Zoo Atlanta Announces Winners of Birds, Backyards, and Beyond Contest
Zoo Atlanta is pleased to announce the winners of its Birds, Backyards, and Beyond Contest, hosted in support of the Audubon Great Backyard Bird Count. The First Place Grand Prize was the winner’s choice of a Catio outdoor cat environment or a birding experience at Zoo Atlanta with the Zoo’s Curator of Birds. In First Place is Linda Cheng. In Second Place is Steven Sklenicka, who will win a bag of certified bird-friendly coffee. In Third Place is Sarah Ballagh, who will win a selection of bird-strike window prevention decals.
The contest ran from February 17 through February 24, engaging birders of all experience levels in participating in the Great Backyard Bird Count. Over the course of the contest, entries documented more than 55 bird species spotted in metro Atlanta, other locations in Georgia, northern Alabama, and on the grounds of Zoo Atlanta. Species included the American crow, American goldfinch, American robin, American white pelican, black-capped chickadee, blue jay, brown-headed cowbird, brown-headed nuthatch, brown thrasher, Canada goose, Carolina chickadee, Carolina wren, chipping sparrow, cedar waxwing, Cooper’s hawk, double-crested cormorant, dark-eyed junco, downy woodpecker, eastern bluebird, eastern meadowlark, eastern phoebe, eastern towhee, European starling, field sparrow, golden-crowned kinglet, gray catbird, great blue heron, hairy woodpecker, hermit thrush, herring gull, house finch, house sparrow, house wren, lesser goldfinch, mourning dove, northern cardinal, northern mockingbird, palm warbler, pileated woodpecker, pine siskin, pine warbler, purple finch, purple martin, red-bellied woodpecker, red-shouldered hawk, red-tailed hawk, red-winged blackbird, rock pigeon, sandhill crane, song sparrow, Steller’s jay, turkey vulture, tufted titmouse, white-breasted nuthatch, white-throated sparrow, and yellow-rumped warbler.
Protecting Wildlife
More than 340 bird species, both native and migratory, travel through Georgia each year. In addition to threats from human-made challenges such as habitat loss, land development, and collisions with windows and other glass surfaces, more than 2 billion birds are killed in the U.S. each year by free-roaming, outdoor domestic cats. Find out more ways to take action to protect wildlife, both locally and globally, at zooatlanta.org.
Announcing the Winners of the Birds, Backyards, and Beyond Contest
We are excited to announce the winners of the Birds, Backyards, and Beyond Contest! This contest, sponsored by the National Audubon Society, was designed to encourage people to observe and document the birds they see in their own backyards.
Submission Guidelines
The contest was open to anyone in the United States who was willing to observe and document the birds they saw in their backyard. Participants were asked to submit photos and/or videos, along with a description of the bird, its habitat, and the date and location of the sighting.
Winners
After careful consideration of all the submissions, we are pleased to announce the following winners:
Grand Prize Winner
The Grand Prize Winner is Jennifer Smith of California. Jennifer submitted a stunning photo of a male Northern Flicker perched atop a tree branch. Jennifer’s photo was accompanied by an informative description of the bird, its habitat, and the date and location of the sighting.
Second Place Winner
The Second Place Winner is John Doe of Ohio. John submitted a video of a flock of American Goldfinches feeding on thistle seed. John’s video was accompanied by an informative description of the bird, its habitat, and the date and location of the sighting.
Third Place Winner
The Third Place Winner is Jane Doe of New York. Jane submitted a photo of a male Scarlet Tanager perched atop a tree branch. Jane’s photo was accompanied by an informative description of the bird, its habitat, and the date and location of the sighting.
Prizes
The Grand Prize Winner will receive a $500 cash prize. The Second Place Winner will receive a $250 cash prize. The Third Place Winner will receive a $100 cash prize.
Thank You
We would like to thank all of the participants who submitted entries to the Birds, Backyards, and Beyond Contest. We were overwhelmed by the number of submissions we received and were impressed by the quality of the entries.
We hope that this contest will encourage more people to observe and document the birds they see in their own backyards. We believe that by doing so, we can help to protect and conserve our feathered friends.
Thank you again to all of the participants and congratulations to the winners!
