‘Sorry for the coot.’ How SLO County photographer got best wildlife shot in CA
Alice Cahill peered through the viewfinder of her camera, watching as a bald eagle dove into Atascadero Lake over and over, unsuccessfully searching for prey.
The Morro Bay resident had heard the eagle was hunting in the area, and as an avid nature photographer, she wanted to check it out.
Suddenly, the eagle splashed into the water — then emerged with a coot clutched in its talons.
Cahill took a burst of pictures on her Sony A1 camera, and luckily, she captured the image she was hoping for.
“You feel kind of sorry for the coot, but unfortunately, that’s nature,” she said. “The eagle was not baited in any way, it was just going about its normal hunting routine. To be able to observe that and to capture that moment, it was pretty exhilarating.”
Cahill entered the picture into the California Watchable Wildlife photo contest during the January to February submission period last year, she said.
In January, the organization announced that she won 2025 Photo of the Year.
Cahill first started photography in 1992, when her husband gave her an SLR camera for Christmas. When the couple retired to Morro Bay in 2008, she dove into wildlife photography, with a particular interest in birds.
“We do live in a rather chaotic world,” Cahill said. “When I’m in nature, all I can say is I feel complete. I’m at peace with myself and at peace with the world.”
Cahill shares her photography with the hope that it captures that feeling of peace and presence, “and that other people will connect with that,” she said.
How to enter the 2026 photo contest
The California Watchable Wildlife photo contest is already taking submissions this year.
Photographers can submit photos taken in the Sierra Nevada or at California Watchable Wildlife Viewing sites, which can be found at this link online: cawatchablewildlife.org/camap.php.
Photos can include images of “any California species in a native habitat,” “people viewing wildlife,” “interesting animal behavior” and “seasonal abundance of wildlife,” the website said.
A panel of three judges will evaluate the photos for technical expertise, composition, difficulty of taking the shot and the impact or storytelling of the image.
The 2026 photo contest has five submission periods in 2026, as follows:
- January to February
- March to April
- May to June
- July to August
- September to October
Each submission period will have a winner, whose photo will be posted on social media.
The Photo of the Year will be selected from all the winning entries in 2026.
The winner of Photo of the Year will be given an optics product worth $1,000 from Out of this World Optics and a two-night stay at Fairfield by Marriott Inn & Suites in Winters, California.
This story was originally published February 14, 2026 at 1:00 PM.
