Share Your Photos and Videos with Birds Canada
Red-necked Grebes Photo: Marsha Duggan
Birds Canada is growing our collection of photos and videos to bring you stories of bird conservation in Canada and beyond! We would love for you to join the project.
Whether you’re a professional or connecting with birds in your backyard, we’d love to see the moments you’ve captured. Images and clips from our community appear across our communications year-round, including the Birds Canada Calendar, on our website, in communications and fundraising campaigns and on social media.
By submitting a photo, you also have the opportunity to be featured as one of thirteen photographers in our 2027 Calendar! Your photo will be selected by a panel of Birds Canada staff and printed in our full-colour, glossy calendar, exclusive to Birds Canada donors and supporters. Let your love for birds reach homes across the country!
Submit your photo or video between June 15 and July 10, 2026, and help us celebrate the beauty of birds through your lens.
What We’re Looking For
Our goal is to highlight the diversity of birds and habitats. This year, we’re especially excited to receive submissions in the following categories:
- Birds in Landscape: A bird in the context of its world. The bird doesn’t need to dominate the frame; it can be the focal point or a quiet presence within a broader scene. The landscape around the bird tells a story of its own.
Bald Eagles photo: Heather Wilson
- Backyard and Urban Birds: Birds share our everyday spaces in ways we often overlook. A robin building a nest on a windowsill, pigeons rising into the sky from an urban park – we’re looking for images that capture the relationship between birds and human environments. Common species are especially welcome here.
Mallard duckling photo: Malcolm Hayes
- Long-Distance Migrants: Some of our most familiar birds spend much of their lives far beyond Canadian borders, and the birds we welcome back each spring can look remarkably different in their non-breeding plumage. We’re looking for photos of migrating birds in their non-breeding tropical plumage to celebrate the full lifecycle of migratory species.
Cape May Warbler photo: Karen Hooper
- People Birding: Snapshots of the human side of birding – the patience, the shared excitement of seeing a good bird, and helping others to spot a lifer. We want to see people of all ages and backgrounds connecting with the birds we love.
Early birders photo: Peter Ottley
How to Submit
Submissions will be accepted between June 15, 2026 at 12:00 a.m. EST to July 10, 2026, at 11:59 p.m. EST. Submit your photos through the form at the bottom of this page.
Each submission must include your first and last name and the species featured. Photo files submitted on the website should be named as follows: species_first name–last name (e.g., Common-Murre_Jane-Dowitcher).
Entrants must agree to the Birds Canada Media Use Agreement to be considered. Work selected for the calendar and other communications will be chosen by a panel of Birds Canada staff.
A Note About Ethical Photography Practices
Birds Canada encourages all birders and bird photographers to prioritize the wellbeing of birds and their habitats while enjoying your pursuits in nature. Giving birds the space they need to comfortably go about their natural behaviours is one way we can help them survive, thrive, and raise young, so that we can all continue to enjoy their presence into the future. If you notice a bird reacting to your presence, back away until it resumes what it was doing before or leave the area and take your photo another day. For more information on best practices for viewing and photographing birds please read the Code of Birding Ethics at birdscanada.org.
A Note About Representing Diverse Voices
At Birds Canada, we are committed to fostering a culture that values Indigenous Engagement and Reconciliation and Inclusivity, Diversity, Equity, and Accessibility, as integral approaches that shape all that we do in our organization and for nature (read our full commitment to inclusion at this LINK). We oppose prejudice, bigotry and discrimination, and aim to ensure that people of all backgrounds, identities, abilities, and experiences fee sense of belonging and can participate in protecting wild birds and their habitats.
We are actively working to ensure that the photographs and videos shared through this collection reflect the diversity of people who connect with birds and nature across Canada. We welcome submissions from photographers and videographers of all backgrounds. Individuals who belong to racialized groups, identify as Indigenous, 2SLGBTQIA+, and/or have a disability are welcome to self-identify when submitting, if they feel comfortable doing so. This is entirely optional and will help us better understand whose stories and perspectives are represented in our collection.
Birds Canada Calendar Photo Submission FAQ
What size should my photo be?
Your photo should be 10.5 inches by 8.5 inches, or 3150 pixels by 2550 pixels, with a resolution of 300 dpi.
