The Bird Photographer of the Year 2025 winners have been unveiled. Photographers from all over the world entered more than 33 000 images into the competition, each with their eyes on the £3 500 grand prize.
An image of a magnificent frigate bird silhouetted against a total solar eclipse has taken the grand prize in the world’s largest bird photography competition, the Bird Photographer of the Year.
Here we bring you a selection of some of the winners.
Pictures courtesy of the Bird Photographer of the Year.
Winner of the Bird Photographer of the Year Award and Gold Award in the Birds In Flight category. “After well over a year of planning and about a week of in-person scouting on the coast of Sinaloa in Mexico, my dream of capturing a bird in front of a total solar eclipse finally came true on April 8, 2024. Totality was due to last almost 4.5 minutes, and I had enlisted the help of a boat to position myself near some islets off Mazatlán that were frequented by seabirds. As the moon uncovered the sun’s edge at the end of totality, I captured this Magnificent Frigatebird in front of the spectacular eclipse phase known as the ‘diamond ring’, a moment that lasts just seconds,” explains the photographer. Picture: Liron GertsmanBronze Award in the Conservation category. “The Greater Adjutant is a Near Threatened species with a population of fewer than 1,500 mature individuals left in the wild. It was very sad to see such a rare bird struggling for food at this rubbish dump,” explains the photographer. Captured at Guwahati, Assam, India. Picture: Hira PunjabiBronze Award in the Birds in the Environment category. “I photographed this group of King Penguins emerging from the ocean on a cloudy summer morning. I lay flat on the shore to capture both the dramatic sky and the reflections in the wet sand,” explains the photographer. Captured at Volunteer Point, Falkland Islands. Picture: Steffen FoersterBronze Award in the Birds in Flight category. The photographer states: “It was January and nature had created some very interesting shapes in the saline lakes near Akaszto in Hungary. I sent up my drone and was looking for the right composition when a dozen geese suddenly flew into view.” Picture: Tibor LitauszkiBronze Award in Bird Behaviour. “When a male Asian Houbara (also known as Macqueen’s Bustard) performs his courtship dance, he puffs out his beautiful white breast feathers and starts running around, usually in a prominent place – all in order to attract a mate,” explains the photographer. Photographed in The centre of the Negev, Israel. Picture: Chen Ein-DorBronze Award in the Best Portrait category. “I was photographing a small flock of Alpine Choughs at 2,300 metres in the Swiss Alps when the temperature dropped to a biting −10°C and the wind whipped snow across the ground in swirling gusts. Yet the choughs, perfectly adapted to these harsh conditions, seemed completely unfazed as they hopped around, searching for scraps left behind by tourists,” explains the photographer. Picture: Luca LorenzGold Award in the Conservation category. This picture is of an injured juvenile Common Hawk-Cuckoo that had been rescued after being hit by a vehicle in the city. The bird had taken shelter under a parked car before being rescued by the ManwithIndies Foundation and sent for treatment under the forest department’s guidance. To assess the damage to its wings, a radiograph was obtained after anesthetising the bird. Photographed in Aurangabad, Maharashtra, India. Picture: Sarthak AgrawalGold Award in the Birds in the Environment category. “I was fascinated by the extraordinary skills and elegance of Brandt’s Cormorants as they fed on an almost endless school of small pilchards. Most of the hunting activities took place at sunset, when the low natural light conditions were challenging. But on one occasion the conditions were favourable and I was able to take this particular image that gives a three- dimensional perspective,” explains the photographer. Captured in Espiritu Santos, Mexico. Picture: Franco BanfiBronze Award in the Urban Birds category. “This disused French chapel was occupied by Barn Owls who had no flat surfaces on which they could nest. So I installed a nest box inside and was surprised and delighted when, a year and a half later, a pair settled in and bred successfully,” explains the photographer. Captured in Hauts-de-France, France. Picture: Benoit Henrion
