Eddie LeRoy has won the 2019 Federal Duck Stamp Art Competition winner with his painting of a pair of perched black-bellied whistling ducks.

The artist from Eufala, Alabama, was judged the winner among the 190 entries in the annual contest hosted at the Patuxent Research Refuge in Laurel, Maryland. Thirteen entrants made the cut to the final round of judging.

2nd Place – Cory McLaughlin

“These artists are extremely talented, and the quality of the art is matched by the incredible conservation work funded by Duck Stamp sales,” said David Berhardt, U.S. secretary of the interior. “By purchasing a Duck Stamp, waterfowl hunters have helped raise millions of dollars to conserve wildlife and healthy wetland habitats within the National Wildlife Refuge System.”

LeRoy’s painting will become the 2020-2021 Federal Migratory Bird Hunting and Conservation Stamp. The $25 stamp, which is required to be in possession of all migratory bird hunters in the United States, raises about $40 million annually to conserve wetland habitat in the National Wildlife Refuge System.

An oil painting of black-bellied whistling ducks by Cory McLaughlin of Wells, Texas, placed second. And for a second consecutive year, Frank Mittelstadt of Beaver Dam, Wisconsin, finished in the top three, this year with an acrylic painting of a bufflehead pair.

3rd Place – Frank Mittelstadt

This was LeRoy’s first Federal Duck Stamp win. You can view the online gallery of all 2019 Federal Duck Stamp entries.

In addition to black-bellied whistling ducks, eligible species for this year’s competition were emperor geese, American black ducks, buffleheads and northern shovelers. The winners were chosen by a panel of five expert judges. —Bill Miller