After breeding in winter and spring, penguins from many colonies in western Mexico and southern California regularly move north along the coast beginning in early summer. Flocks of hundreds may gather at favored spots in northern California, Oregon, Washington, even southern British Columbia, with numbers peaking in early fall. By late fall the adults are moving south again, some flying 1,000 miles or more for the return trip.  

Judge’s Take (Mary Anne Karren): The Birds Without Borders category seeks to showcase the movement of birds over long distances and connected habitats, and this image does it  beautifully. The soft fog, muted colors, and iconic landscape create an atmospheric scene, while the lone flying bird and the busy, preening flock below speak to constant movement.  

Behind the Shot: It was a Saturday morning, around 6:30 a.m​​​​. With a group of friends, I set out on a hike. Around 300 feet in, we heard the unmistakable call of Spectacled Parrotlets. The large flock flew too high to observe closely; however, farther on, we saw the birds again as we neared a collection of trees with hollowed trunks. I began filming one individual that was perched, alert, at a trunk entrance. It was then that another parrotlet emerged from inside and tenderly approached the other. ​​Their beaks touched together, as if kissing, and we initially thought the pair were courting and exchanging affections. Upon reviewing the video, we grasped the true nature of the scene: a parent feeding its offspring.  

Bird Lore: Spectacled Parrotlets are devoted parents. Only the female of the pair incubates the eggs, hidden away in a tree hole or other cavity, but the male comes to feed her during incubation. After the eggs hatch, both parents bring food for the nestlings. Feeding the chicks is a multi-step process: The adults swallow seeds, berries, buds, flowers, and other items, partially digest them, and then regurgitate the softened mass directly into the mouths of their offspring. They gradually introduce them to more solid food before the young fledge after four or five weeks.   

Judge’s Take (Sebastian Herzog): This video depicts a tender moment half-hidden from view in a tree hollow. Scenes like this have the power to make almost anyone fall in love with the fascinating world of birds. As such, this footage powerfully advocates for the need to protect all bird species. 

Behind the Shot: A friend and I headed to a wetland on the banks of the Elqui River in November, when the Spectacled Tyrant breeds in Chile. In a spectacular display, the male plummets from high, its wings half-closed to reveal its white patches. Just before landing, it performs a 360-degree flip while spreading its wings, a maneuver that lasts microseconds. I had tried to capture that precise moment previously, but I was always in too much of a hurry. On this occasion, armed with a tripod and plenty of patience, we waited for hours. By the end of the day, the image I’d had in my mind became a reality. 

Bird Lore: While many members of the tyrant flycatcher family are drab in color and rely only on voice to defend their territories, the male Spectacled Tyrant is an exception. He wears a flashy pattern and shows it off, flying high and then diving, wings half-spread and calling loudly. The air rushing through his wing feathers produces a buzzy whistle. Spectacled Tyrants abandon the southernmost parts of their range in winter, when insects become scarce. Those from Chile cross to the east side of the Andes and continue northward, while those from southern Argentina migrate as far north as Bolivia.  

Judge’s Take (Sebastian Herzog): The background, which looks like a uniformly painted canvas intended to minimize distractions, allows us to focus on this spectacular shot of a Spectacled Tyrant performing its territorial and courtship flight. The photo shows each of the wing and tail feathers with almost perfect symmetry. At the bottom edge of the image, the tips of a plant hint at the bird’s starting point, allowing us to imagine the trajectory of its aerial display. 

Behind the Shot: Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed this Red-tailed Hawk fly across a field. I zoomed in on the bird and saw it carried a rodent in its talons. I rushed over when it landed in an oak tree, hoping to photograph the hawk before it finished its meal. Luckily, I found it perched out in the open, so I experimented with different angles until I got a nice blurry background. My goal was to capture both the gopher’s face and the hawk in the frame to emphasize the emotional intensity of predation. Soon, the hawk lifted the dead gopher’s head, and the rodent’s mouth stretched open, appearing to scream. 

Bird Lore: The most familiar and widespread raptors in North America, Red-tailed Hawks are common in all kinds of open country, from farmland to deserts, but they avoid dense forests. Small mammals make up the bulk of their diet. They do much of their hunting by watching from an elevated perch, but they will also seek prey by cruising at moderate heights and scanning the ground below. After capturing a prey animal, unless it is too heavy to lift, they will carry it to an exposed perch before they begin dining.  

