The winners of the prestigious Bird Photographer of the Year 2026 competition have officially been unveiled, showcasing the breathtaking diversity, behavior, and environment of avian species from across the globe. Claiming the grand prize in what is widely celebrated as the world’s largest bird photography competition is a mesmerizing image of a northern gannet bursting through the ocean’s surface off the rugged coast of Scotland.
Photographers from all corners of the world entered more than 24,000 striking images into this year’s competition, each harboring hopes of securing the coveted £3,000 ($4,000) grand prize. Ultimately, British photographer Henley Spiers was declared the grand prize winner for his extraordinary underwater capture, which illustrates the dramatic dual existence of one of Europe’s most charismatic seabirds.
Reflecting on the winning shot, Spiers offered deep insight into the behavior of the subject that earned him the top honor. "The handsome northern gannets lead a dualistic existence," Spiers explains. "In the nest, their newborn is carefully nurtured, and a couple’s bond is reinforced by pointing sharp beaks to the sky as they tenderly stroke their white necks together. In flight, hunting mode takes over, and piercing yellow eyes, fringed with blue circles, scour the sea for prey."
Elaborating on the intense mechanics of their hunt, Spiers adds, "When fish are spotted, the gannets fly into the wind and stretch out their wings as brakes, precisely adjusting their position in relation to their quarry. Moments later, with wings tucked in tightly, the gannet shape-shifts into a pointed torpedo, diving into the water at speeds of up to 86km/h."
Beyond the grand prize, the competition featured an incredible array of category winners that demonstrated the immense talent and unwavering patience required in modern wildlife photography. In the Black and White category, Rahul Sachdev earned the gold award for a poignant, atmospheric image of a lone ostrich making its way across the dry lake bed of Amboseli in Kenya under a dramatic, cloud-filled sky. Meanwhile, the Birds in Flight category was topped by Ivan Sjogren, whose gold-winning photograph captures a short-eared owl coursing eye-to-eye over the expansive salt marshes of British Columbia’s Fraser River Delta.
Bird behavior yielded fascinating moments as well. Donald Chin secured gold in the Bird Behaviour category with a wonderfully camouflaged tawny frogmouth fledgling stretching its wings against bark and shadow, in a pose that seemingly shielded its siblings from incoming raindrops. In the Conservation (Single Image) category, Kent Stuart captured a heartbreaking reality facing modern wildlife: a great blue heron in Washington state with a bright orange and yellow fishing bobber and tangled line wrapped securely around its beak.
Portraiture also shone brightly in the 2026 contest. Thomas Deliberto captured the gold award in the Best Portrait category with an arresting, forward-facing image of a male greater sage-grouse with its magnificent tail feathers fanned out in a vibrant courtship display. Creative perspectives pushed the boundaries of traditional photography too, with Asmund Keilen earning gold in the Creative Perspectives category by capturing a common swift slicing through the air on a blazing summer day, using an in-camera multiple exposure reflected seamlessly in the glossy blue roof of a car. Rounding out the adult category golds, Gianluca Damiani took top honors in Urban Birds with a humorous and striking street-art juxtaposition in Rome, where a real seagull stands on a ledge directly above a mural depicting a seagull wearing a black balaclava and a gold chain while holding a wallet.
Amidst the celebration of artistic achievement, the competition also underscored a vital commitment to wildlife preservation. This year, the organizers donated more than £5,000 ($6,700) to their partner charity, Birds on the Brink, an organization that provides critical financial support to grassroots bird conservation initiatives across the globe.
The adult competition challenged participants across eight distinct categories: Best Portrait, Birds in the Environment, Bird Behaviour, Birds in Flight, Black and White, Urban Birds, Conservation (Single Image), and Creative Perspectives. Additional accolades included the Conservation Award, Portfolio Award, and Video Award, alongside a dedicated youth competition comprising three separate categories to foster the next generation of nature photographers.
The silver and bronze tiers yielded equally powerful entries. Volker Widmann earned silver in Best Portrait with a warm, golden-hued study of an Atlantic puffin on Skomer Island, while David Stowe captured bronze with a dazzling image of a male Western Parotia dancing in the dark rainforests of West Papua. In Bird Behaviour, Mark Carwardine secured silver with a juvenile bald eagle spreading its wings wide during a rainstorm in Western Canada’s Great Bear Rainforest, and Bernhard Schubert claimed bronze with an action-packed shot of two frigatebirds bickering over an unwanted catch in Tulum, Mexico.
For Birds in Flight, Alex Pansier won silver with a dense, chaotic swarm of guillemots filling the Norwegian sky, while Patryk Kurc took bronze with a secretive bittern captured mid-flight from a floating hide against the light of a rising Polish sun. In the Birds in the Environment category, Asmund Keilen earned silver with a majestic golden eagle drifting in dark silhouette across the face of a massive orange moon, complementing Romain Barats’ bronze-winning image of a large group of gentoo penguins swimming upward through deep blue Antarctic waters surrounded by bubbles. Spiers also claimed a silver award in Creative Perspectives for a textured, icy view of a northern gannet beneath dark British waters, while Julian Lozinski earned bronze using the intentional camera movement (ICM) technique to photograph a young great crested grebe.
Black and white entries highlighted stark contrasts and textures, with Raoul Slater winning silver for a little wattlebird clinging to slender stalks against a white background in Australia, and Julian Terreros-Martin taking bronze for a little penguin navigating a nocturnal Tasmanian promenade to reach its burrow. In Conservation, Yann Bigant claimed silver with a grim look at yellow bitterns and other waterbirds laid out on ice at a market in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, and Luca Eberle secured bronze after a BirdLife Malta officer discovered a stuffed, critically endangered Egyptian vulture dumped near an informal roadside landfill. Finally, urban entries showcased surprising wildlife adaptations, featuring Romain Barats’ silver-winning gentoo penguins standing beside weathered metal structures on Deception Island near the Antarctic Peninsula, and Julian Fernandez Quilez’s bronze-winning shot of a rock thrush utilizing an abandoned, rustic house in Spain.
As the industry faces new shifts, the leadership behind the competition emphasized the irreplaceable value of authentic fieldcraft. "In a world where AI-generated imagery is becoming increasingly common, this year’s winners are a powerful reminder of the value of authenticity," says Will Nicholls, Director of Bird Photographer of the Year. "Every image in the competition represents a real moment in the wild, earned through patience, dedication and a genuine connection with nature. People will always value real stories told by real people, and this year’s extraordinary photographs celebrate the beauty, wonder and authenticity of our natural world."
The next cycle of the competition, BPOTY 12, is now officially open for entries, inviting photographers of all experience levels to submit their best work celebrating avian life.
