Michigan Audubon Photography Awards

2025 Overall Winner | Ruby-throated Hummingbird | Beau Cotter

Sweet Treat by Beau Cotter | MAPA25 Overall Winner

The story behind Beau’s winning photo
“One evening, I was sitting with my family in our living room, winding down for the night. I spotted a Ruby-throated Hummingbird through a window next to me, so I grabbed my camera and hurried outside. I saw the hummer flying far out, veering around to our backyard. I followed it, sprinting through the wet grass in my pajamas. I lost sight of the bird, so I eventually walked back out front, where I had first seen it, and there it was! I crouched down and slowly crept through the grass toward my subject, taking some fairly good photos. I was pretty happy with them, although I knew I could do better. The next morning, I went back and sat in the wet grass, waiting for the hummingbird. Around 10 minutes later, it rushed in and began sipping from the Salvia flowers my mom had planted. I managed to get a much better photo than the previous evening!”

Beau Cotter
Michigan Audubon Member Beau Cotter is a young, avid bird photographer from Michigan. Ever since having a pair of budgies in his early childhood, Beau has always enjoyed birds. His interest grows daily in discovering new species and capturing them in a memorable and artistic way. He has published two photo journals and started a small photography YouTube channel.

2025 Honorable Mention | Sandhill Crane | Jocelyn Anderson

Sandhill Crane by Jocelyn Anderson | MAPA25 Honorable Mention

The story behind Jocelyn’s winning photo
“I noticed a Sandhill Crane along the shoreline with beautiful Fall foliage in the background. I lowered my camera so that it was positioned right above the waterline to capture the right angle and frame the bird against the trees.”

Jocelyn Anderson
Michigan Audubon Member Jocelyn Anderson focuses on capturing moments of wildlife through photography, looking to showcase the beauty of the natural world. These photos range from dramatic moments of action to wildlife simply being.

2025 Honorable Mention | Red-shouldered Hawk | Steve Jessmore

Red-shouldered Hawk Windy Landing by Steve Jessmore | MAPA25 Honorable Mention

The story behind Steve’s winning photo
“It was a windy March afternoon and I was in my small blind beneath a pine tree along the edge of the Torch River. Migratory ducks were still in the area, and I got out for the late afternoon light. I noticed a hawk flying and hunting in the marsh across the river from me, going from tree to tree and looking for dinner. Eventually, the Red-shouldered Hawk landed on a tree directly across from me, and that’s when I captured this image. I used a long lens and wide aperture, giving the image a pleasing separation from the background.”

Steve Jessmore
Michigan Audubon Member Steve Jessmore, Alto, MI., is a former photojournalist who is now a freelancer for Michigan colleges and universities. In his spare time, he photographs birds doing stuff usually from a blind or kayak, mostly near Reeds Lake in Grand Rapids or the Torch River in northern Michigan.

2025 Honorable Mention | Red-bellied Woodpecker and Mourning Dove | Rachel Leggett

Face-off by Rachel Leggett | MAPA25 Honorable Mention

The story behind Rachel’s winning photo
“The morning I took this photo, I had gone to Kensington Metropark in southeast Michigan, hoping to find and photograph the Pileated Woodpeckers that lived there. In the area where I thought the Pileated Woodpeckers had been seen, park visitors were hand-feeding birds. When a family left, they dropped their leftover seed to the snow. I noticed birds descending on the seed and knelt in time to grab this photo of a Red-bellied Woodpecker and a Mourning Dove competing for it. I gasped when I saw this frame in the back of my camera. While I didn’t find the Pileated Woodpeckers that morning, I came away with one of my favorite photos of the year!”

Rachel Leggett
Michigan Audubon Member Rachel Leggett is a wildlife and sports photographer who found her love for photography alongside her love of birds in southeast Michigan during the COVID-19 pandemic. As a software engineer working at a desk all day, birding and bird photography have become her inspiration to get outside and explore more than ever before.