A Blue-winged Warbler at Michigan Audubon’s Ronald H. Warner Sanctuary in Hastings. Photo by Sherman W. Garnett

We are excited to announce that the 2021 Michigan Audubon Photography Awards winners are Sherman W. Garnett in the Jack Pine Warbler Cover Photo category and John Fortener in the Whitefish Point Bird Observatory category! 

The three submissions from each photographer were impressive, with Garnett’s Northern Shovelers photograph standing out above all for the cover of a future issue of our member magazine, the Jack Pine Warbler. Fortener’s winning capture of a Snow Bunting at WPBO will appear in a future issue, as well. (Both winning photos will not be debuted to the public until JPW publication.)

2021 Honorable Mentions in the Jack Pine Warbler Cover Photo Category (in alphabetical order):

  • Steve Jessmore
  • Janet Lewis
  • J. A. Mikulich

A Common Redpoll at Whitefish Point Bird Observatory. Photo by John Fortener

2021 Honorable Mentions in the Whitefish Point Bird Observatory category (in alphabetical order):

  • Christine Andrews
  • Greg Bodker
  • Victor Chen

Each photographer will be allowed to take over the Michigan Audubon or Whitefish Point Bird Observatory Instagram account for a week to feature their work and share their stories as nature lovers and advocates for birds. (If you’re not an Instagram user, don’t worry. We will follow the event with highlights in a blog post.)

While we were excited to offer a Youth category, we only received submissions from three photographers. We will not be declaring a winner in the category, but we will feature the entrants in future social media posts.

You can stay up to date on our future photo contests by becoming a member, receiving our monthly eNews, and following us on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter.

Thank you to all who submitted their photos to the 2021 Michigan Audubon Photography Awards! It is always breathtaking to see the incredible images captured by nature photographers, whether amateur or professional.

This article appeared in the 2021 Summer Jack Pine Warbler.