SEPTEMBER 5, 2023 KATE MOTHES

Nicolas Reusens, “Glistening Green,” Glistening-green Tanager (Chlorochrysa phoenicotis), Mashpi Amagusa Reserve, Ecuador. Gold Award Winner: Best Portrait. All images © the photographers and Bird Photographer of the Year 2023

The judges of the Bird Photographer of the Year competition sifted through more than 20,000 images this year.

The judges of the 2023 Bird Photographer of the Year competition (previously) sifted through more than 20,000 images submitted from photographers around the globe. With lenses trained on a variety of avians and their habitats, the makers of this year’s winning images highlight diverse behavior, sizes, colors, and environments, from enigmatic and elusive species to familiar backyard friends.

Jack Zhi’s grand prize-winning image catches the dramatic moment that a Peregrine Falcon attacks a Brown Pelican in mid-flight. “I love the eyes of the pelican in this image: surprised and scared,” Zhi says. “The action was fast and over in the blink of an eye.”[…]

Jack Zhi, “Grab the Bull by the Horns.” Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus) and Brown Pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis), Southern California, United States. Gold Award Winner: Bird Behavior

Paul Mckenzie, “Green Planet Flamingos,” Lesser Flamingo (Phoeniconaias minor), Lake Bogoria, Kenya. Silver Award Winner: Birds in Flight

More: Bird Photographer of the Year 2023 Highlights Avian Attitudes and Winged Wonders Around the World — Colossal