The competition was steep, but we have selected the winners of our 2026 Greg Lasley Photography Contest. The contest, part of our Birdathon fundraiser, raised $934.79 for Travis Audubon through entry fees, and we’re grateful to each of the 25 photographers who entered. Your care for Texas’s lovely birds really shows through your photographs.

Both judges were impressed by the quality of this year’s submissions, and that’s saying something considering our judges’ qualifications: judge Dave Read won last year’s Greg Lasley Photography Contest with his stunning photo of a Barn Swallow in flight, and judge Liam Molina is Travis Audubon’s very own Communications & Marketing Specialist, a fabulous graphic designer who’s got an incredible artistic eye.

There were 180 photo entries spanning a gamut of bird species, from shorebirds to warblers. The judges’ 10 favorite photos are posted in an online gallery, displayed in no particular order. But without further ado, here are our winners!

2026 Winners

5th Place: White Ibis by Matthew Crymble

4th Place: Carolina Chickadee by Suzanne McCann

3rd Place: Blackburnian Warbler by Yufan Jiang

2nd Place: Black-crested Titmouse by Yvonne Karnath

1st Place: Green Heron by James Giroux

Congratulations, James, on receiving this year’s Greg Lasley Award for Photographic Excellence. Your photo will be featured on the front page of our Annual Report, which will be published next spring. All of our top five photos will be featured on our social media platforms shortly. Congrats, all!