A dramatic photo of a female peregrine swooping down on a brown pelican while protecting her young has won this year’s Bird Photographer of the Year award.
The photo was taken by Jack Zhi, who had waited four years to capture the rare moment in Southern California. The incredible ‘Grab the Bull by the Horns’ sculpture beat out more than 23,000 entries to claim the prize.
“For four years I have been trying to capture the rare sight of the female falcon attacking large brown pelicans with incredible speed and agility,” he said in a press release.
“The high-speed chase made it challenging to get a close-up shot with a long lens. The falcon’s precision was astounding when it hit the pelican’s head,” the American photographer explained.
“I love the pelican’s eyes in this picture: surprised and scared. The action was quick and over in the blink of an eye. But I will remember that moment forever,” Zhi said.
Jack Zhi’s photo of a female peregrine swooping on a brown pelican while protecting her young has won this year’s Bird Photographer of the Year award
A photograph of the silhouette of a blackbird against the backdrop of the moon taken by German photographer Anton Trexler, 17, won Young Bird Photographer of the Year
The annual competition aims to bring attention to bird photography around the world. and contains images in different categories including Conservation Award, Portfolio Award, Video Award and Comedy Bird Photo Award.
Zhi, a full-time computer engineer, spends his spare time searching for birds and other wildlife. He also won Wildlife Photographer of the Year in 2021 and the Grand Prize of the Audubon Photography Awards in 2021.
The photographer won the £5,000 ($6,280 USD) grand prize and the prestigious title. The image also won a Gold Award in the Bird Behavior category.
German photographer Anton Trexler, 17, won Young Bird Photographer of the Year for his shot of the silhouette of a blackbird against the backdrop of the moon.
The gold prize in the Comedy Bird category went to Italian photographer Antonio Aguti. That was a bird with big eyes and a huge fish in its mouth.
‘The purple heron is a migratory bird that nests in the lake basins of the Italian peninsula and feeds mainly on fish. In this shot, the heron caught a large crucian carp and voraciously swallowed it after several attempts to flip the fish on its side,” Aguti said.
The gold prize in the Comedy Bird category went to Italian photographer Antonio Aguti, who captured a bird with wide eyes and a huge fish in its mouth
A photo of penguins taken by Levi Fitze on Saunders Island, Falkland Islands won the Silver Award from Comedy Bird Photo
“More fish please!” shot by Levi Fitze on Saunders Island, Falkland Islands, won the Silver Award from Comedy Bird Photo and features a baby penguin in the face of a king penguin.
This youth begged continuously until the annoyed adult walked away. However, the fact that the juvenile was more massive than the adult generally suggests good parenting.’ Fitz noticed.
British photographer Rachel Bigsby won this year’s Best Portfolio Award for her “incredible ability to capture the beauty, resilience and fragility of the lives of birds that are at home in the air, land and sea.”
The Gold Prize for Best Portrait went to Nicolas Reusens, who captured a rare shimmering green tanager in Ecuador.
The Gold Award for Best Portrait went to Nicolas Reusens, who exhibited a rare shimmering green tanager in Ecuador
Rafael Armada’s depiction of sword hummingbird with the world’s longest beak relative to its size won the Gold Award in the Bird in Flight category
“After hours of waiting, I saw the vibrant green bird on a perfect heart-shaped leaf. Its shimmering feathers reflected a dazzling array of colors. I captured every detail, grateful for this magical moment amidst the lush jungle in the background,” said Reusens. .
The Gold Award in the Bird in Flight category went to Rafael Armada’s depiction of sword hummingbird with the world’s longest beak relative to its size.
“This bird’s unique beak, adapted to feed on flowers with long corollas, makes it an essential pollinator, as bees and butterflies cannot reach the nectar and thus do not pollinate these plants,” said the photographer.