With entries from across the country and around the globe, three of the top winners in Audubon Community Nature Center’s 2025 Nature Photography Contest come from western New York. From left, “Dragonfly on Waterlily” by Michael Weishan was the winner in the Adult Single Blooms category, “Together Over Lake Erie: Aurora Borealis and Big Dipper” by Diane Bonnett took top honors in Adult Waterscapes, and “Emerging” by Addison Becker won Youth Single Blooms.

Youth and adult photographers from 21 different states and four foreign countries submitted entries to Audubon Community Nature Center’s (ACNC) 2025 Nature Photography Contest.

Without knowing the names or hometowns of the photographers, judges reviewed all the contest entries to determine the Adult (ages 19 and older) and Youth (ages 8 to 18) judged winners and honorable mentions in the categories of:

– Birds: any wild birds, none in captivity

– Waterscapes: natural waterscape, from large expansive oceans, to rocky stream beds, rushing rivers, and lovely lakes

– Single Blooms: your favorite photo of a singular bloom

Winners in the Adult categories were, for Birds, “The Dance” by Christopher Baker of Madison, Ala.; for Waterscapes, “Together Over Lake Erie: Aurora Borealis and Big Dipper” by Diane Bonnett of Jamestown, N.Y.; and for Single Blooms, “Dragonfly on Waterlily” by Michael Weishan of Cattaraugus, N.Y.

Two photographs by Ishaan Inamdar of Naperville, Ill., were Youth winners: for Birds, “Fly Like an Eagle,” and Waterscapes, “A Day Awaits.” “Emerging” by Addison Becker of Jamestown, N.Y., won Youth Single Blooms.

Judged winners received $200 cash prizes, and their photographs will be on display at the Nature Center in January.

Receiving Honorable Mentions in the Adult Birds category were “Chestnut-Headed Bee-Eater Feeding a Chick” and “Portrait of a Southern Cassowary; the most dangerous bird in the world” by Graeme Guy of Tanjung Bungah, Malaysia, and “Eurasian Crane” by Jorgen Hovde of Hokksund, Norway.

Adult Waterscape Honorable Mentions went to “A Moment of Zen by the Fishing Hole” by Thomas Haynes of Westfield, N.Y.; “Black Sand Sunrise” by Christopher Baker of Madison, Ala.; and “Yellow Dawn on Oxbow Lake” by Michael Weishan of Cattaraugus, N.Y.

Adult Single Blooms Honorable Mentions were “Lilies: Crucial to Aquatic Ecosystems” by Diane Bonnett, “Purple Trilium” by Karen Christy, and “Symbiosis” by Valerie McDonald, all of Jamestown, N.Y.

Youth Birds that received Honorable Mentions were “Baby Barred Owls” by Wendy Ouyang of Germantown, Tenn.; “Catch of the Day” by Ishaan Inamdar of Naperville, Ill.; and “Egyptian Geese and Goslings” by Viktor McDine of Palm Beach, Fla.

Honorable Mentions for Youth Waterscapes went to “Reflection” by Addison Becker of Jamestown, N.Y.; “The Lost River” by Cody Rice of Gerry, N.Y.; and “Waves of Fury” by Noah James Rodriguez of Harlingen, Texas.

Youth Single Bloom Honorable Mentions were “Bee-utiful Little Bloom” by Sophia Rodirugez of Harlingen, Texas; “Daisy” by Emma Soto of Gurley, Ala.; and “Symmetry” by Addison Becker of Jamestown, N.Y.

Community Choice winners were those that received the most votes on the contest website. Each also received a $200 cash prize. “Morning Bath,” entered in Birds by John Boehmer of Corry, Pa., was the Youth Community Choice winner, and “Tammy’s Flowers,” entered in Single Bloom by Tammy Sawyer of Cherry Creek, N.Y., took the honors for Adults.

Funds raised from the Nature Photography Contest help support the nearly 1,000 nature education programs ACNC offers annually throughout both New York’s Chautauqua and Cattaraugus counties and Warren County in Pennsylvania.

Details of the competition and images of these and additional entries can be found at GoGoPhotoContest.com/ACNCPhotoContest2025. Background on the judges, Sandra Rothenberg and Mark Evans, both of Warren, Pa., are under “About” on the 2025 Contest Winners page.