The most impressive photos from the Bird Photographer of the Year Awards

Raymond Hennessy/ Bird Photographer of the Year

Growing up

Tiny common loon chick is dwarfed by the adult next to it.

Levi Fitze / Bird Photographer of the Year

Morning lek

17-year-old Swiss photographer Levi Fitze's photo of a black grouse lekking at sunrise, was the winner of the Young Bird Photographer of the Year award.

Feathers of a great blue heron flipped upside down look like an illustration of fire

Kerry Wu/ Bird Photographer of the Year

Blue flames

Feathers of a great blue heron flipped upside down look like an illustration of fire.

Penguin's reflection on sand destroyed by a wave of the ocean

Rafael Armada/ Bird Photographer of the Year

Disappearing

A penguin is reflected in the sand.

Jonas Classon/ Bird Photographer of the Year

Night hunter

A Great grey owl is poised for attack.

Felipe Foncueva/ Bird Photographer of the Year

Underwater portrait

An underwater image of a brown pelican.

Julie Halliday/ Bird Photographer of the Year

Entangled

Imperial shags during a ritual courtship greeting.

Mousam Ray/ Bird Photographer of the Year

Floral bathtub

A crimson sunbird captured at North Bengal Agricultural University in India.

Massimiliano Apollo/ Bird Photographer of the Year

The face of death

A Purple heron on the hunt.

Tzahi Finkelstein/ Bird Photographer of the Year

Thirsty

A common swift skimming the water.

Nicolas Reusens/ Bird Photographer of the Year

The art of motion

A bird in flight.

A male ovenbird singing on top of a fallen log.

Joshua Galicki/ Bird Photographer of the Year

Claiming the forest floor

A male ovenbird singing on top of a fallen log.

Nathalie Chanteau/ Bird Photographer of the Year

On the Breton rocks

European shag on rocky outcrops in Brittany, France.

Renato Granieri/ Bird Photographer of the Year

Chinstrap penguin

A Chinstrap penguin on top of a giant iceberg.

Northern gannet captured against sunrise

James Rogerson/ Bird Photographer of the Year

Feather light

Backlit by the rising sun, a preening northern gannet paused momentarily as it removed a displaced feather.

An edited image of a common crane, together with one of a train appearing as though it was entering a tunnel.

Ruth Hughes/ Bird Photographer of the Year

Cranes, trains and automobiles

This image of a common crane tells a complicated story.

A kingfisher perched on bread with a tin of fish

Ruediger Schulz/ Bird Photographer of the Year

Sparts and bread

A kingfisher with a tin of fish.

Kathryn Cooper/ Bird Photographer of the Year

Funnel

A fluid movement of a murmuration.

Two birds posing as if they guard the door to the castle behind them

Paolo Crocetta/ Bird Photographer of the Year

The guardians

Two birds posing as if they guard the door to the castle.

A pair of white-throated dippers on a shopping trolley nest under an old road bridge

Terry Whittaker/ Bird Photographer of the Year

Dipper on a shopping trolley

A pair of white-throated dippers nest under an old road bridge on the edge of a town centre in Greater Manchester.

Karoo Prinia searches for insects in the security gate.

William Steel/ Bird Photographer of the Year

Lockdown

Karoo Prinia searches for insects in the security gate.

Oxpecker and buffalo captured next to each other

Barbara Fleming/ Bird Photographer of the Year

Yellow-billed oxpecker with cape buffalo

Both oxpecker and buffalo are moving in different directions and at different distances from the lens.

Demoiselle cranes call standing back to back

Maofeng Shen/ Bird Photographer of the Year

Sing heartily

Demoiselle cranes call standing back to back.

Two southern yellow-billed hornbills chase after the same insect mid-air

Hannes Lochner/ Bird Photographer of the Year

First come, first served

Two southern yellow-billed hornbills chase after the same insect midair.

A greater roadrunner approaches the border wall at U.S.- Mexico border

Alejandro Prieto/ Bird Photographer of the Year

Blocked

A greater roadrunner approaches the border wall at Naco, Arizona.

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The most impressive photos from the Bird Photographer of the Year Awards

After receiving more than 22,000 images from all around the world, the winners of the Bird Photographer of the Year have been chosen. The grand prize of £5,000 (approx. $8,771 CAD) has been awarded to Mexican photographer Alejandro Prieto.

The winning photograph shows a roadrunner looking up at the U.S.-Mexico border with confusion. The image shows the devastating effects the wall had on the species that are native to that region.

“The border wall crosses deserts, mountains, and even mangroves. It is not just desert, and is in fact very biodiverse with more than 1,500 animal and plants species threatened by the wall,” says Alejandro Prieto. “I have watched many different animals reach the wall before turning around and heading back,” he added.

The Young Bird Photographer of the Year 2021 was awarded to 17-year-old Swiss photographer Levi Fitze for his image of black grouse lekking at sunrise.

Bird Photographer of the Year is a global competition dedicated to celebrating the beauty of birds across the world. This year, photographers competed in eight different categories in the adult competition: