Bird-watching can be a blink-and-you-miss-it endeavor. The agile creatures can be difficult to spot in the wild, much less photograph clearly. But every year, the National Audubon Society awards the talented photographers who successfully capture birds in their natural habitats around the world.
The Audubon Photography Awards recognize photos in four different categories: Professional, Amateur, Youth, and Plants for Birds. There's also a Fisher Prize Winner named for Audubon's former creative director Kevin Fisher, as well as a Grand Prize Winner.
In addition to celebrating evocative photos of birds, the competition hopes to raise awareness of how climate change puts two-thirds of North American birds at risk of extinction.
From over 6,000 submissions, here are the 10 winning images from the 2020 contest.