Bird photography seriously showed up in best of 2025. Across the globe, major international photo competitions rolled out their winners, and once again, birds stole the spotlight. From razor-sharp action shots to quiet, poetic portraits, this year’s award-winning images proved just how powerful avian photography can be. These photos aren’t just about feathers and wings—they’re about timing, patience, and that once-in-a-lifetime moment every wildlife photographer dreams of.
The 33 winning images featured here come from a wide mix of prestigious international competitions held throughout 2025. Photographers submitted work from every corner of the world, capturing birds in flight, mid-hunt, at rest, and in raw moments of survival. Some images explode with motion—eagles diving, kingfishers striking water—while others whisper, showing delicate interactions between birds and their environments. Together, they reflect the incredible range and emotional depth of bird photography today.
What makes these award-winning photos stand out is intention. Light is used like a storyteller, composition feels deliberate, and every frame shows respect for the subject. Whether shot in extreme conditions or calm natural habitats, these images balance technical mastery with emotional pull. Judges didn’t just reward sharpness or rarity—they honored photographs that made them pause, feel, and remember why wildlife photography matters.
For photographers, this collection is pure inspiration. It shows what’s possible when preparation meets patience. For viewers, it’s a reminder of how fragile, dramatic, and breathtaking the natural world still is. Birds remain one of the most challenging and rewarding subjects to photograph, and the winners of 2025 proved that the category is more alive than ever. Scroll slowly, look closely, and let these spectacular images push your creative limits a little further.
#1. British Photography Awards: Birdlife Winner – "Bad Hair Day" by Jayne Bond
"This image was taken from a boat on Lake Kerkini in Greece, using the Canon EOS R5 with the Canon 24-105 lens. I set the speed at 1/1600 as the boat was constantly rocking and the Dalmatian Pelican was bobbing about on the water."
#2. British Photography Awards: Birdlife Peoples Choice Winner: "Where eagles dare" by Hang Ross
"The Iberian Imperial Eagle, also known as the Spanish Imperial Eagle is a large raptor species native to the Iberian Peninsula Spain and Portugal. The Iberian Imperial Eagle in the 1960 was close to extinction."
#3. Nature Photographer of the Year: Overall Winner – "Sundance" by Asmund Keilen
"The photo was taken just outside Oslo on a hot summer day. I was on my way to the store to buy food. I have a habit of leaving my coffee cup on the roof of my car when unlocking our old blue Mercedes, and more than once I’ve forgotten it there and driven away.
That day, when I backed out of the driveway, the cup tipped over but somehow stayed on the roof. A little discouraged, I reached to pick it up – and immediately saw what would become this photograph. Small orange birch seeds had fallen onto the blue roof during the night, and the summer sun reflected alongside dancing common swifts in the sky. Freedom seemed to take form in chaos."
#4. Nature Photographer of the Year: Birds, Runner-Up: "King Penguins by the Pond" by Renato Granieri
"I feel very fortunate to work as a photographer guide on small expedition ships. My lifestyle takes me to some of the most remote destinations, where I feel truly connected with nature. I have visited South Georgia, a sub-Antarctic island in the South Atlantic Ocean, on several occasions and spent considerable time photographing king penguins (Aptenodytes patagonicus) from land. Their charm keeps me returning again and again."
#5. Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards: Bird Category Winner – "Headlock" by Warren Price, UK
"These guillemots were nesting on a small rocky cliff ledge where space was at a premium. The nests all crammed in close together which isn’t a good recipe for being good neighbours, as guillemots are fiercely territorial. Aggression and battles are frequent over nesting space and I captured this image of this bemused looking bridled guillemot, its head firmly clamped in his/her neighbours beak. I liked the way the guillemot was looking directly into my lens, its white eye-liner eyes highlighting its predicament! Sometimes you just want to bite your neighbours head off..literally!"
#6. Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards: Highly Commended – "Landing gear down" by Erkko Badermann, Finland
#7. Chromatic Awards: Honorable Mention – "Adult starling with young" by Jo Huntjens, Netherlands
"Amateurphotographer with lots of passion for nature-photography, especially birds."
#8. Chromatic Awards: Honorable Mention – "Buffy Fish Owl In Flight" by Partha Roy, Singapore
#9. Chromatic Awards: Honorable Mention – "Dance Like No One’s Watching" by Elizabeth Yicheng Shen, United States
"While I was out watching and photographing migratory birds along the California coast, I discovered a marsh preserve adjacent to a beach. Little did I know that it is the only extensive wetland along the coast of the San Francisco Peninsula."
#10. Bird Photographer of the Year Contest: Overall Winner – "The Frigatebird and the Diamond Ring: by Liron Gertsman
Gertsman wins the top prize of £3,500 and the prestigious title. His image also won Gold Award in the Birds in Flight category.
"I spent well over a year of planning to capture my dream of a bird in front of the total solar eclipse,” says Gertsman. “I 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 image during the eclipse phase known as the ‘diamond ring’ – a moment that lasts mere seconds."
#11. Bird Photographer of the Year Contest: Young Bird Photographer of the Year – "Vulture Silhouette" by Tomasz Michalski
"The Young Bird Photographer of the Year 2025 was awarded to 16-year-old Polish photographer Tomasz Michalski for his striking vulture silhouette."
