My Audubon Photo Contest Entries
Today is the last day to enter photos into the 2024 Audubon Photography Awards contest. Yesterday I entered 10 photos at a price of $15 per entry. All of the photos were taken in the past year and in Florida. My strategy was to select photos of birds that are fairly unique to Florida to stand out from the crowd. So without further ado, here are my entries.
Burrowing Owl. Last weekend I was photographing Burrowing Owls at Vista View Park. One of the adults standing near its burrow flew to a nearby tree and perched there for quite some time. It looked around a bit (which is what I photographed) before hopping up to another limb. I’ve never seen a Burrowing Owl in a tree before, so I was really thrilled to capture this behavior. I also really enjoy this owl’s inquisitive, if not off-balanced, pose it took before making the leap up.
“Crossing Paths.” I took this photo of Roseate Spoonbills while on a field trip during the Everglades Birding Festival in January. There were about 15 spoonbills in the area, and they were only there for about 5 minutes before they flew off. These two adults were walking in opposite directions and I think this photo provides a unique perspective of these beautiful creatures.
“The Dancer.” The Reddish Egret is always a popular subject at Fort De Soto Park. Its hunting behavior is spectacular as it dances through the water chasing fish. It throws its wings from side to side to maintain balance, and it will also use them to shade the water to make it easier to catch prey. Most of the time, the dark morph of the Reddish Egret is what you’ll find at De Soto. However, on very special days the rarely seen white morph will make an appearance. This photo, taken a few weeks ago, is one of my favorites of this bird. As a bonus, this photo was taken while it was in its breeding phase - as indicated by its two-toned beak and bluish legs. Pure magic.
“Murder on the Beach.” Quite frankly, I think this photo has zero chance of winning an award, so I’m gonna say it’s my dark horse entry. This is a photo of an adult Black Skimmer killing a Black Skimmer chick. The chick wandered too far from its nest into the nesting area of another adult and paid the price. You may ask why in the world would a Black Skimmer kill a chick of its own species? Biologists don’t seem to know exactly, but have theorized that the adults are hyper protective due to predators (e.g., Laughing Gulls) flying overhead picking off unprotected chicks. This leads to aggression towards anything that gets near them. So while this image is a hard one, I find the imagery compelling and the story behind it interesting.
American Oystercatchers. Last summer this adult male (the unbanded bird), known locally as “Archie” and his mate successfully fledged three chicks at Fort De Soto Park. It was a big deal for the park and the local birding community, as this was the first time in nearly 20 years that American Oystercatchers had successfully produced young at the park. In this photo Archie is feeding his offspring by holding out a small mollusk which the youngster is more than happy to take. When entering photos into this contest you consent to allow Audubon to use the photos in their marketing campaigns. I entered this photo because it might be useful for Audubon in future conservation focused stories about Oystercatchers.
Wilson’s Plover. This Wilson’s Plover chick was photographed at Anastasia State Park in St. Augustine. It was running around and seeking shelter in the wrack line - the area on the beach where the waves wash up seaweed and other debris. Unfortunately, though, park volunteers were racing up and down the beach on an ATV to tend to a sea turtle nest, driving right in the wrack line where this and other vulnerable chicks were seeking cover. I was, to put it mildly, infuriated. At one point, the elderly lady driving the ATV nearly ran over me as I laid on the beach photographing this bird. I jumped up and provided a little “education” but I left the beach skeptical of the fate of these birds. Well, Mother Nature stepped in a few weeks later with a major storm and washed away the entire colony.
“Standoff.” I was photographing the Wilson’s Plover chick above when I heard the Least Terns further up the beach raising a huge commotion. Looking up, I could see this adult Least Tern defending its nest from the predatorial ghost crab (sometimes called sand crabs). Other terns soon joined in the fracas and the crab retreated in defeat.
“Calico Coat.” Little Blue Herons are born with all white feathers which they molt over the first year of life and replace with slate blue feathers. In between they are in this “calico” phase with both white and blue feathers. This particular bird was wading in a lagoon at Fort De Soto. The dark mangrove hedge in the background and the dark still water provide a perfect setting to show off this beautiful and temporary plumage.
Royal Tern. This photo is the result of knowing and understanding bird behavior. An hour or so before sunset Royal Terns will flock together on the beach and start bathing. They dunk their heads in the water and flap their wings stirring up all kind of water droplets (that alone is a fantastic photo opportunity). After bathing, they always take flight into the wind, then circle back and roost with the flock on the beach. On the day this photo was taken, the wind was coming out of the west which was perfect as it meant the birds would be taking off directly into the setting sun. All I had to do was sit down 30 yards or so in front of the bathing birds and wait for one to take off and fly right at me.
Burrowing Owl. I think I’m a sucker for cute little birds, especially cute little owlets like this fella. He looks so innocent and naive, standing close to the entrance of his burrow while taking in the whole big world. This burrow was located next to the Cape Coral Public Library - a very suburban environment - and he could have easily been watching cars and people going by. These little owls are amazing, and adaptive, little creatures.
So that’s it. That’s my 10 entries in the 2024 Audubon Photo Awards contest. Seeing winners from past contests, I am realistic about my odds and will be pleased if I get any photos in the top 100. Fingers crossed!
Happy birding!
