Check out the winner of CBC Windsor’s migratory bird photo contest
Birders of Windsor and Essex County, you showed up with some of your most beautiful shots for CBC Windsor’s first migratory bird photo contest.
With more than 100 entries, CBC video producer and resident bird photographer — or “bird nerd” — Michael Evans had his work cut out for him choosing a winner. Our team was blown away by the variety and skill of the photographs submitted, taken across Windsor and Essex County.
But one photo in particular stood out: Winner Justine Labonte’s stunning photo of a prairie warbler, taken on May 3, 2024.
“It looks like the bird is posing for the photographer. The shot is completely in focus as evidenced by the sharp eye of the bird,” Evans said of Labonte’s photo.
“I would give just about anything to see this bird and capture a photograph like this one.”
WATCH: Check out some of the photos in CBC Windsor’s migratory bird photo contest
Justine Labonte’s photo of a prairie warbler, taken on May 3, 2024, is the winner of CBC Windsor’s spring bird photo competition. She spoke with CBC’s Mike Evans, who judged the contest.
It’s a bird Evans says he’s never seen. He says it’s a “lifer” for many in the birding community, including Labonte, when she spotted it at the northwest end of Point Pelee National Park near sunset. She has been birding since 2019.
“I was just walking along the beach and there was just one little bird down low. So I started taking pictures of it and I zoom in and I thought, ‘no way is that the prairie?'” Labonte told Evans.
Windsor birders showed up in a big way for CBC Windsor’s first migratory bird photo contest. Ultimately, video producer Michael Evans — the newsroom’s resident “bird nerd” — found a winning photo in Justine Labonte’s photograph of a prairie warbler, an incredibly rare and sought-after sighting in Windsor-Essex. But Labonte submitted some other beautiful photographs — here are some others we loved.
“So I called a bunch of people over and they were so excited, too, to see this bird. It was a lifer for many, many people there and I was so excited to find it.”
While Labonte’s photo stood above the rest, we couldn’t pick just one. Here is a gallery of honourable mentions, with commentary from Evans on what makes each photo unique and beautiful.
