The global photography community has once again turned its collective lens toward the remarkable world of avian life as the Bird Photographer of the Year competition announces its spectacular winners for its latest edition. Recognized widely as the world’s largest international contest dedicated exclusively to images of feathered creatures from every corner of the planet, this year’s program welcomed an overwhelming response. More than 24,000 entries poured in from talented photographers across the globe, capturing a breathtaking array of natural behaviors, dramatic aerial encounters, diving penguins, and resilient urban denizens surviving within human-dominated landscapes.
Highlighting birds of all shapes, sizes, and ecological niches, the prestigious competition emphasizes not only the diverse and often dazzling appearances of these animals, but also their complex behaviors. Beyond celebrating the sheer artistry of wildlife photography, the program serves an essential dual purpose: raising public awareness of the mounting environmental challenges birds face today. Human-triggered habitat loss, destructive poaching practices, widespread environmental pollution, and other anthropogenic factors continue to threaten countless species worldwide. To honor this vast spectrum of subjects, the competition features a robust slate of categories, including Best Portrait, Bird Behavior, Conservation, Urban Birds, and a dedicated series of three youth categories designed to encourage budding photographers aged 17 years and younger.
The ultimate top prize in this year’s highly competitive showcase was awarded to Henley Spiers for his mesmerizing underwater photograph titled "Sunball Rocket." Captured off the rugged coast of the Shetland Islands, located approximately 110 miles north of mainland Scotland, the image provides a rare, subsurface perspective of a northern gannet in mid-dive. Northern gannets are large, striking seabirds that traditionally nest along steep coastal cliffs and rocky outcrops. They are a familiar and iconic sight around Scotland, a nation that proudly hosts roughly 40 percent of the entire global population of these magnificent diving predators.
Despite their local abundance, however, these populations have not been immune to ecological crises. In recent years, some of the largest and most densely packed gannet colonies have suffered devastating, severe losses due to widespread outbreaks of bird flu. Marine biologists and conservationists warn that the long-lasting biological and demographic effects of these outbreaks are profound, suggesting it could take up to 15 years for the affected colonies to fully recover their numbers.
Spiers’ winning photograph offers a privileged look into the extraordinary hunting mechanics of the species. Rather than photographing the birds from the sky, Spiers plunged his camera beneath the water’s surface to capture the split-second when the gannet zeroes in on its aquatic meal. Describing the breathtaking hunting sequence, Spiers explained that when the birds spot fish swimming below, they deliberately fly directly into the wind and stretch out their expansive wings to act as natural air brakes. By doing so, they can precisely adjust their aerial position in relation to their moving quarry. Moments later, the bird pulls its wings in tightly against its streamlined body, effectively shape-shifting into a pointed, living torpedo that plunges into the water at staggering speeds of up to 86 kilometers per hour, which translates to more than 50 miles per hour.
While Spiers took home the overall grand prize, the competition recognized extraordinary talent across a wide array of categories, showcasing the diverse environments inhabited by birds across the globe. In the Birds in the Environment category, Romain Barats earned a bronze award for "Back to Fishing," a compelling image capturing numerous Gentoo penguins diving into the icy waters of Charcot Bay, Antarctica. Meanwhile, the coveted gold award in the Best Portrait category went to Thomas Deliberto for "Radiant," an evocative photograph of a greater sage-grouse in Utah, United States, captured as it puffs up its impressive plumage while illuminated from behind by the warm glow of the morning sun.
Behavioral intimacy and familial protection were also heavily represented among the winning portfolio. Donald Chin secured the gold medal in the Bird Behavior category with "I’m Keeping Everyone Dry," an endearing portrait shot in Perth, Australia, depicting a tawny frogmouth sheltering its two young beneath its protective wing during a heavy downpour. In the realm of high-speed action, Ivan Sjögren captured the gold award in Birds in Flight with "Eye-to-Eye with a Short-Eared Owl," a striking image shot in British Columbia, Canada, showing a short-eared owl flying low and purposefully over an open meadow while locking an intense, direct gaze with the viewer.
Artistic interpretation and stark environmental storytelling played a significant role in the judges’ selections as well. Rahul Sachdev claimed the gold award in the Black and White category for "An Ostrich Horizon," which presents a dramatic, atmospheric landscape in Amboseli, Kenya, featuring an ostrich silhouetted dramatically against radiant sun rays breaking through the African sky. Among the younger generation of talent, Paula Czaeczine captured the gold prize in the 12-to-14-year-old age group with "Acrobat of the Skies," an energetic photograph documenting a red-necked phalarope leaping dynamically above the water’s surface to capture an insect in Rost, Lofoten, Norway.
The competition also turned a sobering spotlight onto the realities of human impact through its conservation-focused categories. Kent Stuart was awarded gold in the Conservation Single Image category for "Not a Good Fishing Day," a heartbreaking photograph taken in Washington, New Jersey, in the United States. The image documents a great blue heron with a discarded fishing line and weighted bobber tragically wrapped around its beak, rendering it entirely unable to forage or eat. This powerful visual stands as a stark reminder of the persistent dangers posed by municipal and recreational waste to local wildlife.
On a lighter, yet equally observant note, urban wildlife found its moment in the sun through Gianluca Damiani’s gold-winning entry in the Urban Birds category. Titled "Alter Ego," the photograph was captured in Rome, Italy, and features a yellow-legged gull spreading its wings wide against a weathered wall, perfectly positioned just above a street mural that depicts a gull flying away with a stolen human wallet.
Additional recognition went to seasoned photographers like Volker Widmann, who earned silver in Best Portrait for "Sunset Puffin," capturing an Atlantic puffin standing resiliently against a softly blurred, vibrant sunset on Skomer Island in the United Kingdom. Mark Carwardine rounded out the prominent placements by securing silver in Bird Behavior for "Spread Eagle," an intimate portrait of a bald eagle perched upon a fallen forest limb with its wings fully extended in the Great Bear Rainforest of Canada.
Enthusiasts, conservationists, and photography fans wishing to view the full collection of winning images and finalists from this year’s competition can visit the official Bird Photographer of the Year website, with ongoing updates and behind-the-scenes features shared via their official social media channels.
