Nikon Rules the 2025 Bird Photographer of the Year Awards

Bird photography is a challenging genre that offers us spectacular insights into the world of avian creatures. While it is a niche genre, it is still quite popular amongst photographers and bird watchers, both of whom have consistently tried to conserve the varied species. To honor those behind the lens and their contributions, Bird Photographer of the Year, a renowned platform in the industry, has bestowed them with the opportunity to showcase their work. And today, they finally unveil the winners of the highly anticipated wards.

All images are courtesy of Bird Photographer of the Year. Used with permission. The lead image is by Sarthak Agrawal.

In 2025, Bird Photographer of the Year received 25,000 entries from around the world. The photographers were not only competing for the title in 8 categories but also for a grand prize of 3,000 pounds. Before we get to the winners, here is a quick look at the gear the winners have used, which helped to win the award.

Cameras

Lenses

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The list clearly shows that full-frame cameras are the winners, with only two APS-C offerings and one MFT device. Similarly, there are 10 mirrorless cameras, 4 DSLRs, and a drone camera. If we were to split the list by company, then you would see 6 Nikon cameras, followed by 3 Canon and 3 Sony cameras, with one Olympus. This proves that Nikon cameras, particularly mirrorless, are quite popular amongst bird photographers.

The oldest camera on the list is by Nikon, the D4, launched in 2012, then the Olympus E-M1 Mark II, launched in 2016, just like the Nikon D5600. This further proves, it’s not the gear but the photographer. There are 7 prime lenses, and the remaining 13 are zooms. The oldest lens on the list is the Nikon 14-24mm f2.8, which is designed for a DSLR. But unlike Nikon, it appears that Canon has more lenses on the list (10), followed by Nikon (7), and then Sony (6).

Winner of Bird Photographer of the Year

Liron Gertsman, Canada

After well over a year of planning and about a week of in-person scouting on the coast of Sinaloa in Mexico, Liron’s 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 he 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, he captured this Magnificent Frigatebird in front of the spectacular eclipse phase known as the ‘diamond ring’, a moment that lasts just seconds. The image is also the winner of the Birds in Flight category.

Canon EOS R5 with Canon RF 100–500mm f4.5–7.1 lens. 400mm; 1/4,000s; f7.1; ISO 10,000.

YOUNG BIRD PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR 2025

Tomasz Michalski, Poland

Tomasz took this photo during the biggest trip of my life, which was to Central America in July 2024, in the first country we visited, Nicaragua. He saw this big vulture drying its wings on a pole close to our hotel. Tomasz was being watched by the bird, but it was very calm, so he had a long time to photograph it. The scenery wasn’t beautiful, so he decided to frame it with only part of the bird being in the photo. Tomasz tried various combinations, and this one is my favourite. The image also won the 15-17 Years category.

Olympus E-M1 Mark II with Leica 100–400mm f4–6.3 lens. 400mm; 1/320s; f22; ISO 125.

BEST PORTRAIT

Steffen Foerster, Germany | Gold Award

Giant petrels are the scavengers of the Southern Ocean, often seen feeding on carrion. This individual has their head stained red with blood from a recent meal. Although their feeding habits may seem gruesome, these birds play a vital role in the ecosystem by preventing the spread of disease. Despite their appearance, giant petrels are surprisingly devoted parents, with both males and females taking turns incubating their single egg and guarding their chick for weeks. Once heavily persecuted for their oil, their populations have rebounded thanks to conservation efforts, although they still face threats from fishing practices and climate change.

Canon EOS R5 with Canon RF 400mm f2.8 lens. 400mm; 1/3,200s; f2.8; ISO 1,000.

Maxime Legare-Vezina, Canada | Silver Award

After the devastating wildfires of summer 2024, Maxime visited Jasper to witness the desolation. In the scorched landscape, where ash covered everything, only a few animals had returned. Among them, Common Ravens were some of the first to reclaim the land. This one, perched on a charred tree, was calling out, as if mourning the loss of its kingdom.

Canon EOS R5 with Canon EF 600mm f4 III lens. 600mm; 1/400s; f4; ISO 1,250.

Luca Lorenz, Germany | Bronze Award

Luca 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. He loved watching them as they flew and moved through the blizzard in a truly elegant way.

Nikon Z 8 with Nikon Z 14–30mm f4 lens. 22mm; 1/1,000s; f9; ISO 560.

