Our 2017 Antarctic Birding Competition has come to a close with over 150 feather-oriented entries. We’re delighted with the entries we received and want to thank everyone, both contestants and voters, for participating.
We thought we’d take a moment and make sure everyone who participated is up to speed about what’s been happening while you wait for the Grand Prize announcement.
Do I have to do anything else?
All you had to do is set up your profile and get 100 people to give it a vote (and you had to be over 18 years of age). If your profile nabbed the necessary number of votes, that’s it, you were all done and in the running for the Grand Prize.
How did you choose the winners?
The Oceanwide gang poured over your profiles and choose two of the top three entries based on creativity, spirit, motivation, and composition. It was no easy task, and there were some fierce battles between your favourite Oceanwide employees (fierce battles around here usually involve changing each other’s chair heights and hiding favourite coffee mugs).
The third of the three finalists was chosen by none other than Emin Yogurtcuoglu.
From those three finalists we finally came up with our 3rd place, 2nd place, and Grand Prize winners.
Who is Emin Yogurtcuoglu?
Emin, a native of Turkey, is one of the most respected birders in the world. A qualified wildlife specialist, Emin has led multiple birding and research expeditions. He’s also published oodles of essays in ornithological journals concerning bird identifications. Perhaps coolest of all, he’s also found more than one “first” in both Turkey and in other countries. Suffice to say, Emin is a tip-top birding guru.
When will the winners be notified?
By the time you’re reading this blog our winners have already been privately notified via email, and a general announcement has been posted on our Facebook page.
What do the winners receive?
Our 3rd place prize winner in the Antarctic birding competition received a $250 Oceanwide Expeditions gift voucher.
Our 2nd place prize winner received a $500 Oceanwide Expeditions gift voucher.
Our Grand Prize winner received a ticket for a 19-day cruise to South Georgia, the Falkland Islands, and the Antarctic Peninsula!
The profiles
While there can be only one Grand Prize winner in this year’s Antarctic Birding Competition, we really do feel that there isn’t a losing profile in the bunch. There are some amazing pictures, wonderful stories and dreams that are shared, and some new friends from around the world for you to meet.
Again, thank you so much to everyone who took the time to either create a profile, or to stop by and drop a vote to cheer their friends and family on. We hope that this contest inspires you to get out and exploring!