Wildlife: Check out the 2022 winners of Bird Photographer of the Year!
- Published
The Bird Photographer of the Year 2022 winners have been revealed. This picture shows a rock ptarmigan bird in winter taking flight above the snow-covered mountains of Tysfjord in Norway. It won the grand prize in the competition described as "the world’s largest bird photography competition".
Photographers from all over the world entered more than 20,000 images into the competition. This photo won the Gold Award for Best Portrait, the picture taken in Colorado in the United States shows the sage grouse strutting its stuff. In massive excuse to show off, the male birds line up displaying their feathers - as seen in the picture - and a female will then choose the performer they like the most.
The Young Bird Photographer of the Year 2022 was awarded to 17-year-old Swiss photographer Levi Fitze for his image of a dunlin struggling against a sandstorm on a beach in Germany.
This image was taken from the rooftop of one of the towering skyscraper buildings that dominate the skyline of Abu Dhabi. It shows a line of greater flamingos flying on a morning when fog covered the city. It won the Gold Award in the Urban Birds category.
This photo taken by Parham Pourahmad won the top award in the 9-13 age category. It features a hummingbird visiting a water fountain in Fremont, California, USA. Parham says: "The birds like to bathe in the water... when the birds fly around among the droplets, it provides great opportunities for photography. I had to use a very fast shutter speed to freeze the water droplets and the wings."
Arjun won for this photo in the under-eight category. He took the photo of this owl at Acadia National Park in Maine, United States and says that "one of my parents’ friends, who lives nearby, took us on a hike to a location where she had seen barred owl chicks earlier in the week. Amazingly, we were just a few minutes into the hike when we heard them calling."
This picture shows birds stealing a fisherman's catch. The birds in the image - by Janine Lee - include Dalmatian pelicans and greater flamingos at Lake Kerkini in Greece.
This photo, by Henley Spiers, taken in waters around Scotland of a common murre, shows what incredible divers the birds are. In fact, studies have shown that of all flying birds, they are the best swimmers and can only be beaten in the water by flightless penguins.