BIRD BEHAVIOUR

Francesco Guffanti, Italy | Gold Award

A Red Deer killed by a car in the pine forest near to where Francesco lives provided a fantastic opportunity to document the activity of carnivores and scavengers visiting the carcass. With the help of a friend he positioned and camouflaged a motion sensor and two mirrorless cameras nearby. To avoid any disturbance, Francesco avoided the use of flashes or any other type of artificial light. After foxes, crows and some small birds had paid a visit, most unexpectedly, and despite the thick blanket of branches, a Golden Eagle appeared and descended to feed on the carcass. It was an unforgettable experience for him.

Nikon Z 6 with Nikon Z 24–70mm f4 lens. 35mm; 1/250s; f5; ISO 4,000.

Mateusz Piesiak, Poland | Silver Award

This male capercaillie, illuminated by the first rays of the rising sun, perched in the ideal spot. Mateusz’s emotions are hard to put into words. Overwhelmed by the scene, he forgot to adjust my camera settings, resulting in most of the photos being blurry. Thankfully, though, a few turned out sharp!

Canon EOS R5 with Canon EF 400mm f2.8 II lens. 400mm; 1/1,600s; f2.8; ISO 800.

Chen Ein-Dor, Israel | Bronze Award

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. This bustard is normally very shy and difficult to see due to its wonderfully cryptic plumage. For this reason, the best time to photograph these birds is during the breeding season when the males are displaying. For many years, Chen has dreamed of photographing a bustard dancing in the desert, and finally, with a lot of patience and a stroke of luck, he managed to approach one slowly until he got close enough to capture it strutting its stuff.

Nikon Z 9 with Nikon Z 600mm f4 lens and 1.4x teleconverter. 840mm; 1/2,500s; f5.6; ISO 1,000.

BIRDS IN FLIGHT

Baiju Patil, India | Silver Award

The fields of marigolds around the village of Hiware Bazar are a sight to behold, and seeing the flocks of swallows skimming over them gave me the idea for this photo. Bajju noticed that some of the birds kept feeding over the same area, and set up my camera so that he could fire it with a remote. This is one of the many thousands of photos he took and is the one Bajju is most pleased with.

Nikon D4 with Nikon 14–24mm f2.8 lens. 14mm; 1/250s; f10; ISO 200.

Tibor Litauszki, Hungary | Bronze Award

It was January, and nature had created some very interesting shapes in the saline lakes near Akasztó in Hungary. Tibor sent up my drone and was looking for the right composition when a dozen geese suddenly flew into view. He immediately started taking photos, and luckily, everything fell into place – the composition as well as the geese.

DJI Mavic 2 Zoom. 4mm; 1/1,000s; f2.8; ISO 100.

BIRDS IN THE ENVIRONMENT

Franco Banfi, Switzerland | Gold Award

Franco was in the Sea of Cortez, near Los Islotes, a fistful of rocks that is part of the Espíritu Santo archipelago, to document the unbelievable recovery of this marine protected area. Los Islotes is the southernmost breeding site of the California sea Lion in the Northern Hemisphere, but it is a wonderfully wild place for many other reasons. He 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 he was able to take this particular image that gives a three-dimensional perspective.

Sony A7R III with Sony 18–15mm f4 lens. 15mm; 1/200s; f8; ISO 400.

Levi Fitze, Switzerland | Silver Award

Levi spotted this Rock Ptarmigan walking slowly up a snowy hillside in the Swiss mountains on a frozen winter’s day. Ptarmigans are masters of camouflage, their white winter plumage blending in so well with the snow. He noticed that the footprints this bird was leaving in the snow, emphasised by the low, flat light, were perhaps more noticeable than the bird itself. Levi then framed the image so that the bird was part of the picture to highlight its expansive environment and show the wonderful textures in the snow.

Sony a7 IV with Sony 200–600mm f5.6–6.3 lens. 512mm; 1/2,000s; f6.3; ISO 800.

Steffen Foerster, Germany | Bronze Award

Steffen photographed this group of King Penguins emerging from the ocean on a cloudy summer morning. He lay flat on the shore to capture both the dramatic sky and the reflections in the wet sand. When one of the penguins started trumpeting and pointing its head towards the clouds, it felt to me like a celebration of life, a triumph over the dangers of traversing the vast ocean in search of food. For the penguins, however, these calls are finely tuned songs (although they may not sound very melodic to the human ear) that allow mates to recognise each other amidst a sprawling colony that can contain thousands and thousands of individuals. So, this call effectively translates as one resounding “I’m back home!”

