2013 Photo Awards Top 100

Great egret, by Salah Baazizi

Great blue heron, by Michael Libbe

Purple gallinule, by Susan Davis

Short-eared owl, by John Blumenkamp

Common tern, by Nathaniel Sharp

Ross’s goose and snow goose, by Bradley Bush

Northern gannet, by Michael Milicia

Black-winged stilt, by Christopher Adler

Snowy egret, by Judy Lynn Malloch

Allen’s hummingbird, by Alexander Viduetsky

Sandhill crane, by Ursula Dubrick

Red-breasted nuthatch, by Nick Shearman

Verdin, by Nathan Nitzky

Hazel Erikson from Tennessee landscaped her backyard to attract birds. This pair of bluebirds was accounted for just two of the many visitor she gets each season. Photo: By Hazel Erikson

Clark’s grebe, by Robert Lewis

Bald eagle, by Brian Kushner

A downy young great horned owl, by Nancy Elwood

Golden-fronted woodpecker, by Barbara Baird

This Anna's hummingbird approaches a branch of staggering florets in Rick Derevan's backyard in Atascadero, California. The bird is about the size of a ping-pong ball, and weighs about as much as a nickel. It's range extends up and down the west coast of North America. Photo: By Rick Derevan

Double-crested cormorant, by Aaron Baggenstos

A hummingbird, by Mark Thomas

Sword-billed hummingbird, by Mark Thomas

Northern hawk owl, by Jim Cumming

Ruff, by Georges McNeil

While searching for sea otters in California, Alice Cahill ended up photographing this double-crested cormorant toting its dinner around. The bird is sporting special breeding feathers above its eyes, making it apparent that Cahill's subject is a male. Photo: By Alice Cahill

A couple of young Gentoo penguins get extremely close to Max Seigal as he photographed their colony in Antarctica. Seigal took trip to the southern continent to photograph the astounding species that reside there. Photo: By Max Seigal

The wide expanses of wetlands and farms in western New York provide Diana Whiting with plenty of opportunities to photograph short-eared owls. The raptors move up to Canada and Alaska during the summer months. Photo: By Diana Whiting

Tricolored herons are one of the smaller members of the Ciconiiformes. During breeding season their faces and bills become blue, unlike the individual that Bill Dix photographed.  Photo: By William Dix

Hector Astorga caught this greater roadrunner showing off stunts on a raptor perch in Santa Clara, Texas. The bird runs fast, but it also is highly adapted to desert life and can eat venomous animals. Photo: Greater roadrunner, by Hector Astorga

Hector Astorga's ranch in Santa Clara, Texas is the ideal spot for bird photography. His bird blinds make it possible for him to get unadultered shots of raptors, such as great horned owls. Photo: Great horned owl, by Hector Astorga

A male pileated woodpeckers flies back to the roost to feed his hungry family, just in time for Bob Mislan to photograph him. Males can easily be identified by the red stripes on their cheeks.  Photo: By Robert Mislan

A black skimmer dips its beak into the water during a summer afternoon in Long Island, New York. The photographer, Johann Schumacher, has been taking shots of skimmer flocks for many summers now. Photo: By Johann Schumacher

A short-eared owl flies by Debra Herst and her camera. The birds like to hunt in open, grassy expanses, making river banks and wetlands the ideal places to photograph the species.  Photo: By Debra Herst

Least sandpiper, by Owen Deutsch

American avocet, by Andrew Lee

Northern shoveler, by Andrew Lee

Caspian tern, by Andrew Lee

Double-crested cormorants are not uncommon in North America. But the way that Dennis Goodman focused his lens on the emerald eye of this individual makes the bird seem like an exotic, mythical creature. Photo: By Dennis Goodman

Ted Ellis was able to catch a puffin clowning around in the air from behind a bird blind. The shot was taken on Machias Seal Island, Maine, where visitors are regulated due to mass nesting behavior by seabirds.  Photo: Atlantic puffin, by Ted Ellis

Salvin’s albatross, by William Pohley

Western scrub-jay, by Caroline Lambert

Swallow-tailed kite, by Marina Scarr

Black-necked stilt, by Marina Scarr

Lilac-breasted roller, by Timothy Rucci

Northern shrike, by Matthew Studebaker

Red-necked grebe, by Matthew Studebaker

Snowy owl, by Matthew Studebaker

Least bittern, by Hank Halsey

Tree swallow, by Ronald Bielefeld

The common redpoll frequents Marie Read's backyard in Ithaca, New York, and shrubs and woodlands all over the northern part of the States in the winter. Some individuals seek out warmth by digging tunnels in the snow.  Photo: By Marie Read

American kestrel, by Robert Palmer

American kestrel, by Robert Palmer

Greater prairie-chicken, by Robert Palmer

Snowy owl, by Barbara Fleming

Saddle-billed stork, by Barbara Fleming

A young piping plover sizes up its mother on a beach in Massachusetts. Many conservation efforts have been centered around restoring habitat for the species, as it is considered to be near-threatened. Photo: By Michael Milicia

A rockhopper penguin gets in Michael Milicia's face during his trip to the Falkland Islands. The birds are very social and unafraid of humans, as they don't encounter predators all too often. Photo: By Michael Milicia

Black-browed albatross, by Andy Long

How many pictures have you seen of the back of a hummingbird? Roger Levien decided to explore a unique aspect of this broad-tailed hummer during a photo shoot in Sante Fe, New Mexico. Photo: Broad-tailed hummingbird, by Roger Levien

Greater sage-grouse, by Ken Archer

Osprey, by John Sherman

Wood duck, by Richard Pick

Bald eagle, by John Blumenkamp

Great blue heron, by Robert Amoruso

American oystercatcher, by Cheryl Molennor

Least tern, by Cheryl Molennor

American oystercatcher, by Cheryl Molennor

Osprey, by Kristofer Rowe

Arctic tern, by Keith Kennedy

White-necked Jacobin, by Keith Kennedy

Horned grebe, by Keith Kennedy

Black skimmer, by Barbara Bowen

Montezuma oropendola, by Dwayne Wynne

Green-crowned brilliant, by Dennis Goulet

Galapagos hawk, by Dennis Goulet

Tree swallow, by Bob Feldman

Lee Dalton got his image of a scarlet ibis beating its wings in Morrocoy National Park in Venezuela. It was one of the many vibrant waterbirds he photographed during his South American sojourn.

Common loon, by Courtney Moore

Red-breasted nuthatch, by Courtney Moore

European bee-eater, by Catherine Dalessio

Brown pelican, by Catherine Dalessio

Adelie penguin, by Catherine Dalessio

Red-and-green macaw, by George Scott

Resplendent quetzal, by Wayne Richard

Horned puffin, by Richard Simonsen

Greater flamingo, by Richard Simonsen

Sandwich tern, by Amy Marques

Sandhill crane, by Michael Rosenbaum

Cooper’s hawk, by Salah Baazizi

Great egret, by Salah Baazizi

Elegant tern, by Salah Baazizi

Elegant tern and double-crested cormorant, by Salah Baazizi

Marbled godwit, by Gail Bisson

Bohemian waxwing, by Gail Bisson

Wood duck, by Constance Parry

Great blue heron, by Eleanor Briccetti

Western grebe, by Eleanor Briccetti

Snow goose, by Paul Raymaker

Yellow-crowned night-heron, by Heather Roskelley

Ring-necked pheasant, by Jim Ridley

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