Judge’s Take (Sabine Meyer): Predation is part of nature’s order, but I was impressed that this young photographer did not shy away from this deadly encounter and worked on recording this “decisive moment.” We are compelled to stare at the gopher’s expression, despite the horror it captures. 

Behind the Shot: From a public walkway above a Brandt’s Cormorant colony, I watched as birds repeatedly flew in with nesting material. To capture this photo, I slowed my shutter speed while panning, which blurred this bird’s wings and kept its head and the bundle of grass sharp. Holding a long lens made the process more challenging and most frames were not useable, but I caught this moment. What drew me to this scene was the connection between ocean and cliff—these cormorants rely on marine vegetation like surfgrass to build and maintain their nests, linking the health of the nearshore ocean to their success on land. I hope the image highlights the effort behind this behavior and the importance of protecting coastal ecosystems. 

Bird Lore: Along the Pacific Coast, Brandt’s Cormorants build large, messy nests on islands or steep mainland cliffs. The male may begin gathering plant material before finding a mate, industriously bringing back grass, flowers, and sticks from land or seaweed and surfgrass from the water. His early efforts may not result in a large structure, however, because other males in the colony constantly steal unattended material when he goes out for more. After he attracts a mate, he continues to bring more material, and both members of the pair take part in the arrangements. 

Judge’s Take (Marlene Pantin): This cormorant is clearly focused on its task of building a nest. The blurred wings in the clouds give an almost ethereal cast to the photo, creating a feeling of deep tranquility.  

Behind the Shot: This image was a happy accident. I was on my car exploring ​​​​the coast around the fishing community of Talcaruca, filming for my YouTube channel. I was drawn to the rocky outcrops, where the combination of wind, low-angled sunlight, and backlit surf spray created a beautiful tonal gradient. I loved the setting, but I was missing my main character. I drove slowly until​​​​ I found a spot where everything lined up, and then I saw the Neotropic Cormorant perched on the rock. It all clicked. The bird’s small presence gave a sense of scale to the impressive landscape, and I made sure to capture the bird’s silhouette against the sky so it stood out. I hope this image does a little justice to the common birds that we often overlook in favor of rare sightings. 

Bird Lore: Most of South America’s half-dozen cormorant species are restricted to coastal and offshore waters. The Neotropic Cormorant, by contrast, is adapted to almost every kind of aquatic habitat. It lives along the Amazon and its tributaries, thrives in lowland freshwater marshes and swamps, and even frequents lakes high in the Andes. Within a broad range from the southern tip of South America to the central United States, it forages like other cormorants, swimming underwater to capture small fishes, crustaceans, and other prey.  

Judge’s Take (Sebastian Herzog): In this striking image, strange coastal rock formations bathed in a mystical mist catch the eye, and the birds —perched as if they were tiny ornaments on the cliffs—are only noticeable upon closer inspection. It is a highly original shot, captured at just the right moment at sunset and against the light, resulting in a variety of warm tones that create a deep three-dimensional effect. 

Behind the Shot: I searched for the Ruby-topaz Hummingbird for years. On my first attempt, I walked for a long, sunny day, but didn’t see one. The second time, I went back to the same spot. The area was full of flowers this species feeds on, but I had an allergic reaction, so that didn’t work out. On my third attempt, I went to the Uva National Park and failed again.​​​​ But then it came, my big day. I was invited to a site that was full of flowers in Buga and was in for a surprise: more than 10 hummingbirds, both male and female. They flitted around so fast that I was at first ​​​​unsuccessful at capturing their radiance. Then one approached me. I focused on it just in time. As it was about to dart away, I got this unique photo that captures its sun-drenched colors. 

Bird Lore: Very small but adorned with brilliant colors, the Ruby-topaz Hummingbird is widespread in northern South America. It favors relatively open country, such as savannas and forest edges, and even visits city gardens. The female takes sole responsibility for building the tiny, cup-shaped nest and raising the young, and she is appropriately camouflaged, lacking the male’s bright hues. In this image, the nictitating membrane—a translucent “third eyelid” that helps to protect the hummingbird’s eye as it zooms about the flowers—is partly closed.  

