The Audubon Photography Awards,

are celebrating their tenth year,

 in the contests grand prize winning photo, amateur photographer Kathrin Swoboda presents a red-winged blackbird emitting what appears to be perfect rings of smoke from its beak into the cold morning air, Red-winged Blackbird. Photo: Kathrin Swoboda/Audubon Photography Awards,

 Great Blue Herons. Photo: Melissa Rowell/Audubon Photography Awards

 Bald Eagle and red fox. Photo: Kevin Ebi/Audubon Photography Awards

 Horned Puffin (captive). Photo: Sebastian Velasquez/Audubon Photography Awards

 Hooded Oriole on a California fan palm. Photo: Michael Schulte/Audubon Photography Awards

Greater Sage-Grouse. Photo: Elizabeth Boehm/Audubon Photography Awards, a new category revealed in this year’s contest is Plants for Birds, which honors Audubon’s Plants for Birds program. The category asked photographers to present unique depictions of birds alongside local plant life, as a way to addresses the importance of native plants to the survival of surrounding wildlife. This winner of the inaugural award was the San Diego-based photographer Michael Schulte who presented a hooded oriole gathering bits of palm fibers for a nest. You can see the rest of this year’s award winners on Audubon’s website, so many amazing photographs if you have the time for a coffee and a look.