As they got older and grew bolder, each one would venture further away from the burrow, bouncing around and practicing their flight capabilities. “I spent several weeks photographing the owlets from a particular burrow throughout the late, blistering hot summer months in this Southern California desert. I had to make sure these giant waves did not pound my head as I composed the shot.” #8 Animal Antics: Winner – Burrowing Owlet By Shane Keena I live for days like this because they are rare. When the sand gets pushed into the water, magic happens! The reef on the left side of the bay caused the waves to wedge and peak onto a shallow sand shelf. After numerous swells hit, a massive sandbar was created at this spot. “During the golden hour on The North Shore, I was treading water through the ripping current while numerous waves were coming my way. Image source: Danny Sepkowski / NBP Awards Pollen covered the water’s surface, which created beautiful bokeh balls against the golden light of the setting sun.” #7 Ocean Views: Winner – Wave By Danny Sepkowski I was focused on the swan as it spread its wings and approached the other to chase it away. “This mute swan had just noticed another conspecific intruding into its territory. Image source: Nicolas Stettler / NBP Awards #6 Youth: Highly Honored – Mute Swan By Nicolas Stettler One can barely see our tent lit up on the right side of the frame.” Here, climber Helgi Ragnar Jensson is coming up around midnight under the most incredible conditions with a rising full moon and halo. We found a hole, or ‘moulin,’ about 130 feet deep. But all conditions had to line up for success. The goal of our adventure was to drop into a glacier just before the dark of night. Planning such a shot brings tremendous excitement because, from the beginning, the final result is totally unknown. “This moment is one of the most epic behind-the-shot sessions and adventures. Image source: Virgil Reglioni / NBP Awards Techniques of chick translocation and use of decoys (left), mirrors, and taped bird sounds have now been applied in more than 850 seabird restoration projects, assisting nearly 140 species in 36 countries.” #5 Outdoor Adventure: Winner – “On Edge” By Virgil Reglioni Fifty years later, there are more than 1,300 pairs. In 1902, there was only one pair of puffins in Maine. It was the world’s first successful seabird restoration to an island. Over the next 15 years, he transported nearly 2,000 puffin chicks from Newfoundland and hand-raised them on Eastern Egg Rock and Seal Island until they began breeding in 1981. “In 1973, Steve Kress, then an Audubon camp instructor, founded ‘Project Puffin’ to bring these birds back to Maine, where they had been eliminated by hunters in the 1880s. But with winter arriving in the Yukon later every year and rivers disappearing due to receding glaciers, and while salmon numbers are at a record low, we may be seeing the last of these ice bears.” #4 Conservation Story: Highly Honored – Atlantic Puffin By Derrick Z. What all of these spots have in common is that salmon run late enough there for the bears to fish in the dark when the salmon can’t see them, and the bears rely solely on their extraordinary sense of smell to catch the fish. Others are further north, near Fishing Branch Territorial Park. Some are scattered around Haines Junction, on the traditional territory of the Champagne Aishihik First Nation, and the Kluane River, on the traditional part of the Kluane First Nation. There are only a handful of places in the Yukon where ice bears can fish into late fall when temperatures have dropped below zero. It is a sight and sound that is eerie and beautiful and rare-increasingly so, in more ways than one. Yukon First Nations lore tells how this icy armor serves as a shield to protect the grizzlies-called ‘ice bears’- from arrows. When they move, they sound like chandeliers. Their fur is thick and white with icicles. “In the dark, the bears seem like ghosts fishing along the Klukshu River. #3 Conservation Story: Highly Honored – “Ice Bears” By Peter Mather Lava was emerging with unusual force, overflowing the drainage channel and scattering the incandescent rock like oil on a canvas.” See the video. Magma rising from the mantle formed gigantic bubbles 30 to 50 feet in diameter, which burst when they reached the surface. “While a squall covered Reykjanes peninsula, I ascended to the base of Geldigadalir-Iceland’s youngest volcano. Image source: Luis Manuel Vilariño / NBP Awards This natural phenomenon is often seen in some of the rivers in India.” #2 Grand Prize Winner: “Volcano In The Clouds” By Luis Manuel Vilariño An adult will carry babies on its back to keep them out of the reach of fish and will drive away birds by any means necessary. “Gharial offspring frequently fall prey to various predators-both aquatic and avian. Read more #1 Wildlife: Highly Honored – Gharial And Hatchlings By Santosh Jana
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