Captured! The Stunning Birds of Puerto Rico and More—Winners of BirdsCaribbean Photo Contest 2022

The 2022 joint AOS-BC Conference in Puerto Rico was the setting for BirdsCaribbean’s fourth biennial photography competition. Over 800 wildlife professionals from 34 countries attended the conference with many of them using their cameras while they explored Puerto Rico’s rich biodiversity. With over 280+ gorgeous photographs submitted for review, the five judges certainly had their work cut out for them!

The judges found beautiful composition, impressive technique, and humor while reviewing the collection. Photos were taken between June 23 and July 5, 2022 and uploaded to Flickr (photo sharing site). Click here to see all the photos submitted in the contest (labeled with tag: BCPhotoContest2022). The Grand Prize was donated by Vortex Optics.

Photographers had the opportunity to submit up to six photographs in each of three categories:

Endemics – including endemic birds of Puerto Rico and regional endemics;
Fun With Birds and People – showing humans, birds and nature interacting (including conference activities); and
Birds and Nature – featuring Puerto Rico’s non-endemic birds, close-up shots of other wildlife, natural habitats, and landscapes.

BELOW ARE THE WINNERS, WITH SOME COMMENTS FROM THE JUDGES:

Grand Prize Winner

Red-legged Thrush by Edward Hernández-Lara. “Beautiful, expressive shot with great background and context.” The judges noted that the “colours are terrific,” and the photographer created a “fabulous bokeh effect with the thrush in sharp focus off-centre.” The Red-legged Thrush is a regional endemic found in the Bahamas, Cayman Islands, Cuba, Dominica, Hispaniola, and Puerto Rico.

Red-legged Thrush on the ground amongst red petals by Edward Hernández-Lara. — Red-legged Thrush by Edward Hernández-Lara.

ENDEMICS

FIRST PRIZE: Puerto Rican Owl by Ricardo Sanchez. “A wonderful shot that captures a brief moment between the subject and the photographer.” “Beautifully captured through the foliage.”

Puerto Rican Owl peering out between leaves by Ricardo Sanchez. — Puerto Rican Owl by Ricardo Sanchez.

SECOND PRIZE: Pearly-eyed Thrasher by Jadyn Scott. “The texture of the leaves is astounding, a flawless composition.” “This photo is so visually interesting but keeps the thrasher as the center of focus.”

Pearly-eyed Thrasher on a fern by Jadyn Scott. — Pearly-eyed Thrasher by Jadyn Scott.

THIRD PRIZE: Scaly-naped Pigeon by Jen O. “Great composition of an unusual pose.”

Scaly-naped Pigeon reaching down for a twig by Jen O. — Scaly-naped Pigeon by Jen O.

Honorable Mentions in Endemics: King of the Jungle by Russell Campbell and Puerto Rican Tody by August Davidson-Onsgard. See photos in gallery below.

FUN WITH BIRDS AND PEOPLE

FIRST PRIZE: Local Feeding Pigeons in Old San Juan by Christina Kolbmann. “A well-lit, great shot that really sums up people’s engagement with the bird world.”

SECOND PRIZE: PROALAS Practice by Holly Garrod. “The framing and light capture a beautiful morning birdwatching.”

Birdwatchers practicing PROALAS bird surveys by Holly Garrod. — Practice Point Count in the BirdsCaribbean one-day post-conference Workshop on use of the PROALAS monitoring methods, Cambache Forest. Photo by Holly Garrod.

THIRD PRIZE: Chicken Crossing by Stella Uiterwaal. “Chickens take centre stage with soft focus of unaware people behind.”

Chickens Crossing a road with people and cars in the background by Stella Uiterwaal. — Chicken Crossing by Stella Uiterwaal.

Honorable Mentions in Fun with Birds and People: Scanning for White-tailed Tropicbirds at Quebradillas by David LaPuma and Eggs for breakfast? by Maggie MacPherson. See photos in gallery below.

BIRDS AND NATURE

FIRST PRIZE: Bananaquit Call by David Lariviere. “A lovely composition.” “You can almost hear the Coereva singing when you see this image.”

Bananaquit with it's bill open, mid-song by David Lariviere. — Bananaquit Call by David Lariviere.

SECOND PRIZE: Green Heron by A. Dorian Rose. “The lighting is fantastic with the shadowy breast and sun on the face and back.” “A well-lit, atmospheric shot.”

Perched Green Heron by A. Dorian Rose — Green Heron by A. Dorian Rose.

THIRD PRIZE: Bridled Tern by Ricardo Sanchez. “A crisp image of a stunning bird; the cool palette reminds me of birdwatching on windy cliffs.”

Bridled Tern perched on a rock by Ricardo Sanchez. — Bridled Tern by Ricardo Sanchez.

Honorable Mentions in Birds and Nature: Northern Red Bishop by Jessica Guenther, Ubiquitous but Beautiful Bananaquit by Amber Roth, and Roseate Tern by Bruce Lyon. See photos in gallery below.

Congratulations to all our winners!

The Grand Prize winner will receive a Vortex Viper Angled Spotting Scope: 20 – 60 x 85. First, Second, and Third Prize winners will receive $100, $50, and $25 Amazon gift cards.

Many thanks to our five fabulous judges: Andrew Dobson, Stephen Cutting, Daniel Serva, Ernesto Reyes, and Jessica Cañizares for their time and thoughtful consideration of each entry. Huge thanks also to Vortex Optics for donating the Grand Prize. We also really appreciate the effort everyone took to respectfully capture Puerto Rico’s wildlife and conference events. A big thank you to all those who entered the contest with your captivating and beautiful photos!