What file type should I use?
Photos: JPEG, PNG, or TIFF formats.
Videos: MP4 or MOV at a minimum of 1080p resolution, and ideally no longer than 60 seconds. Trim your clip to the moment that matters most.
Should the photo be in landscape or portrait orientation?
Please submit your photo in landscape orientation.
Does the photo need to be taken within a certain timeframe?
No, there is no requirement for the photo to have been taken at a certain time.
Do you accept photos from outside Canada?
Yes, we accept photos taken from any location. We are specifically looking for long-distance migrants in non-breeding plumage.
How will my photos be used?
By submitting your photo, you are signing the Birds Canada Media Use Agreement, which grants permission for your photo to be used in Birds Canada communications.
How do I receive a copy of the calendar?
As a thank you for supporting bird conservation, we send a complimentary Birds Canada calendar to all active donors and the photographers whose photos are featured within. To receive a calendar, simply make a donation today at:
Your photos/videos will help protect birds and the habitats they depend on across Canada.
For any additional questions or further information, please contact us at donations@birdscanada.org. Thank you for sharing your special moments with birds!
Sign the Birds Canada Media Use Agreement
Birds Canada Media Use Agreement
This is a Media Use Agreement (“Agreement”) between the owner of the media files (“the Owner”) and Birds Canada (“Birds Canada”).
Key Points
- Media is defined as photographs, videos, graphics, or audio files.
- This Agreement is specific to the media created, produced, owned, and provided by the Owner to be used in Birds Canada print and online publications (including social media).
- The Owner retains copyright to the photographs.
- All usage of photographs by Birds Canada will be credited with the photographer’s name.
- Scope of Agreement: This Media Use Agreement is for all files (the “media file/s”, which could include photographs or any other image files, video files, audio files, and text files), voluntarily supplied by the Owner to Birds Canada. The Owner furthermore permits Birds Canada to use all media files they provide to Birds Canada in perpetuity. Should the Owner wish to terminate this arrangement, they are aware they need to inform Birds Canada in writing.
- Ownership: The Owner will retain full ownership, including copyright, of the media, and of all digital files, previews, galleries, and negatives.
- License for Use of Media: The Owner grants to Birds Canada a royalty-free, license, in perpetuity, to publish and use the media file(s), in print, video, audio recorded productions, and on the World Wide Web for non-profit/educational purposes, such as publicizing programs or other lawful purposes without payment or any other consideration. In addition, this license:
- Has use limitations: Birds Canada will not release the media to a commercial entity (unless media owner opts-in to this below).
- Is not exclusive: This agreement in no way prohibits the Owner from providing the media file(s) to others for their use, or prohibits the Owner from using the media file(s) for the Owner’s own purposes.
- Aligns with Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0).
- Examples of use: Birds Canada may use the materials in BirdWatch Canada magazine, Birds Canada annual calendar, Birds Canada websites (including birdscanada.org, oiseauxcanada.org, naturecounts.ca, motus.org), The Warblers podcast, Birds Canada Learning Management System, infographics, newsletters, educational videos, printed pamphlets, direct mail, educational presentations, email communications, and social media, including platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube.
- The Owner warrants that:
- The Owner is the sole author and sole owner of the copyright for the media file(s).
- The media file(s) is an original work (are original works), and not copied from another work.
- The media does not violate, infringe, or misappropriate any copyright, trade name, or other common law or statutory intellectual property right of a third party.
- Limitation of Liability: The Owner agrees to release, discharge, and to hold harmless Birds Canada, its representatives, assigns, employees, and agents, from any liability as a result of the publication or distribution of the media file(s), in whole or in part.
- Editing of media: The Owner agrees to allow Birds Canada to modify the media file(s) in any way for its purposes, at Birds Canada’s discretion, including but not limited to cropping or inverting of photos, changing aspect ratio for presentation, and shortening video clips.
- Attribution: Birds Canada agrees to credit the Owner by including the Owner’s name as indicated herein, adjacent to the published media file. The Owner’s name to be credited shall appear as instructed in this agreement.
- Age of majority: Persons who are not 18 years of age or older must have consent of a parent or guardian to submit their media.