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

Published: September 15, 2021 Updated: September 8, 2022
Tiny loon chick next to an adult.
Raymond Hennessy/ Bird Photographer of the Year
Growing up

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

Black grouse lekking at sunrise.
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.

Grey owl pictured at night
Jonas Classon/ Bird Photographer of the Year
Night hunter

A Great grey owl is poised for attack.

Brown pelican underwater
Felipe Foncueva/ Bird Photographer of the Year
Underwater portrait

An underwater image of a brown pelican.

Imperial shags with their beaks entangled
Julie Halliday/ Bird Photographer of the Year
Entangled

Imperial shags during a ritual courtship greeting.

Crimson sunbird bathing in nectar
Mousam Ray/ Bird Photographer of the Year
Floral bathtub

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

Purple heron feeding on mice
Massimiliano Apollo/ Bird Photographer of the Year
The face of death

A Purple heron on the hunt.

A common swift skimming over water
Tzahi Finkelstein/ Bird Photographer of the Year
Thirsty

A common swift skimming the water.

Motion of bird's wings captured
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.

European shag on rocky outcrops
Nathalie Chanteau/ Bird Photographer of the Year
On the Breton rocks

European shag on rocky outcrops in Brittany, France.

A chinstrap penguin on top of a giant iceberg
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.

Fluidlike movement of a murmuration
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.

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:

  • Best Portrait
  • Birds in the Environment
  • Attention to Detail
  • Bird Behaviour
  • Birds in Flight
  • Black and White
  • Urban Birds
  • Creative Imagery

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