Connecticut Audubon Announces Winners of Migration Magic Photo Contest
A perfectly camouflaged Barred Owl and a Cooper's Hawk took top honors
FAIRFIELD, CT — A perfectly camouflaged Barred Owl and a Cooper’s Hawk frozen in a split-second hunting moment earned top honors in the Connecticut Audubon Society’s 2026 Migration Magic Photo Contest.
Thirty-six photographers submitted more than 100 images of birds observed during May as part of Migration Magic, Connecticut Audubon’s month-long festival celebrating the wonder of spring migration. The contest invited photographers of all ages and skill levels to capture the beauty of birds in their natural habitats across Connecticut.
Michelle Babyak, 59, won first place in the adult category with a striking photograph of a Barred Owl nearly disappearing into a tree trunk in the morning light. She captured the image from the front porch of her Sandy Hook home.
“You don’t need to go far,” she said. “All you have to do is open your eyes and your ears.”
READ MORE: Hidden in Plain Sight: The Photo That Won Migration Magic
Oliver Vignola, 15, of Glastonbury, took first place in the Young Birder category with a sharp action shot of a juvenile Cooper’s Hawk.
“The thing about migration that excites me is recording all these species. You have the chance of getting so many birds that you may not be able to see again,” Vignola said. “By capturing that moment, you have it forever as a memory. That’s another really cool thing.”
The winning images reflected a combination of birding expertise, photography skills, and persistence, according to contest judge Matt Zucconi, a research assistant at the University of Rhode Island and avid birder.
Spotting a Barred Owl during the day is “already a seriously difficult feat,” Zucconi said.
With remarkable clarity, Babyak captured the owl facing directly toward the camera, preserving what Zucconi described as a “rewarding birding moment.”
Of Vignola’s winning image, the judge noted the extreme difficulty of photographing a bird notorious for darting around the forest with great agility.
A Cooper’s Hawk “can often be very hard to get into your binoculars, let alone a camera viewfinder, before they are gone and out of view,” Zucconi said.
Yet Vignola was able to capture the juvenile hawk’s entire yellow-eyed face down to its highly visible tail — a diagnostic field mark that helps distinguish a Cooper’s Hawk from a Sharp-shinned Hawk — with excellent focus and high-resolution detail.
Equally impressive, the image captured the Cooper’s Hawk in a “very classic predatory posture, showing that this bird was on the move, looking for its next forest kill,” the judge said.
Three photographs received honorable mentions:
Michelle Babyak’s flying Brown Thrasher
Ashley Cumberledge’s three juvenile Pileated Woodpeckers peering from a nest cavity
James Tornetta’s Worm-eating Warbler singing on a branch
Zucconi said each honorable mention captured a moment that birders rarely witness unless they are in the right place at the right time. The images exemplified patience, timing, and knowledge.
In addition to bragging rights for their first-place victories, Babyak earned two tickets to Connecticut Audubon’s Eagle and Osprey Boat Cruise, while Vignola won a Nocs Provisions monocular.
The Photo Contest was one of 50 programs held during Migration Magic in May. This year’s festival attracted more than 1,200 participants and raised nearly $30,000 to support bird conservation.
Founded in 1898, the Connecticut Audubon Society protects Connecticut’s birds, other wildlife, and their habitats through conservation, education, and advocacy. With eight centers and 16 sanctuaries, the organization preserves and manages over 3,400 acres of habitat statewide and educates more than 100,000 children and adults annually.
