The 2026 Audubon Photography Awards
Winners and honorable mentions from the Audubon Society’s 17th annual competition featuring some of the best images of bird life from around the world
In the 2026 Audubon Photography Awards, a diverse array of stunning bird photographs were celebrated. Gail Bisson secured the Grand-Prize Winner for her photograph of a Common Merganser in East Bay Sandbar, Nova Scotia, Canada. Timothy Dhalleine was honored with the Winner title for his Crested Caracara image captured in the breathtaking Torres del Paine National Park, Magallanes and Chilean Antarctic region, Chile.
Camilo Sanabria Grajales received an Honorable Mention in the Youth category for his Ruby-Topaz Hummingbird photograph taken in Guadalajara de Buga, Valle del Cauca, Colombia.
Jacqueline Burke claimed the Grand-Prize Winner for her captivating Roseate Spoonbill captured at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm Zoological Park, St. Augustine, Florida. Liron Gertsman's White-Tailed Tropicbird photograph was the Winner for Birds in Landscapes, U.S. and Canada, captured at Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park, Volcano, Hawaiʻi. Mike Henry's Gila Woodpecker and Saguaro Cactus image won the Plants for Birds category for U.S. and Canada, photographed in Tucson, Arizona.
Jay Vanos's Great Blue Heron photograph earned an Honorable Mention in the Birds in Landscapes category, U.S. and Canada, taken at Caddo Lake Wildlife Management Area, Karnak, Texas. Faber Mosquera Alvarez's Oilbird photograph was the Winner for Birds in Landscapes, Chile and Colombia, captured in the stunning Cañón de los Guácharos, Pijao, Quindío, Colombia.
Rodrigo González Pairoa's Black-Browed Albatross image received the Winner title for Birds Without Borders, Chile and Colombia, taken in Almirantazgo Fjord, Chile. Nick Parayko's Tennessee Warbler photograph won the Birds Without Borders category for U.S. and Canada, photographed in the photographer's backyard at St. Albert, Alberta, Canada.
Paulo Olivier Hanshing's Neotropic Cormorant photograph earned an Honorable Mention in the Birds in Landscapes category, Chile and Colombia, taken near Caleta Talcaruca, Limarí, Coquimbo Region, Chile. Francisco Castro Escobar's Lesser Horned Owl image secured the Grand-Prize Winner for Chile and Colombia. Rubén Barraza's Spectacled Tyrant photograph was Honorable Mention in the Birds Without Borders category, Chile and Colombia, taken at Elqui River Wetland, La Serena, Coquimbo Region, Chile.
Erich Podbielski's Brown Pelican photograph received an Honorable Mention in the Birds Without Borders category, U.S. and Canada, captured at Haystack Rock, Cannon Beach, Oregon. Juan David Camacho Márquez's Canada Warbler photograph won the Youth category for Chile and Colombia, captured at Doña Dora Birding, El Queremal, Valle del Cauca, Colombia.
Kevin Lohman's Brandt’s Cormorant and Surfgrass image earned an Honorable Mention in the Plants for Birds category, U.S. and Canada, photographed at Natural Bridges State Beach, Santa Cruz, California.
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