61.  Summer Allen, Tennessee, (youth entry)

Birds are natural works of art.  Combine them with manmade cities, and you have a great picture!  Since I don’t live in a big city, I had to research which birds are found there.  I found that cardinals live in both big cities and in the country.  Cardinals were the main focus in my drawing.  I also find Red Roof Inns amusing, so I included a lot of red roofs!

 

62. Laura Endter, Winder, Georgia

When I was a little girl I recall identifying my first bird on my own, it was a cedar waxwing. My mom has been birding since I can remember and she has fostered my love of nature and birding. I consider nature to be the ultimate form of art. One of my favorite memories with my Mom is when we went out after dark to see some fledgling eastern bluebirds that were sleeping in our plum tree. Now we live in different areas of the country and I continue to call her with updates about new birds I’ve spotted. And I still to this day get lost in the moment of watching such feathered beauty.

Just this past summer my 6 year old son and I were sitting in the grass together and we spotted a new feathered friend. We looked it up together and determined it was a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, since then there has been a pair that frequents our yard. We spent that afternoon coloring with crayons in the grass. That is one of my favorite memories with my son. Since then, I gave him my bird field guide that was mine when I was little and he has his own binoculars. All of our birding stuff sits together on the shelf which we reference often. So I have included the picture we colored together and 2 photos of our male Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, who has gotten quite comfortable with me and my camera. 

 

63. Jacquilyn Blamer, Baraga, Michigan

The Picture was sent to me from my Son.. Who lives in Baraga, Michigan, on Lake Superior in the U.P. of Michigan.

My son said he was leaving for work and the bird was sitting on his rear view mirror just staring at him.. He went in,  grabbed his camera and took this pic.. Love this bird.. We tried looking the bird up but had no luck.. I just love this picture...

 

64. Sara Scharf, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Last year I joined FLAP (www.flap.org), a local organization devoted to rescuing birds injured in collisions with buildings in Toronto and to raising awareness of the fragility and wonder of our migratory birds. Rescuing birds -- when I found them alive -- was very rewarding. I will also never forget the haunting sound of a flock of white-throated sparrows singing in the financial district on a foggy spring morning, each crystalline note echoing off the walls of the skyscrapers. I took a lot of pictures of the birds I encountered on my dawn patrols in the downtown core. Most of the photos are of dead birds, since I was more concerned with getting the live ones to "bird rehab" with as little stress as possible than with taking their pictures. I am submitting these photos to the contest because I love all the birds I encounter in the city. They are very beautiful, even the ones that we hear more often than we see, and even in death.

 

65. Anna Johnston, Phoenix, Arizona, youth entry

Anna submitted this entry because:  “It sounded fun.”

 

66. Patrick Walraven, Berryville, Virginia

I am 14 years old and I am entering this contest because I enjoy looking at, drawing, and studying birds. Since I draw them a lot, I thought this competition would be a perfect opportunity for me. I drew this eagle because they seem, at least for me,  very uncommon but amazing to see.

 

 

67.  Jim Boland

The dark background makes the Great Egret really stand out. The background consists of dark water and mud. The art is found in the elegance of the image, the graceful posture of the egret and the contrast between the extreme ends of the color range. The theme that is presented in the photo is the elegance and complexity of simplicity. The inspiration can be heard in the whispering of nature causes us to dream.

 68. Anthony Galvan III, Cachuma Lake, California

We are fascinated with birds because they have the ability to leave this earth and fly. Some birds also have the ability to fly underwater and some even walk on water. These Western Grebes clearly demonstrate why birds capture our imagination with their flight, beauty and even unusual behaviors.

Western Grebe males convince the female with coos and dipping of their heads that they will make the perfect mate. When a female is so taken she will lead off with a water walk and the male will follow suit. Sometimes another male can interrupt the walk, but most times it's a spectacular stroll across the water like these two did at Cachuma Lake in Santa Barbara County, California. What makes this yearly performance interesting is that the male will present all sorts of body postures to get a female to take the walk with him. However, if there’s something the female doesn’t like she just stays put.

69. Charloa Burker, Livermore, California

I am submitting this photo I took of a quail overlooking the Livermore Valley from a park near Del Valle. It's a majestic resting spot after a steep hike. I liked the silhouette of the quail with the spectacular view in the background...

 

 

70. Bethany Steele, Kingsport, Tennessee

The foreground has a bird sitting on a highway exit sign.  City buildings are in the background.  The buildings are foreshortened. 

 

 

 

 

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