The Ocean City (New Jersey) Welcome Center is such a popular place for birds to nest that it has been designated as a rookery where the Audubon Society holds events there. Jacqueline Burke was visiting fromPennsylvania with her camera in May of 2024 and said there were dozens of active nests. Underneath a ramp, she spied an egret's nest with three chicks, sporting punk plumes and attitude, under a parent's watchful supervision. The scene made for a good picture, and now it has won the grand prize in Smithsonian Magazine’s 23rd Annual Photography Contest. These chicks would now be adults and look like every other egret you've seen.
The contest gathered over 17,000 submissions from 108 countries. There were winners in the categories of artistic, travel, people, American experience, wildlife, and drone photography, plus the reader's choie award, and you can see all eight images and read the stories behind them at Smithsonian.
(Image credit: Jacqui Burke)
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