Danielle Rockett of Ottawa, Ontario, wins second place in our 2022 BirdWatching Photography Awards contest with this image of a Great Horned Owl and its young owlet in their nest.
“Every year, in late December, a pair of Great Horned Owls come to a park where I often go birding,” Danielle says. “They always use the same nest. I spent two hours gawking at them, as they guarded three lovely, furry little chicks. While still in the nest, the mother owl would tear food into small pieces and feed it to the owlets. This photo shows one of the owlets with mom after a feeding. Their look was so intense, it seemed as though the owlet was telling mom ‘Thank you for the lovely meal.’”
Congratulations, Danielle!
Gear and settings: Nikon D7500 with a Tamron 150-600mm lens, Tamron 1.4x teleconverter, on a tripod. Exposure data: 1/400 sec., f/9, ISO-640, focal length 850mm.
Many thanks to our panel of guest judges: Contributing Editors Laura Erickson, Pete Dunne, and Brian E. Small; professional photographers Marie Read and Alan Murphy; Outdoor Photographer editors Wes Pitts and Kristan Ashworth; and Imaging Resource Managing Editor William Brawley.
Enter our 2022 Bird Portrait Contest
Read our newsletter!
Sign up for our free e-newsletter to receive news, photos of birds, attracting and ID tips, and more delivered to your inbox.
Sign Up for Free