#12. Bird Photographer of the Year Contest: Best Portfolio, Winner – "Sunflower Paradise" by Mateusz Piesiak
"Sometimes, nature thrives in the most unexpected places. Due to unusually high water levels, a vast sunflower field was left unharvested. While this was a financial loss for the owner, it became a paradise for birds. The field, filled with high-calorie seeds, turned into a vital refuge for tens of thousands of goldfinches. I had never witnessed such a large flock of these birds gathered in one place – it was as if they had arrived from miles around, drawn by this rare and abundant food source. For hours, hidden among the towering sunflowers, I observed and photographed this remarkable scene."
#13. Bird Photographer of the Year Contest: Best Portrait, Gold – "Bloody Petrel" by Steffen Foerster
#14. GDT Nature Photographer of the Year: Overall Winner – "Dipper flying through waterfall" by Konrad Wothe
"Konrad Wothe – Dipper flying through waterfall. Wothe’s triumphant capture of a Dipper is truly a story of two decades in the making, proving that ultimate photography requires ultimate patience. It’s been over 20 years since he first witnessed a Dipper darting through a waterfall. The small passerine bird was flying back and forth to a nest tucked away safely behind a dense curtain of water."
#15. GDT Nature Photographer of the Year: Honorable Mention – "Common redstarts in meadow orchard" by Christian Höfs
#16. GDT Nature Photographer of the Year: Honorable Mention – "Sing ‘n Snack" by Wolfram Nagel
#17. GDT Nature Photographer of the Year: Honorable Mention – "Flyby" by Matthias Hüther
#18. Wildlife Photographer of the Year: Winner – Behaviour, Birds: "Synchronised Fishing" by Qingrong Yang
"Qingrong Yang (China) perfects photographic timing to show a ladyfish snatching its prey from right under this little egret’s beak. Qingrong was at Yundang Lake near his home, a place he visits regularly to photograph the feeding frenzies: little egrets patrol the surface, ready to pounce on fish leaping to escape underwater predators."
#19. European Wildlife Photographer of the Year: Overall Winner – "Silent Despair" by Luca Lorenz
"Silent despair – and not only from the mouse’s perspective! I had spent many days in a German forest observing a pair of Eurasian pygmy owls (Glaucidium passerinum) nesting in a tree hollow, when, one day, the female vanished – probably taken by a tawny owl or a goshawk. About a week later, the young owlets emerged from the hollow and perched on nearby branches, still unable to fly. The male was struggling to care for them on his own.
#20. European Wildlife Photographer of the Year: Birds, Winner: "Swan lake" by Terje Kolaas
#21. European Wildlife Photographer of the Year: Birds, Runner-Up: "At the top of the food chain" by Audun Rikardsen
#22. Nature inFocus Photography Awards: Coexistence, Winner: "Urban Oasis" by Sarthak Agrawal
"At Ras Al Khor, flamingos feed peacefully against Dubai’s towering skyline. This urban wetland, home to over 25,000 migratory birds each winter, thrives amid rapid development, filtering water, storing carbon, and sustaining life even as the city grows around it."
#23. Siena Drone Awards: Wildlife, Runner up – "Where Silence Casts a Shadow" by Mahdi Gholoum
"This is not merely an image of natural beauty; it is a visual statement. The eagle’s shadow does not simply fall on the ground—it marks it, confronts it. A silent environmental message emerges: no matter how high life flies, it remains tethered to the earth beneath."
#24. Minimalist Photography Awards: Fine Art, 3rd Place Winner: "Grace in the dark" by Larisa Schubert
#25. Minimalist Photography Awards: Open Category, 3rd Place Winner: "Swan" by Florian Wurzinger
#26. Mangrove Photography Awards: Overall Winner – "Birds’ eye view of the hunt" by Mark Ian Cooks
#27. Exposure One Awards: Gold, "Veil of Grace" by Janelle Schroeder
"A great egret draped in breeding plumage of elegant aigrettes curls its neck, giving me just a peek of one eye highlighted in the setting sun. In color, the lores around the eyer are a brilliant green, another hallmark of the great egrets’ breeding season. This image conveys drama and mystery."
#28. Fine Art Photography Awards: 1st place winner – "Curious" by Stefan Gerrits
"It was bitterly cold, -34°C. The Siberian Jay (Perisoreus infaustus), a naturally curious bird, is even more so in such harsh conditions. Drawn by the sounds of human activity, they approach, hoping for food. In its natural surroundings, this frozen wilderness, surrounded by photogenic, snow-laden pines, the jay flits back and forth. Its behavior is for sure a mix of curiosity and survival instinct. A 35mm double exposure."
#29. National Wildlife Photo Contest: Birds, First Place by Jack Zhi
Zhi has spent seven years investigating a question with his camera: How do peregrine falcons, the fastest animals on Earth, protect their young? “With sheer speed and agility,” the Irvine, California, resident learned while documenting broods. The mothers “were on duty, attacking the much larger brown pelicans when they ventured too close to the nest.”
#30. National Wildlife Photo Contest: Birds, Second Place by Ajay Kumar Singh
In winter, Eker Creek is one of the few sites in a settled area “with some mangrove patches still left,” attracting large numbers of greater flamingos, says Singh of Manama, Bahrain. He shot this photo “in early morning, when it was dark, and the building and streetlights were still on.”
#31. National Geographic Traveller: Wildlife, Runner-up – Jo Noon
#32. 35 Photography Awards: 2nd Place – "Blossom bath" by Hoang Thu Hương
#33. The Artist Gallery Awards: 2nd Place – "Jungle Rule" by Xiaoping Lin, China
"On the turbulent sea surface, as soon as the egret caught a small fish, the fierce big fish rushed out of the water, opened its big mouth, and prepared to snatch the small fish. Under the law of the jungle where the weak prey, who would the small fish belong to?"
