Morro Bay nature photographer Alice Cahill took this photo of a bald eagle catching a coot at Atascadero Lake. The photo won the Grand Prize in the 2025 California Wildlife Photo of the Year contest. Photo courtesy Alice Cahill
Local nature photographer, Alice Cahill, was recently announced as the Grand Prize Winner in the 2025 California Wildlife Photo of the Year contest by the Outdoor Writers Association of California (OWAC).
Cahill’s winning image is of a bald eagle carrying off an American coot, presumably for supper, and was taken at Atascadero Lake. She had also been a winner for the January-February 2025 time period in the yearlong contest.
Entitled, “Bald Eagle hunting American Coot,” the striking image was taken using a Sony A1 camera, and a Sony 200-600mm lens. The shutter speed was set at 1/2000 of a second; aperture was set at 8.0 and ISO at 640, according to the announcement of the prize.
“For several years,” Cahill said, “a bald eagle had periodically hunted at Atascadero Lake, which is a small local lake in the middle of the city surrounded by homes and circled by a road. In February, I heard that there was a bald eagle actively hunting at the lake. That was my call to go check it out. I was hoping to see it catch a fish. I arrived early and saw the eagle perched in a tree at one end of the lake. After about an hour, it made several test forays out over the lake, but each time returned with empty talons to his perch. Then, in a blink, he swooped down and much to my surprise grabbed an American coot! As he was flying back to his perch, he looked down at his catch and adjusted his grip. THAT was my shot!”
Cahill told Estero Bay News that she started taking wildlife photos “back in 1992, when my husband [Don Henderson] gifted me my first ‘real’ camera — a Canon Rebel. I love the outdoors and was an avid hiker/backpacker at that time. I wanted to be able to share some of the beauty and wild animals I was seeing when I was out in nature. I became totally enamored with birds after we moved to Morro Bay.”
She doesn’t consider herself a “professional” photographer. “I am not a professional in the sense that I make my living in photography,” she explained, “but I do sell my photos locally in the Gallery at Marina Square here in Morro Bay. I also sell images online through Fine Art America [see: www.alice-cahill.pixels.com].”
She and Don moved to Morro Bay in 2008, Cahill said. But she’s been coming here a long time.
“My family began visiting here when I was a child,” she recalled, “and my parents bought a small weekend place in 1966. I’ve been coming here since then. I love the Central Coast and Morro Bay! I feel privileged to live here.”
This is the second time she’s been named a Grand Prize winner. “I have had one other Grand Prize win. In 2012 I was the Grand Prize winner of the Audubon photo contest. My winning photo was published on the cover of Audubon Magazine.”
She’s entered a lot of contests and had category wins in the prestigious Nature’s Best International Photography Contest and in the North American Nature Photography Contests.
She added this latest award comes with a new Celestron Sky-Watcher All View Mount tripod valued at $400, a $1,000 gift certificate to photo and video equipment retailer B&H, and a five-night trip to Peru courtesy of travel company Inkaterra.
Patience is key when photographing nature. “Waiting is a big part of nature photography,” Cahill explained. “Only rarely do things happen in a short time. Most of the time getting a good shot involves finding a likely location and returning multiple times and waiting and hoping that the animal appears and then being ready for that split second when the action happens.”
Taking a lot of photos is another key factor, one made much more affordable with digital cameras vs. film cameras.
“I was shooting continuously,” she said, “and this winning image is one of about 125 in my sequence of shots.”
The announcement of her win on Jan. 16 during the Annual Winter Bird Festival, came at an ideal time for local birders.
“The timing of the reveal of my win,” she said, “during the Morro Bay Bird Festival was wonderful. My photo was shown and I was recognized at both the main presentations on Saturday and Sunday nights.”
So, what happens now? “I’m not 100-percent exactly sure what comes next,” she said. “Barbara Steinberg of California Watchable Wildlife has told me that I am to be honored with a proclamation by Senator [John] Laird at the California State Capitol. But I have nothing definite as to when [or if] that will happen.”
According to the Association’s website, “California Watchable Wildlife celebrates the state’s wildlife and diverse habitats by acknowledging and elevating the value of wildlife viewing to benefit individuals, families, communities, and industries while fostering awareness and support for conservation and protection of wildlife and habitats.
“This program also administers the annual California Wildlife Photo of the Year Contest, which OWAC is proud to help promote.”
