NANPA Showcase 2027: Yılın En İyi Doğa Fotoğrafları

“The Urban Coyote,” image 1 of 7, San Francisco, California and Palo Alto, California. © Parham Pourahmad | Series, Best in Category | NANPA Showcase 2027.

“The Urban Coyote,” image 2 of 7, San Francisco, California and Palo Alto, California. © Parham Pourahmad | Series, Best in Category | NANPA Showcase 2027.

“The Urban Coyote,” image 3 of 7, San Francisco, California and Palo Alto, California. © Parham Pourahmad | Series, Best in Category | NANPA Showcase 2027.

“A Yellowstone Winter Story: Predator, Then Prey,” image 3 of 7, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming. © Jerry Jividen | Series, First Runner-Up | NANPA Showcase 2027.

“A Yellowstone Winter Story: Predator, Then Prey,” image 4 of 7, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming. © Jerry Jividen | Series, First Runner-Up | NANPA Showcase 2027.

“A Yellowstone Winter Story: Predator, Then Prey,” image 5 of 7, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming. © Jerry Jividen | Series, First Runner-Up | NANPA Showcase 2027.

“A Yellowstone Winter Story: Predator, Then Prey,” image 6 of 7, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming. © Jerry Jividen | Series, First Runner-Up | NANPA Showcase 2027.

“A Yellowstone Winter Story: Predator, Then Prey,” image 7 of 7, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming. © Jerry Jividen | Series, First Runner-Up | NANPA Showcase 2027. During two weeks in Yellowstone National Park in winter, I photographed a remarkable sequence of encounters that revealed how quickly the roles of predator and prey can change. Across several days, three species, a vole, an ermine, and a coyote, became connected through a story of hunting, survival, and predation. The saga began with an ermine hunting in Yellowstone’s interior. I watched and photographed as it moved rapidly over the snow and ice, pausing and searching for prey hidden beneath the snowpack. Suddenly, the ermine disappeared beneath the snow. Moments later, it emerged carrying a vole in its mouth and quickly moved away with its catch.

“From Above: Flamingos over Lake Magadi and Lake Natron,” image 1 of 7, Lake Magadi and Lake Natron, Kenya. © Holly Kirkland | Series, Judges’ Choice | NANPA Showcase 2027.

“From Above: Flamingos over Lake Magadi and Lake Natron,” image 2 of 7, Lake Magadi and Lake Natron, Kenya. © Holly Kirkland | Series, Judges’ Choice | NANPA Showcase 2027.

“From Above: Flamingos over Lake Magadi and Lake Natron,” image 3 of 7, Lake Magadi and Lake Natron, Kenya. © Holly Kirkland | Series, Judges’ Choice | NANPA Showcase 2027.

“From Above: Flamingos over Lake Magadi and Lake Natron,” image 4 of 7, Lake Magadi and Lake Natron, Kenya. © Holly Kirkland | Series, Judges’ Choice | NANPA Showcase 2027.

“From Above: Flamingos over Lake Magadi and Lake Natron,” image 5 of 7, Lake Magadi and Lake Natron, Kenya. © Holly Kirkland | Series, Judges’ Choice | NANPA Showcase 2027.

“From Above: Flamingos over Lake Magadi and Lake Natron,” image 6 of 7, Lake Magadi and Lake Natron, Kenya. © Holly Kirkland | Series, Judges’ Choice | NANPA Showcase 2027.

“From Above: Flamingos over Lake Magadi and Lake Natron,” image 7 of 7, Lake Magadi and Lake Natron, Kenya. © Holly Kirkland | Series, Judges’ Choice | NANPA Showcase 2027. From above, the lakes of Magadi and Natron reveal an extraordinary exchange between geology and life. Minerals, algae, water, and sediment create shifting fields of blue, pink, rust, and gold. These same alkaline waters support the microscopic life that draws vast numbers of flamingos here to feed. The colors and the birds are not separate phenomena, but expressions of the same ecosystem. The flamingos, in turn, leave their own marks upon it. As they wade and feed, they draw delicate lines through the sediment; gathered by the thousands, their bodies become patterns of their own; in flight, they cross above the traces left behind below. Across the series, scale shifts between individual bird, flock, pattern, and the larger forms of the lakes themselves. Seen from the air, the landscape is not simply a backdrop for the flamingos. It is the reason they are here—and through their movement, they become part of its design.

