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Danny OhThe Audubon Photography Awards has selected its 10 favorite videos from its 2025 competition, which capture various fascinating bird behaviors.
Last year, the Audubon Photography Awards expanded to include the South American countries of Colombia and Chile. The 10 videos selected are split equally between North America and South America.
The first video was taken by Danny Oh in Duxbury Beach, Massachusetts, showing a snowy owl taking a bath in a melted snow puddle. “I had never seen a snowy owl bathing and was elated. It was definitely a once-in-a-lifetime experience,” says Oh. It was shot on a Sony a1 with a 200-600mm lens at 600mm.
The second video shows an Allen’s hummingbird feeding her chick in Irvine, California. Sukhjot Singh captured the sweet scene in the wintertime.
“While incubating the eggs, she braved several downpours and cold, windy nights with 40 mph gusts,” he says. “It was a bittersweet moment when they took their first flight. I knew how tough their journey was and how hard their mom had worked to protect and provide for them. This sweet memory of her feeding a chick after its first flight will stay with me forever.”
Sukhjot Singh features in the list again with a video of a blue-gray gnatcatcher doing exactly what its name suggests.
“During a visit to Sea and Sage Audubon in Southern California, I observed a small swarm of gnats hovering near a tree,” Singh says. “I quickly positioned myself and waited with patience. My efforts were rewarded when this Blue-gray Gnatcatcher made a swift approach and relished a late afternoon buffet. By slowing the footage from 120 frames per second to 24 frames per second, we can appreciate the gnatcatcher’s agile flying, particularly the brief moment when it pauses its wingbeats to descend gracefully.”
Traveling south now to Antioquia, Colombia, Ruben Torres Restrepo captured a mating dance between two golden-headed manakins. “Adult males perform to attract females, while juvenile males practice their ‘dance moves’,” he says. “At this particular site, I have recorded up to eight males at the same time.”
This slow-motion video of a torrent duck was filmed in Colombia. “Getting close to these ducks has been quite a challenge, as a single misstep will cause them to swiftly flee downstream,” says Leon Felipe Jimenez. “For this reason, I approach from downstream, letting the current flow toward me. I move quietly, reading their behavior and keeping my distance to not cause stress.”
“They always see me first, no matter how much camouflage or many hides I use,” he adds. “I have spent several years documenting the species’ natural history as part of a short film about Torrent Ducks in the Andean rivers of Colombia. This particular scene shows a chick and its father in the middle of a rushing river. For me, the scene captures the essence of this extraordinary duck: extreme adaptation, parental care, and resilience in the face of a dynamic environment.”
This common loon with a chick tucked under her wing was captured in Maine by Danny Oh. “I have been following this Common Loon family in Maine for many years,” says Oh. “This particular year, the pair had one baby. I believe this scene was from the first week after the loonlet had hatched. The baby was riding on its mother’s back in the afternoon after being fed the whole day, thus the baby was full and getting tired.”
These two cedar waxwings were filmed in Montello, Wisconsin, by Andy Raupp. He built the shallow pool in his yard with his Dad to attract birds that want to cool off on a hot day.
This beautiful rainbow-bearded thornbill preening was captured in the Colombian Andes by Juan Jacobo Castillo.
A black-necked swan was filmed in Arauco, Chile, by Jesus Varela Monsalve with two chicks riding on its back.
This white-vented plumeleteer, a type of hummingbird, was captured by Juan Antonio Alonso de Juan feeding on the flower of a nacedero tree in the photographer’s garden.
To see the winning photos from the 2025 Audubon Photography Awards, check out PetaPixel’s article from September.
English (US) ·