Canon EOS R5 with Canon RF 70–200mm f2.8 lens. 86mm; 1/1,000s; f2.8; ISO 4,000.

BLACK AND WHITE

Jannik Jansons, Germany | Gold Award

Using a wide-angle lens, Jannik photographed a shag taking off on the Norwegian island of Hornøya. In the image, it looks like a gigantic bird flying over all the others, but in reality, the bird is flying very close to the lens and therefore appears much larger. Because of the very small aperture, the sun is captured as a star through the blades of the lens. The conversion to black and white reinforces the confusing perspective, as the details are hard to see, and it is more difficult to determine the birds’ relative size.

Canon EOS R5 with Canon EF 16–35mm f2.8 III lens. 34mm; 1/640s; f22; ISO 800.

Raoul Slater, Australia | Silver Award

At thirteen, Raoul switched my Canon AE-1 from programme mode to aperture priority – and he worked that way ever since. Raoul prefers controlling depth of field first, shutter speed second. It usually works – except in moments like this, when photographing in low, pre-dawn light, when the sun suddenly rises. He forgot to adjust; the shutter speed maxed out, and the image blew out. This photo, taken on a misty morning, appeared three stops brighter than he had visualised – and it took my breath away. Sometimes, a divine accident redeems a thousand mistakes.

Canon EOS R5 with Canon EF 100–400mm f4.5–5.6 II lens. 263mm; 1/8,000s; f5; ISO 800.

Jim Lee, Singapore | Bronze Award

Jim was watching this fledgling Buffy Fish Owl perched in a tree when heavy rain began to fall. He took shelter while keeping the owl in sight, waiting for the right moment. It flew down to a low, unlit street light, and Jim quickly stepped out to photograph it. Using a low shutter speed, he moved so that a distant illuminated street light was just out of the corner of the frame in order to illuminate the rain streaks, while water droplets on nearby leaves added depth to the foreground. The bird remained quite still, its feathers drenched by the rain, but occasionally shook itself vigorously, sending water droplets flying in all directions. This moment captured the resilience of wildlife enduring unpredictable weather.

Sony a1 with Sony 85mm f1.4 II lens. 85mm; 1/20s; f1.4; ISO 2,500.

CREATIVE PERSPECTIVES

Philipp Egger, Italy | Gold Award

Phillipp’s idea behind this photograph was to capture a kingfisher flying over a piece of artwork so that the two became merged. To achieve this, he mounted my camera on a dead fallen tree across a small stream and pointed it vertically downwards at the artwork positioned just above the water’s surface. Phillipp then waited for days in my camouflaged tent not far away, triggering the camera with a radio remote release when the bird flew over the picture.

Nikon Z 7 II with Nikon Z 24–70mm f4 lens. 36mm; 1/200s; f11; ISO 125.

Andreas Hemb, Sweden | Silver Award

Nothing heralds the arrival of spring more evocatively than the sight and sound of migrant birds in Sweden, with the appearance of Whooper Swans being a particular highlight. Andreas took this image at dusk as the swans were gathering in a field next to a lake. Using a slow shutter speed to emphasise motion, he tracked one of the swans as it came in to land, aiming to capture its grace against an abstract sea of swans on the ground.

Sony a1 with Sony 400mm f2.8 lens. 400mm; 1/4s; f5.6; ISO 500.

Jim Lee, Singapore | Bronze Award

This photo is of a Buffy Fish Owl perched atop a street light, a frequent spot from which these birds hunt. The contrast between the dark night sky and the bright light results in the owl going unnoticed by most passersby. To capture a unique perspective, Jim positioned myself directly beneath the bird, using a wide-angle lens and pointing my camera upwards. The lamp post serves as a leading line, drawing attention to the owl centred in the frame. The street light and treetop branches create a striking blend of urban and natural elements, highlighting the owl’s adaptability to urban life.

Sony a1 with Sony 16–35mm f2.8 II lens. 35mm; 1/20s; f2.8; ISO 1,600.

URBAN BIRDS

Alex Pansier, Netherlands | Gold Award

A lone bird rests on a vast field of solar panels alongside a highway in the Netherlands – a striking symbol of the tension between green energy and nature. As we transition to sustainable power, the infrastructure often claims scarce space that could have been left for wildlife. This spontaneous moment captures that paradox: progress requires space, but at what cost to nature? No bait was used – just a fleeting encounter between a bird and a modern-day monoculture.