Judge’s Take (Jaír F. Coll): The photographer captures the dynamic flight of this hummingbird and integrates it into a harmonious dreamlike setting where the flower’s orange hues play off those of the bird. The bird’s subtle expression, as if absorbed in its surroundings, conveys a sense of peace, immersing the viewer in a natural trance where  time seems to stand still. 

Behind the Shot: I took an aluminum pontoon boat driven by an altogether entertaining captain while on a landscape photography tour of Caddo Lake, a stunningly beautiful bayou unlike anything I’d ever seen. Not as stable as a houseboat, the pontoon made any serious photography a bit tricky. Still, if you’ve never done this, you need to. It’s a treat. A seasonal downpour utterly soaked us and added to the challenge. As we continued our tour of the bayou, the rain lifted, and we came into a dark bay where a solitary Great Blue Heron stood amid the cypress trees. This regal photo certainly made up for the rain. 

Bird Lore: No other heron or egret is as widespread in North America as the Great Blue Heron. It is the most adaptable species, capable of thriving in surroundings as varied as broad marshes, narrow streams, or rocky coastlines. Its diet is equally varied. While fishes are at the top of its menu, it will also take frogs, crustaceans, insects, snakes, birds, rodents, and baby alligators. In arid regions, it may feed its young many voles and pocket gophers caught in dry fields. But in the classic surroundings of a southern cypress swamp, the heron will find all the fish it needs.  

Judge’s Take (Owen Reiser): I really like this image. It reminds me of sitting quietly in a kayak in some peaceful backwater swamp somewhere, trying not to be the person that accidentally drops their paddle and scares everything away. Nicely done!  

Behind the Shot: I began visiting the Ivy Creek Nature Area in the fall and noticed a Barred Owl nest box. This spring, I saw an adult owl catch a snapping turtle in broad daylight and figured I might have a chance to see the family. To keep a respectful distance from the nest, I brought my 600mm lens with a 1.4x teleconverter, heavy-duty tripod, and a gimbal head in a large backpack. Not long after I set up, I heard a squeaky call. Eventually, I spotted a small gray fluffball perched high on a branch. It was definitely exploring its new environment when moments later, its parent joined and began vigorously preening the owlet. Every kid knows that “loving, but a bit too much” kind of parenting—and this baby owl was no exception. 

Bird Lore: Birds of all kinds spend time preening their plumage, using their bills to clean, straighten, and smooth their feathers and down. For Barred Owls, this common maintenance activity also has a social function: Members of a pair may perch close together and take turns preening each other, especially those hard-to-reach areas of the head and neck, an action called allopreening. For adults, preening their downy young nestlings and fledglings is an essential part of parental care, even if the youngsters don’t always seem to enjoy it.  

Judge’s Take (Maddy Rifka): The Barred Owl is a species written into different stories across North America—belonging in one place, contested in another. Yet here, all of that falls away. What remains is the intimate, knowable act of care: A mother tends to her chick with a quiet certainty that outlasts the noise of opinion. 

Behind the Shot: While exploring a local preserve, I spotted a Common Nighthawk in flight several hundred yards away. These birds are masters of camouflage and are often only seen as fleeting shadows at dusk, so spotting one in late afternoon was a rare treat. I remained perfectly still and tracked the bird through my 800mm lens, wishing it might drift a little closer. It didn’t just approach, it banked toward me. I captured this frame the moment it touched down on a snag. Seeing a bird that’s usually invisible in the daylight fly and majestically land was a dream come true. To me, this image shows the serendipity of wildlife photography and illuminates a rarely seen side of this species. 

Bird Lore: Common Nighthawks do their foraging in the air, zigzagging around the sky in pursuit of flying insects, especially at dawn and dusk. They generally spend most daylight hours sitting still on bare ground or on a horizontal tree branch, but their color pattern helps them remain unnoticed. Compared to the male, the female in this photo has a smaller white wing patch, buff instead of white on the throat, and lacks a white tail band, giving her even better ground camouflage as she incubates her mottled eggs.  

Judge’s Take (Stephanie Beilke): What really excited me about this photo is that it’s not only a unique shot of a Common Nighthawk coming in for a landing, but it also clearly showcases one of the best ways to identify a female of the species: the smaller white patch on the underwing. 

