The 2020 Audubon Photography Awards has recently announced the winning wildlife photography finalists – and there are some incredible bird photos in the mix. There were over 6,000 submissions for the 11th annual awards, but this huge pool of incredible photos had to be whittled down to just 10 winners and honorable mentions. With wildlife photography submitted from all 50 states and 7 Canadian provinces, the competition may have been stiff, but the winning shots are clearly deserving.
Winner of the grand prize of $5,000 was Joanna Lentini for her incredible image of a double-crested cormorant mid-dive. Joanna said, "I've spent many hours underwater at this California sea lion rookery in the Bay of La Paz, but I had never before encountered diving cormorants there. Shifting my focus from the playful sea lions, I watched in awe as the cormorants plunged beak-first into the sea to snap at the sardines swimming by.
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Joanna Lentini added, "Although I spent a long time admiring these birds, I didn't see a single one catch a fish. Adding insult to injury, curious sea lion pups would zip by the hunting birds and nip at them from behind."
While so many of us enjoy witnessing the beauty of birds, whether that's through watching them in our garden or viewing wildlife photography, Audubon's latest climate science report paints a chilling picture. According to the report 'Survival by Degrees: 389 Bird Species on the Brink', two-thirds of North American birds are threatened by extinction from climate change.
As we enjoy the beautiful bird photos from the 2020 Audubon Photography Awards competition, it's worth remembering how many species are affected by global temperature rise. See more of the images below and visit the Audubon website for more information on how climate change affects the North American bird population.
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