WildBird's 20th annual photo contest

The March/April issue -- which subscribers should be receiving right about now -- includes the rules and entry form for the 20th annual photo contest. The postmark deadline for entries is April 25.

The rules appear below, but the entry form will not be posted online. Participants can find it only in the March/April and May/June issues.

The contest offers prizes for a grand-prize photo as well as first, second and third place in five categories: amateur, backyard, digiscoping, flight and waterbirds. The grand-prize photo is a Canon EOS 40D!

Grand-prize winner in the 2007 contest: Great Horned Owls by James F. Cowell
More images appear here.

Official rules
* All entries must be postmarked by April 25, 2008.

* This photo contest is open to everyone except employees of WildBird and BowTie Inc.

* Each contestant may enter up to two photographs per category.

* Each participant confirms that each entry has not been published in a commercial publication for payment or offered online for sale. Similar in-camera duplicate photos are not eligible.

* Each contestant agrees to allow WildBird to post one entry on the magazine's website, without compensation, to promote the contest.

* One grand-prize photo will be selected from all the contest entries.

* Color 35mm slides, 2 1/4-inch transparencies, prints no larger than 8x10 inches and digital files will be accepted. Do not send duplicate or glass-mounted slides.

* Digital files must arrive on compact discs, one image per CD.

* To be suitable for publication in the September/October issue, a digital file must be 300 dpi; TIFF, EPS or SHQ JPG format; RGB mode; and 8 bit, and it must have an 8x10-inch print size. A high-quality print, measuring 8x10 inches, must accompany each CD.

* Due to the constraints imposed by early digital cameras used in digiscoping, only entries in the digiscoping category may possess a print size of 5x7 inches and arrive with a 5x7-inch high-quality print.

* Only images of native species photographed in the United States and Canada are eligible for the amateur, digiscoping, flight, water birds and backyard categories.

* To write the captions, we need the story behind the photo. Please provide a 200-word-maximum description of how you attracted the bird to your yard or how you observed the bird in the field.

* The amateur category is open to individuals who have not won a prize in a previous WildBird photo contest and have not received payment from WildBird for the publication of an image.

* All backyard photographs must be taken in a yard; show a feeder, birdbath or nestbox; and include species regularly seen at those features. Photos taken at wildlife refuges, parks, sanctuaries and commercial lodges are not eligible.

* All digiscoping entries must cite the spotting scope and eyepiece used to create the image.

* All flight photos must convey the essence of avian flight. Motion and focus will be primary considerations.

* Entries for the water birds category should feature only shorebirds, wading birds, waterfowl and seabirds.

* Each entry must arrive in a separate envelope.

* All birds photographed for this contest must be alive and living in the wild. Controlled studio portraits, photos of captive birds and "posed" birds -- especially nestlings -- will not be accepted.

* Please write the entry's category on the front, lower-left area of the envelope. Failure to do so will disqualify the entry.

* Every image must arrive with a separate, completed entry form. Photocopies of the form are acceptable.

* Do not use staples or paper clips; they can scratch your photos. WildBird is not responsible for lost or damaged slides.

* Due to the volume of submissions, the staff will not make exceptions to these rules. Please follow them carefully to avoid disqualification.

* Winners will be selected by a panel of judges and the WildBird staff.

* If you want your slides and transparencies returned, each entry must arrive with a self-addressed, stamped envelope. Provide ample postage in addition to a return address on each envelope. Prints and CDs will not be returned.

* Winners will be notified by mail. Please do not call or send an e-mail.

* Winning images will be published in the September/October 2008 issue and may be used in advertising and marketing of WildBird without compensation.

* All slides and transparencies will be returned in October. No prints or CDs will be returned.

Good luck!