By Now marking its 10th anniversary, the Bird Photographer of the Year (BPOTY) competition continues to soar higher — celebrating the mesmerizing beauty of birds while spotlighting global conservation challenges.
With more than 25,000 images submitted from photographers around the world, this year’s competition captures not only moments of breathtaking grace, but also the fragile balance between survival and extinction.
A Global Celebration of Birds and Conservation
What began as a small-scale initiative to showcase the wonder of avian life has evolved into one of the most respected nature photography awards worldwide. Each entry — whether from a remote rainforest, an Arctic shore, or an urban rooftop — reflects our shared fascination with the world’s most diverse and expressive creatures.
But beyond artistry, BPOTY’s mission is deeply rooted in conservation. Proceeds from the competition support organizations like Birds on the Brink, helping to fund projects that protect threatened species and restore vital habitats. Every photo, in essence, becomes part of a larger movement to preserve what the lens captures.
The Grand Prize Winner: A Moment Written in Light
This year’s Overall Winner, Canadian photographer Liron Gertsman, captivated the judges with a once-in-a-lifetime shot titled “The Frigatebird and the Diamond Ring.”
Captured during a total solar eclipse off the coast of Mexico, the image shows a frigatebird soaring through the glowing “diamond ring” phase of the eclipse — a moment lasting only seconds.
Gertsman’s photo is both cosmic and earthly — a reminder of the harmony between nature’s rhythms and our fleeting human ability to witness them. The image took meticulous planning, patience, and perfect timing — earning him not only the Grand Prize but also the Birds in Flight category award.
Youth and Vision: The Next Generation of Nature Storytellers
In the Young Bird Photographer category, 16-year-old Tomasz Michalski from Poland impressed with a strikingly minimalist photo of a vulture standing in silhouette, wings spread wide against an open sky.
The simplicity of the composition and its quiet strength resonated with judges — proving that powerful storytelling doesn’t always need grandeur, just vision.
A Symphony of Stories: Highlights from the 2025 Winners
Every finalist this year contributed a unique perspective — from intimate portraits to cinematic landscapes.
-
Best Portrait: A powerful close-up of a Northern Giant Petrel, its feathers flecked with the red stains of a recent hunt — a haunting glimpse of survival in raw form.
-
Best Portfolio: Polish photographer Mateusz Piesiak was celebrated for “Sunflower Paradise,” a series capturing goldfinches feeding in a flooded field of sunflowers — turning a human-altered landscape into a vibrant haven for wildlife.
-
Bird Behavior: A mesmerizing sequence showing penguins braving icy waves along the South Atlantic coast, symbolizing endurance in one of Earth’s harshest climates.
-
Conservation Award: A photograph of a raven perched on a charred branch in a post-wildfire forest — a stark yet hopeful image of nature’s resilience after devastation.
Together, these works form a visual essay about adaptation, beauty, and the human responsibility to protect fragile ecosystems.
