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Philip Witt from Somerset, New Jersey won second place in our 2020 Color of Birds contest with this stunning image of a scarlet macaw. The bird was drinking from a layer of clay near the Napo River in Ecuador. He took the photo on February 24, 2020. The clay layer is in Yasuní National Park, which protects nearly 10,000 square kilometers of rainforest in eastern Ecuador.
Witt says of his photo: “We waited more than two hours blind for the macaws to arrive on the lick clay, and our patience was finally rewarded with fantastic sightings of birds drinking, beautifully highlighted by the dark entrance of a cave. »
Mia McPherson, bird photographer and one of our judges, says, “The rich, natural colors of the Scarlet Macaw drinking clay licks are enhanced by the macaw’s low pose, demeanor, and water droplets falling from its beak. . This captivating image shows not only the beauty of the bird but also its environment and behavior.
Philip used an Olympus M1X camera and an Olympus 300mm f/4 lens, and his settings were f/4, 1/800 sec, ISO 1000.
The photo was among more than 725 images submitted to our Bird Color contest, and last week we featured it in our gallery of 13 finalists. Check out the links below for first and third place images as well as our finalists and honorable mentions.
See a distribution map and hear the sounds of Scarlet Macaw
First place: Orange-breasted sparrow
Third place: White-necked Jacobin
Discover the finalists of the Color of the Birds contest
See the honorable mentions of the Color of the Birds contest