Behind the Shot: Bald Eagles are a symbol of wild endurance, yet their survival increasingly depends on our human-created landscape. I frequently see them beside or even in the road scavenging roadkill, a dangerous behavior that brings them into conflict with drivers. I discovered this particular raptor feeding amid a cluster of wildflowers beside the pavement. I safely parked at a distance and approached on foot, sitting quietly on the gravel shoulder. As the bird looked up, I spotted an approaching car. I framed the composition so the oncoming headlights were a looming presence. This image offers a reminder that a roadway isn’t just a place for an eagle to find a meal—it’s also where the wild world risks a collision with our modern one. 

Bird Lore: The Bald Eagle’s comeback from population lows of the 1970s represents one of the great success stories in bird conservation. But the story is ongoing, and we can never assume that any species will continue to be safe. Some of the biggest threats to Bald Eagles today involve collisions with structures such as powerlines and occasionally wind turbines. Collisions with vehicles are also a frequent problem: These eagles are often scavengers, and when they feed on road-killed animals on or near roadways, they may be struck themselves.  

Judge’s Take (Sadie Hine): This image showcases a familiar bird in an unexpected scene. While Bald Eagles are often associated with wilderness, rivers, and natural coastlines, their urban presence is frequently overlooked. The photographer captured a beautifully soft image despite the roadside setting, creatively telling a story of human-bird coexistence.   

Behind the Shot: Back in 2021, Playa de Llolleo—a stretch of beach at the mouth of the Maipo River—lacked the legal protections it has today, and vehicles could drive at full speed across the sand. There, American Oystercatchers were also harassed by stray dogs and natural predators. To protect these sensitive birds, the community and Ojos del Mar Foundation ​​​​​​​​established a security perimeter and enlisted volunteers like me to monitor them. I was honored to get to know these three little chicks from the minute they hatched. Here, I captured my favorite, “Alita” (or Little Wing), surrounded by metal scraps and fishing debris. We never found out what caused Alita’s injured wing, but we feared he wouldn’t be able to fly. Luckily, he did. Watching the three siblings take off for the first time was the greatest joy.

Bird Lore: American Oystercatchers are strictly coastal throughout their broad range in North and South America. This reliance on the immediate shoreline is often a liability because people gravitate to beaches as well—and our activities tend to compromise sensitive habitat. Fortunately, these charismatic shorebirds have many admirers, and communities across the hemisphere often come together to protect their local nests.  

Judge’s Take (Katherine Sanhueza): This image captures the immense resilience of a tiny oystercatcher. In the warm light of sunset, the tiny chick bravely makes its way through the trash left behind by humans, reminding us that even amid pollution and a fragile environment, life finds a way to flourish. It is a scene that invites us to reflect on our responsibility to protect the ecosystems we share with these birds. 

Behind the Shot: As a birding guide in Caquetá, I spend much time searching for spots to take visitors. One day I came across an old trail in the Andean foothills, where I identified a lek of Andean Cock-of-the-rock. But I couldn’t find the lek on a subsequent visit, so I feared the worst. Although we’ve been working to raise awareness for conservation, locals sometimes cut down forest to plant coffee or create pasture. Despite all that, one day, when escorting a friend, we tried our luck. I’m glad we did. The birds were so loud we heard them from afar. As we neared, we saw a dozen males dancing for two females. One appeared in an ideal position but the lighting conditions were challenging, and my camera’s autofocus failed to lock onto the bird. I quickly switched to manual mode and snapped this image—a testament to nature’s resilience.  

Bird Lore: You might think that the stunning colors of male Andean Cocks-of-the-rock would be enough to attract a mate. But instead of taking it easy, these birds go to extremes to impress a female. Males gather at a dancing ground, called a lek, deep inside the forest. Perching on a bare limb, each displays with bows, leaps, wing-flaps, and nasal croaks. When a female visits, the action rises to a frenzy. If the female decides to mate with one of the males—usually the dominant one on the lek—she’ll go off to build a nest and raise a brood of young by herself.  

Judge’s Take (Claudio Contreras Koob): In this image, the Andean Cock-of-the-rock’s vivid red blends with the muted green surroundings. The composition invites the viewer to immerse themself in the lush vegetation that perfectly frames this iconic species.  

For even more standout avian images, stay tuned for our judges’ Top 100 photos from the awards—coming on September 23.