A Tucson man has won the Arizona Game and Fish Department‘s 2025 wildlife photo contest, the agency said.
A photo of a great egret taken by Tyler Hartung at Agua Caliente Park was awarded best in show. It will grace both the cover and a month in the Game and Fish 2026 calendar.
“Hartung’s photo skillfully captured the soft morning light reflected on water as a great egret fished for its next meal at Agua Caliente Park in Tucson,” Game and Fish said in a news release announcing the winners.
This photo of a great egret taken by Tyler Hartung at Agua Caliente Park was awarded best in show in the 2025 Arizona Game and Fish wildlife photo contest.
The 12 winning images chosen from more than 690 photographers are included in the full-size 2026 wildlife calendar that is published in Arizona Wildlife Views magazine.
The 12 winning photographers are:
— Eze Ahanonu, Tucson: Coyote
— Jim Burns, Scottsdale: Greater roadrunner with California kingsnake
— Timothy Cota, Mesa: Eastern collared lizard
— Lisa M. Daniels, Arizona City: Harris’ antelope squirrel
— Tyler Hartung, Tucson: Great egret
— Marti Huzarski, Chino Valley: American pronghorn
— Anne James, Payson: Western bluebird
— Paeton Keller, Tucson: Bison
— Mike Mahon, Cottonwood: Mule deer
— Jackie Marlowe, Scottsdale: White-nosed coati
— Scott Pirtle, Las Cruces, N.M.: Elk
— David C. Vincent, Tucson: Gould’s turkey
The judges also singled out 20 images from the more than 1,300 entries this year for honorable mention. They are:
— Greg F. Clark, Tucson: Montezuma (Mearns’) quail
— Jenny L. Clark, Fountain Hills: White-nosed coati
— Jeremiah Degenhardt, El Granada, Calif.: Great Plains toad
— Jeff Goulden, Flagstaff: Steller’s jay
— Austin Haag, Chandler: Sidewinder
— Claudia Hannum, Tucson: Sonoran desert tortoise
— Mike Haynie, Payson: Western spotted skunk
— Jerel Kolling, Mesa: Arizona gray squirrel
— Christopher Magnan, Flagstaff: Desert bighorn sheep
— Paul Martin, Mesa: Black bear
— Emily Minnihan, Fort Mill, S.C.: Eastern collared lizard
— Tristan Munchinsky, Phoenix: Western diamond-backed rattlesnake
— Kathleen Murphy, Payson: Eared grebes
— Randi Najac, Fountain Hills: Round-tailed ground squirrel
— Sue Omang, Sahuarita: Bobcat
— Connor Rickett, Prescott: California condor
— Jeffrey Rushlo, Show Low: Rufous hummingbird
— Tam Ryan, Mesa: Coyote
— Sean Wickenheisser, Lake Havasu City: Black-tailed gnatcatchers
— David Zehring, Gilbert: Desert bighorn sheep
Go to www.azgfd.gov/magazine to learn more.
