2024 Nature's Best Backyards Bleeding Heart © By Sandy Selesky

The ideal place to connect with nature may be found right outside your doorstep, as well as in local parks and gardens. Places close to home offer an intimate setting for observing flora and fauna. What magic can you find nearby? Return home

winner | pro

Red Fox Pups © By Donna Feledichuk of Lac La Biche, Alberta, Canada

“When the sun reached the perfect position above the horizon, a golden light filtered through the trees, creating a soft bokeh effect near a fox den.”

winner | amateur

Crested Caracara © By Isabel Guerra Clark of Phoenix, Arizona, USA

“On a back road in the Sonoran Desert, a caracara family was nesting in a saguaro. We watched the parents land on the cactus and jump into the nest to feed their brood. ”

winner | YOUTH

Red-shouldered Hawk © By Parham Pourahmad at age 15, of Los Gatos, California, USA

"This hawk loved to hunt for crickets from small bushes, so I found where it liked to perch at sunset, and waited. Clicking away, I captured this photo of the hawk in flight.”

highly honored

HIGHLY HONORED | Chaffinch in Cherry Tree © By Andy Rouse of Wales, UK
HIGHLY HONORED | Globe Mallow Bees © By Bruce D. Taubert of Phoenix, Arizona, USA
HIGHLY HONORED | Honey Buzzards © By Veronica Chai of Singapore
HIGHLY HONORED | American Tree Sparrow © By Paul Grecian of Millville, Pennsylvania, USA
HIGHLY HONORED | Bluebirds © By Don Wuori of Columbia, South Carolina, USA
HIGHLY HONORED | Carolina Chickadee © By Pat Comas of Murrysville, Pennsylvania, USA
HIGHLY HONORED | Eastern Screech Owl © By Robert Gloeckner of Dunedin, Florida, USA
HIGHLY HONORED | Palm Squirrel © By Avanka Fernando of Katunayake, Sri Lanka
HIGHLY HONORED | Groundhog with Nesting Material © By Barb D’Arpino of Wasaga Beach, Ontario, Canada
HIGHLY HONORED | White-Legged Damselfly © By Tim Crabb of Exeter, Devon, England, UK
HIGHLY HONORED | Madagascar Cactus © By Greg Tucker of Los Angeles, California, USA
HIGHLY HONORED | Red Fox Family © By Glen Strickey of Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada
HIGHLY HONORED | Damselflies © Salahuddin Ahmed at age 17, of Gaibandha, Rangpur, Bangladesh
HIGHLY HONORED | Burrowing Owls © By Shane Keena of Redlands, California, USA
HIGHLY HONORED | Brown Pelican © By Frank Abbott of Gulf Breeze, Florida, USA
HIGHLY HONORED | Male Northern Cardinal Feeding Female © By Barb D’Arpino of Wasaga Beach, Ontario, Canada
HIGHLY HONORED | Bleeding Heart © By Sandy Selesky of Westford, Massachusetts, USA
HIGHLY HONORED | Cooper’s Hawk © By Samir Kamat of Atlanta, Georgia, USA
HIGHLY HONORED | Rufous Hummingbirds © By Janice E. Katz of La Quinta, California, USA
HIGHLY HONORED | Aurora Borealis over Pineview Reservoir © By Brian Clopp of Huntsville, Utah, USA
HIGHLY HONORED | Raccoon © By Dave Shaffer of Stone Lake, Wisconsin, USA
HIGHLY HONORED | Snowy Egret © By Bruce D. Taubert of Phoenix, Arizona, USA
HIGHLY HONORED | Magnolia Plantation and Gardens © By Greg Tucker of Los Angeles, California, USA
HIGHLY HONORED | Male Baltimore Oriole with Fledglings © Barb D’Arpino of Wasaga Beach, Ontario, Canada
HIGHLY HONORED | Canadian Goose in Rain © By Jeff Grabert of Fleetwood, Pennsylvania, USA
HIGHLY HONORED | Snow Geese © By Jeff Grabert of Fleetwood, Pennsylvania, USA
HIGHLY HONORED | Snowy Egrets & Brown Pelicans at Sunset © By Frank Abbott of Gulf Breeze, Florida, USA

Nature's Best Photography Awards. All Rights Reserved. No use of photographs and videos without the written permission of © photographers.

The Best Backyards finalists are featured in the 2025 Summer edition of Nature's Best Photography magazine, available with a subscription, or as a single issue, or call 1-703-467-9783.

ON THE COVER | Across top: Capitol Reef National Park, Utah, USA by Paul Lambie. From top left, clockwise: Bengal Tiger by Mangesh Desai, Bald Eagle by Isaac Spotts, Longfin Bannerfish by Paul Humann, and Red Fox Pups by Donna Feledichuk.

Credits:

Top photo: © Sandy Selesky. All rights reserved. Copyrights © by the photographers. No photos may be used without written consent from NBP or photographers.

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