“A Peregrine Falcon Breeding Season, Start to Finish,” image 1 of 7, Central Coast of California, San Mateo and Sonoma Counties. © Corey Raffel | Series, Judges’ Choice | NANPA Showcase 2027. The Peregrine Falcon population has largely recovered from the devastation caused by the use of the insecticide DDT in the 1960s. Many pairs of these raptors now nest in caves in cliffs along the California coast. While these falcons are said to mate for life, I think that calling them “breeding site loyal” is a better description. Pairs spend the time outside the breeding season separately but come together again at the breeding site at the start of the season in late winter. After the offspring have successfully fledged, the male and female again go off on their separate ways. During the breeding season, pairs of peregrines use an interwoven, yet flexible, set of behaviors that hopefully result in the successful production of independent offspring. Population growth continues as a result of these interactions between the parents with each other and with their offspring. I have spent hours of time watching and photographing three pairs of these raptors during the breeding season for the past seven years. All of these nest sites are in caves along the central coast of California from San Mateo County north to Sonoma County. This series shows activities of the breeding birds and their offspring from the beginning to the end of the breeding season.  The population growth of this once endangered species due to the banning of DDT and extensive conservation efforts also depends on the birds’ successful use of the behaviors illustrated here.

“A Peregrine Falcon Breeding Season, Start to Finish,” image 2 of 7, Central Coast of California, San Mateo and Sonoma Counties. © Corey Raffel | Series, Judges’ Choice | NANPA Showcase 2027. The Peregrine Falcon population has largely recovered from the devastation caused by the use of the insecticide DDT in the 1960s. Many pairs of these raptors now nest in caves in cliffs along the California coast. While these falcons are said to mate for life, I think that calling them “breeding site loyal” is a better description. Pairs spend the time outside the breeding season separately but come together again at the breeding site at the start of the season in late winter. After the offspring have successfully fledged, the male and female again go off on their separate ways. During the breeding season, pairs of peregrines use an interwoven, yet flexible, set of behaviors that hopefully result in the successful production of independent offspring. Population growth continues as a result of these interactions between the parents with each other and with their offspring. I have spent hours of time watching and photographing three pairs of these raptors during the breeding season for the past seven years. All of these nest sites are in caves along the central coast of California from San Mateo County north to Sonoma County. This series shows activities of the breeding birds and their offspring from the beginning to the end of the breeding season.  The population growth of this once endangered species due to the banning of DDT and extensive conservation efforts also depends on the birds’ successful use of the behaviors illustrated here.

“A Peregrine Falcon Breeding Season, Start to Finish,” image 3 of 7, Central Coast of California, San Mateo and Sonoma Counties. © Corey Raffel | Series, Judges’ Choice | NANPA Showcase 2027. The Peregrine Falcon population has largely recovered from the devastation caused by the use of the insecticide DDT in the 1960s. Many pairs of these raptors now nest in caves in cliffs along the California coast. While these falcons are said to mate for life, I think that calling them “breeding site loyal” is a better description. Pairs spend the time outside the breeding season separately but come together again at the breeding site at the start of the season in late winter. After the offspring have successfully fledged, the male and female again go off on their separate ways. During the breeding season, pairs of peregrines use an interwoven, yet flexible, set of behaviors that hopefully result in the successful production of independent offspring. Population growth continues as a result of these interactions between the parents with each other and with their offspring. I have spent hours of time watching and photographing three pairs of these raptors during the breeding season for the past seven years. All of these nest sites are in caves along the central coast of California from San Mateo County north to Sonoma County. This series shows activities of the breeding birds and their offspring from the beginning to the end of the breeding season.  The population growth of this once endangered species due to the banning of DDT and extensive conservation efforts also depends on the birds’ successful use of the behaviors illustrated here.

