In addition to the three winning photos from the 2019 BirdWatching Photography Awards, we’re thrilled to present this gallery of 22 finalists:
Photographer: Earl Harrison
Location and date: Wilderness Road (Route 224) near Funk Bottoms Wildlife Area near Funk, Ohio, August 26, 2017.
Description: Every August the Columbus Audubon Society’s “Avid Birders” group takes an all-day field trip in search of migrating shorebirds. This trip focused on a peat “farm” at this location and indeed a number of good shorebirds were seen. After photographing a Lesser Yellowlegs, I started back to the car and came upon a number of adult and juvenile goldfinches feeding actively on these weedy plants. They seemed oblivious to me and allowed a very close approach. I took a number of shots of both the adults and juveniles perched on branches with beating wings and giving begging calls. Mostly ignored by the adults, these two juveniles finally took matters into their “own hands” and mobbed this adult male as he was feeding.
Gear and settings: Canon 7D II with Canon EF 100-400 II lens and Canon EF 1.4X II (401mm) 1/1600 @ f/10 ISO 800, handheld.
Thanks to our judges: Matt Mendenhall, editor of BirdWatching; Wes Pitts, editor of Outdoor Photographer; Marie Read, an award-winning nature photographer based near Ithaca, New York; and Brian E. Small, a professional nature photographer based in Los Angeles whose photos illustrate our “ID Tips” column.