Sony a1 with Sony 100–400mm f4.5-5.6 lens. 348mm; 1/500s; f13; ISO 6,400.

Tomáš Grim, Czech Republic | Silver Award

Eurasian Jays are not generally thought of as urban birds, but can sometimes be found in parks and gardens. They almost always build their nests in trees, avoiding artificial structures – so when a friend reported finding a jay’s nest inside (!) a streetlamp, Tomáš considered it a joke; the Eurasian Jay is not a hole nester. Yet he could not resist checking it out, and to my amazement, the nest was real. He waited for the ‘blue hour’ to combine the warm light from the lamp with the cold colours of this unique nest’s surroundings before taking this photo.

Nikon Z 8 with Nikon Z 180–600mm f5.6–6.3 lens. 250mm; 1/20s; f7.1; ISO 1,000.

Benoit Henrion, France | Bronze Award

This disused French chapel was occupied by Barn Owls, who had no flat surfaces on which they could nest. So Benoit installed a nest box inside and was surprised and delighted when, a year and a half later, a pair settled in and bred successfully. The photo was taken from my hide tent at dusk, the light coming from the street lamps that had just been turned on.

Canon EOS 1D X Mark III with Canon EF 70–200mm f2.8 lens. 175mm; 1/30s; f2.8; ISO 3,200.

CONSERVATION

Sarthak Agrawal, India | Gold Award

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 Man with Indies 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. Common Hawk-Cuckoos are brood parasites, laying their eggs in the nests of smaller urban birds like sunbirds, prinias, and tailorbirds. While these smaller birds have adapted well to urban environments, the much larger hawk-cuckoo struggles to navigate and survive. Every year, several cuckoo chicks are found under similar circumstances, and foundations like ManwithIndies rescue many of them.

Nikon D5600 with Nikon 18–55mm f3.5-5.6 lens. 18mm; 1/60s; f5.6; ISO 320.

Charlotte Keast, United Kingdom | Silver Award

In heartbreaking contrast to its wild peers, this Shoebill stork is confined in a small, dirty cage in a zoo in Entebbe, Uganda. Known for their solitary and elusive nature, Shoebills thrive in vast wetlands, hunting in silence and flying gracefully over open landscapes. Here, trapped behind glass for the entire day and on full display to the public, this majestic bird is deprived of space to fly, hunt, or retreat from the constant gaze of visitors. Just a few miles away, its wild counterparts enjoy the freedom of Uganda’s marshes – a stark reminder of the unnatural conditions that captivity imposes on such extraordinary creatures.

Canon EOS R5 with Canon RF 14-35mm f4 lens. 14mm; 1/2,500s; f4; ISO 160.

Hira Punjabi, India | Bronze Award

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.

Nikon Z 9 with Nikon Z 400mm f2.8 lens. 400mm; 1/1,600s; f8; ISO 800.

12 – 14 YEARS

Harry Sedin, Sweden

Haleakalā National Park is infamous for altitude sickness, but visiting it led me to an unforgettable moment. Feeling lightheaded at nine thousand feet, we turned back and stopped at Hosmer Grove Campground. The moment Harry stepped out, flashes of red flickered through the trees, three to four ‘I‘iwi landing on a sunlit bush. With harsh light and no clouds above us, he underexposed the shot, creating a black background that made the bird’s scarlet feathers glow. The altitude may have made me miss out on a Short-eared Owl, but it gave me the perfect opportunity to capture Hawaii’s iconic honeycreeper in stunning contrast.

Canon EOS R7 with Canon EF 100–400mm f5.6–8 lens. 400mm; 1/320s; f8; ISO 1,000.

11 AND UNDER

Sasha Jumanca, Germany

While exploring the Danube Delta in Romania this summer, Sasha discovered a European Bee-eater colony in a nesting cliff where the birds were tirelessly chasing prey for their chicks nestled in the burrows. The birds were flying over a field of wildflowers, whose colours beautifully mirrored the bee-eaters’ plumage. She was captivated by their agility as they swiftly changed speed and direction, tracking insects through the air. After many attempts, Sasha finally captured this bird in flight, its wings fully spread, showing the beautiful colours of its feathers in great harmony with the flowers.

Nikon Z 9 with Nikon Z 600mm f4 lens. 600mm; 1/4,000s; f4; ISO 1,250.

The 2026 edition of Bird Photographer of the Year is open now. To participate, head to thier website.