Mating, murder, and parenting: The complex lives of birds on display in 2024 Audubon Photography Awards

A barred owl uses its talon to rip the head of its prey.

Photo: Erin Boisvert/Audubon Photography Awards/2024 Amateur Honorable Mention

A decapitated squirrel hangs lifeless in the talons of a barred owl. A red-necked grebe chick stretches its neck to gobble up a meal of fish delivered fresh from its parent. Hundreds of grackles perch on power lines as the sun sets on Texas.

The winners of the 2024 Audubon Photography Awards document the fascinating behaviors of birds in stunning detail. This year’s winners were selected from 8,500 submissions and awarded across nine categories, including Youth, Amateur, Plants For Birds, and the newly created Birds in Landscapes.

Photographer Mathew Malwitz earned the Grand Winner prize for his photo (seen below) of quarreling blackburnian warblers taken at Promised Land State Park in Greentown, Pennsylvania.

“While out for a walk, I had been following the song of a Magnolia Warbler along a trail when two quarreling Blackburnian Warblers dropped from the trees above,” Malwitz said. “They landed a few feet in front of me, prompting me to carefully step back. They remained motionless, and I worried that the fall had injured them, but a moment later they began battling again. Once I realized the pair were too busy to notice me, I slowly dropped to the ground at their level to get a better look into their world. I adjusted my settings for action and snapped as they fought. The scene lasted a few minutes before they let each other go and returned to the canopy.”

Two blackburnian warblers square off, their bills and feet entangled. Photo: Mathew Malwitz/Audubon Photography Awards/2024 Grand Prize Winner

A forster’s tern twists its head in the air. Photo: Kevin Lohman/Audubon Photography Awards/2024 Professional Honorable Mention

Two American kestrels, a male on top and a female on the bottom, seemingly merge into one bird. Photo: Parham Pourahmad/Audubon Photography Awards/2024 Youth Winner

A red-necked grebe feeds its chick a small fish. Photo: Edwin Liu/Audubon Photography Awards/2024 Youth Honorable Mention

Grackles perch on power lines in Austin, Texas. Photo: Tristan Vratil/Audubon Photography Awards/2024 Amateur Winner

A female wild turkey lifts her head and wings on railroad tracks in Roseville, Minnesota. Photo: Travis Potter/Audubon Photography Awards/2024 Female Bird Prize Winner