Wow! Thank you to all of the amazing photographers who submitted entries for July-August 2026. (View the image fullsize on our website.) Our three judges deliberated for 80 minutes, reviewed 25 high-scoring photos, and finally selected the four amazing winning images. We hope you’ll agree the winners are spectacular! Two mothers with their young, a Marsh Wren joyfully leaping for a meal, and a tiny Pacific Chorus Tree Frog with its eye on you. California’s wildlife never fails to astonish and leaves us wanting more.
Michael Hodgson Photography
A marsh wren (Cistothorus palustris) launches from a perch to catch a flying insect at Yolo Bypass Wildlife Area, its wings flared and beak open in a split-second display of feeding behavior.
Sony a1M2, 300 f2.8 with 2x extender, f/5.6, 1/2000
Julie MacKinnon
The breeding colony of Brandt’s Cormorants at Natural Bridges State Beach is generally noisy and active. So I was charmed by this quiet moment between a parent and its very small chick tucked inside its wing.
Sony A1, FE 600mm lens at 600mm, 1/2000 sec at f / 11, ISO 2000
https://www.instagram.com/julie_mackinnon_2
Neely Dunlap
This photo was taken in a friend’s garden in San Jose, where they’ve created a space that welcomes birds, bees, butterflies, and even frogs! This Pacific chorus frog is one of many enjoying the plants. A reminder that wildlife is all around us.
NIKON Z8, NIKKOR Z MC 105mm, f/2.8 VR S, 1/160 sec, 105 mm, 1,600 ISO
Douglas Croft Images
By far the tiniest common dolphin I’ve ever seen. Fetal folds still visible and a little misshapen and lumpy from being in the womb, this little one was swimming with its mom on a beautiful day in Monterey Bay.
Nikon Z8, Nikkor 28-400, ISO1800, f7.1, 1/2000