“A Peregrine Falcon Breeding Season, Start to Finish,” image 4 of 7, Central Coast of California, San Mateo and Sonoma Counties. © Corey Raffel | Series, Judges’ Choice | NANPA Showcase 2027. The Peregrine Falcon population has largely recovered from the devastation caused by the use of the insecticide DDT in the 1960s. Many pairs of these raptors now nest in caves in cliffs along the California coast. While these falcons are said to mate for life, I think that calling them “breeding site loyal” is a better description. Pairs spend the time outside the breeding season separately but come together again at the breeding site at the start of the season in late winter. After the offspring have successfully fledged, the male and female again go off on their separate ways. During the breeding season, pairs of peregrines use an interwoven, yet flexible, set of behaviors that hopefully result in the successful production of independent offspring. Population growth continues as a result of these interactions between the parents with each other and with their offspring. I have spent hours of time watching and photographing three pairs of these raptors during the breeding season for the past seven years. All of these nest sites are in caves along the central coast of California from San Mateo County north to Sonoma County. This series shows activities of the breeding birds and their offspring from the beginning to the end of the breeding season.  The population growth of this once endangered species due to the banning of DDT and extensive conservation efforts also depends on the birds’ successful use of the behaviors illustrated here.

“A Peregrine Falcon Breeding Season, Start to Finish,” image 5 of 7, Central Coast of California, San Mateo and Sonoma Counties. © Corey Raffel | Series, Judges’ Choice | NANPA Showcase 2027. The Peregrine Falcon population has largely recovered from the devastation caused by the use of the insecticide DDT in the 1960s. Many pairs of these raptors now nest in caves in cliffs along the California coast. While these falcons are said to mate for life, I think that calling them “breeding site loyal” is a better description. Pairs spend the time outside the breeding season separately but come together again at the breeding site at the start of the season in late winter. After the offspring have successfully fledged, the male and female again go off on their separate ways. During the breeding season, pairs of peregrines use an interwoven, yet flexible, set of behaviors that hopefully result in the successful production of independent offspring. Population growth continues as a result of these interactions between the parents with each other and with their offspring. I have spent hours of time watching and photographing three pairs of these raptors during the breeding season for the past seven years. All of these nest sites are in caves along the central coast of California from San Mateo County north to Sonoma County. This series shows activities of the breeding birds and their offspring from the beginning to the end of the breeding season.  The population growth of this once endangered species due to the banning of DDT and extensive conservation efforts also depends on the birds’ successful use of the behaviors illustrated here.

“A Peregrine Falcon Breeding Season, Start to Finish,” image 6 of 7, Central Coast of California, San Mateo and Sonoma Counties. © Corey Raffel | Series, Judges’ Choice | NANPA Showcase 2027. The Peregrine Falcon population has largely recovered from the devastation caused by the use of the insecticide DDT in the 1960s. Many pairs of these raptors now nest in caves in cliffs along the California coast. While these falcons are said to mate for life, I think that calling them “breeding site loyal” is a better description. Pairs spend the time outside the breeding season separately but come together again at the breeding site at the start of the season in late winter. After the offspring have successfully fledged, the male and female again go off on their separate ways. During the breeding season, pairs of peregrines use an interwoven, yet flexible, set of behaviors that hopefully result in the successful production of independent offspring. Population growth continues as a result of these interactions between the parents with each other and with their offspring. I have spent hours of time watching and photographing three pairs of these raptors during the breeding season for the past seven years. All of these nest sites are in caves along the central coast of California from San Mateo County north to Sonoma County. This series shows activities of the breeding birds and their offspring from the beginning to the end of the breeding season.  The population growth of this once endangered species due to the banning of DDT and extensive conservation efforts also depends on the birds’ successful use of the behaviors illustrated here.

“A Peregrine Falcon Breeding Season, Start to Finish,” image 7 of 7, Central Coast of California, San Mateo and Sonoma Counties. © Corey Raffel | Series, Judges’ Choice | NANPA Showcase 2027. The Peregrine Falcon population has largely recovered from the devastation caused by the use of the insecticide DDT in the 1960s. Many pairs of these raptors now nest in caves in cliffs along the California coast. While these falcons are said to mate for life, I think that calling them “breeding site loyal” is a better description. Pairs spend the time outside the breeding season separately but come together again at the breeding site at the start of the season in late winter. After the offspring have successfully fledged, the male and female again go off on their separate ways. During the breeding season, pairs of peregrines use an interwoven, yet flexible, set of behaviors that hopefully result in the successful production of independent offspring. Population growth continues as a result of these interactions between the parents with each other and with their offspring. I have spent hours of time watching and photographing three pairs of these raptors during the breeding season for the past seven years. All of these nest sites are in caves along the central coast of California from San Mateo County north to Sonoma County. This series shows activities of the breeding birds and their offspring from the beginning to the end of the breeding season.  The population growth of this once endangered species due to the banning of DDT and extensive conservation efforts also depends on the birds’ successful use of the behaviors illustrated here.