Wildlife photography competition showcases incredible bird photos

Wildlife photography competition showcases incredible bird photos
(Image credit: Joanna Lentini/Audubon Photography Awards/2020 Grand Prize Winner)

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.

• Read more: Best waterproof camera

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. 

(Image credit: Bibek Ghosh/Audubon Photography Awards/2020 Amateur Honorable Mention)

(Image credit: Gail Bisson/Audubon Photography Awards/2020 Amateur Winner)

(Image credit: Christopher Smith/Audubon Photography Awards/2020 Youth Honorable Mention)

(Image credit: Travis Bonovsky/Audubon Photography Awards/2020 Plants for Birds Winner)

(Image credit: Gene Putney/Audubon Photography Awards/2020 Professional Honorable Mention)

(Image credit: Sue Dougherty/Audubon Photography Awards/2020 Professional Winner)

(Image credit: Vayun Tiwari/Audubon Photography Awards/2020 Youth Winner)

(Image credit: Marlee Fuller-Morris/Audubon Photography Awards/2020 Fisher Prize Winner)

(Image credit: Natalie Robertson/Audubon Photography Awards/2020 Plants for Birds Honorable Mention)

(Image credit: Joanna Lentini/Audubon Photography Awards/2020 Grand Prize Winner)

Read more

Best lenses for bird photography
Best binoculars in 2020: binoculars for wildlife, nature and astronomy
Best trail cameras in 2020: for wildlife photography and nature watching
Best portable hides for wildlife photography

Thank you for reading 5 articles this month* Join now for unlimited access

Enjoy your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1

*Read 5 free articles per month without a subscription

Join now for unlimited access

Try first month for just £1 / $1 / €1

Louise Carey

With over a decade of photographic experience, Louise arms Digital Camera World with a wealth of knowledge on photographic technique and know-how – something at which she is so adept that she's delivered workshops for the likes of ITV and Sue Ryder. Louise also brings years of experience as both a web and print journalist, having served as features editor for Practical Photography magazine and contributing photography tutorials and camera analysis to titles including Digital Camera Magazine and  Digital Photographer. Louise currently shoots with the Fujifilm X-T200 and the Nikon D800, capturing self-portraits and still life images, and is DCW's ecommerce editor, meaning that she knows good camera, lens and laptop deals when she sees them.