Audubon Florida Celebrates Sunshine State Winners in 2026 Audubon Photography Awards

Today the National Audubon Society announced the winners of the 2026 Audubon Photography Awards, including two photographs that capture bird life in Florida. Now in its seventeenth year, the awards showcase stunning photos and videos that celebrate the beauty and joy of birds while helping to tell the story of hemispheric bird conservation. For the second year, judges awarded prizes to residents of Chile and Colombia as well as the United States and Canada, highlighting how birds connect people across geographies and ecosystems.

Florida Winners

Jacqueline Burke won a Grand Prize for her photograph of a Roseate Spoonbill at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm Zoological Park in St. Augustine, FL. As a Grand Prize winner, Burke received $5,000 and a voyage to Antarctica with HX Expeditions. Peter Brannon received an Honorable Mention in the Female Bird category for his photograph of a Common Nighthawk in Tampa, FL, and Xiao Hu of Gainesville, FL received an Honorable Mention for his Barred Owl video recorded in Virginia.

“Audubon Florida is thrilled to see such an iconic Florida bird, the Roseate Spoonbill, featured in a grand prize-winning photo,” says Julie Wraithmell, Executive Director, Audubon Florida. “Congratulations to Jacqueline Burke for winning the grand prize in the U.S. and Canada, and also to Florida residents Peter Brannon and Xiao Hu for their honorable mentions in this year’s Audubon Photography Awards.”

Audubon Has Studied the Roseate Spoonbill Since 1939

The Audubon Everglades Research Station (ERS) was established in the Florida Keys in 1939 by National Audubon Society's first director of research, Robert Porter Allen. Allen began a full-time study of the Roseate Spoonbill, living among them in a tent for weeks at a time. At the time, scientists would typically study birds’ eating habits by killing them and examining their stomach contents. However, the spoonbill was so scarce that Allen had to find another way to study them. His research changed how scientists studied birds and left a legacy of more than 85 years of data investigating the spoonbill and its habitat.

Today, ERS researchers continue to study the behavior and nesting success of the iconic spoonbill, as well as the flow of fresh water into Florida Bay and the impacts that the diversion of water has had throughout the Everglades ecosystem.

More about the Audubon Photography Awards

Winners are published online in Audubon magazine and will be featured in the Fall 2026 print issue. The annual Top 100 photos will be announced on September 23, 2026, and additional selections will be featured in digital galleries on Audubon's website.  

The 2027 Audubon Photography Awards will open for entries on January 13, 2027. Visit Audubon's website for details on the Chile and Colombia and U.S. and Canada contests.  The winners and honorable mentions are published online in Audubon magazine, and winners will be featured in the Fall 2026 print issue.