It was a clean sweep for Methow Valley photographers in the annual North Central Washington Audubon Society bird photography contest, with the top three awards in the adult category going to local photographers.
First place was awarded to Rick Rottman of Winthrop for a photo of a northern pygmy owl. Pat Leigh of Winthrop won second place for a photo of an osprey and her young, and honorable mention went to Peter Bauer of Winthrop for his photo of a white-headed woodpecker chick.
The best of show award was won by a photographer from Republic, Tim Nicol, for a photo of a rufous hummingbird.
Large metal prints of all the photos will be on display at the 2019 Leavenworth Spring Bird Fest in May, and will be displayed at different locations around the region after that. The winning prints will be shown alongside the National Audubon Society photo contest winners. The prints will eventually be returned to the photographers as their prizes.
All photos submitted to the contest are posted on the NCW Audubon website. NCW Audubon is a chapter of the National Audubon Society.
