{"id":8441,"date":"2026-09-22T08:15:23","date_gmt":"2026-09-22T15:15:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/?p=8441"},"modified":"2026-09-22T08:15:23","modified_gmt":"2026-09-22T15:15:23","slug":"diverse-and-dramatic-behaviors-top-the-2026-bird-photographer-of-the-year-contest","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/?p=8441","title":{"rendered":"Diverse and Dramatic Behaviors Top the 2026 Bird Photographer of the Year Contest"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Diverse<\/p>\n

It\u2019s all things avian at Bird Photographer of the Year<\/a>, the world\u2019s largest contest dedicated to images of feathered creatures planet-wide. This year, the program welcomed more than 24,000 entries from photographers around the globe, capturing diving penguins, urban denizens, mating rituals, dramatic flights, and more.<\/p>\n

Highlighting birds of all kinds, the competition emphasizes the diverse appearances and behaviors of the animals and also raises awareness of the challenges they face due human-triggered habitat loss, poaching, pollution, and other factors. Categories include Best Portrait, Bird Behavior, Conservation, Urban Birds, and others, plus three youth categories for budding photographers aged 17 years and younger.<\/p>\n

\"a
Henley Spiers, \u201cSunball Rocket.\u201d Northern gannet, Shetland, Scotland, U.K. Overall Winner and Gold, Birds in the Environment<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Top prize in this year\u2019s edition went to Henley Spiers<\/a>\u2019 underwater image of a diving northern gannet captured off the Shetland Islands, about 110 miles north of mainland Scotland. These large seabirds, which nest on steep cliffs and rocks, are a common sight around the northern nation, which is home to around 40 percent of the world\u2019s population. Unfortunately, some of the massive colonies suffered severe losses due to bird flu<\/a>, an outbreak that may take 15 years to recover from.<\/p>\n

Spiers captures the gannet from beneath the water\u2019s surface as it aims for a meal. He says, \u201cWhen fish are spotted, the gannets fly into the wind and stretch out their wings as brakes, precisely adjusting their position in relation to their quarry. Moments later, with wings tucked in tightly, the gannet shape-shifts into a pointed torpedo, diving into the water at speeds of up to 86km\/h.\u201d That\u2019s more than 50 miles per hour.<\/p>\n

See all of the winners on the Bird Photographer of the Year website<\/a>, and follow updates on Instagram<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"numerous
Romain Barats, \u201cBack to Fishing.\u201d Gentoo penguin, Charcot Bay, Antarctica. Bronze, Birds in the Environment<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"a
Thomas Deliberto, \u201cRadiant.\u201d Greater sage-grouse, Utah, U.S. Gold, Best Portrait<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"a
Donald Chin, \u201cI\u2019m Keeping Everyone Dry.\u201d Tawny frogmouth, Perth, Australia. Gold, Bird Behavior<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"a
Ivan Sj\u00f6gren, \u201cEye-to-Eye with a Short-Eared Owl.\u201d Short-eared owl, British Colombia, Canada. Gold, Birds in Flight<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"a
Rahul Sachdev, \u201cAn Ostrich Horizon.\u201d Ostrich, Amboseli, Kenya. Gold, Black and White<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"waterfowl
Paula Czaeczine, \u201cAcrobat of the Skies.\u201d Red-necked phalarope, Rost, Lofoten, Norway. Gold, 12-14 Years<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"a
Kent Stuart, \u201cNot a Good Fishing Day.\u201d Great blue heron, Washington, New Jersey, U.S. Gold, Conservation (Single Image)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"a
Gianluca Damiani, \u201cAlter Ego.\u201d Yellow-legged gull, Rome, Italy. Gold, Urban Birds<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"a
Volker Widmann, \u201cSunset Puffin.\u201d Atlantic puffin, Skomer Island, U.K. Silver, Best Portrait<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"an
Mark Carwardine, \u201cSpread Eagle.\u201d Bald eagle, Great Bear Rainforest, Canada. Silver, Bird Behavior<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Do stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member<\/a> today and support independent arts publishing for as little as $7 per month. The article Diverse and Dramatic Behaviors Top the 2026 Bird Photographer of the Year Contest<\/a> appeared first on Colossal<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s all things avian at Bird Photographer of the Year, the world\u2019s largest contest dedicated to images of feathered creatures planet-wide. This year, the program welcomed more than 24,000 entries…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":[],"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8441","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-rss"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8441","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=8441"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8441\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=8441"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=8441"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=8441"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}