Revealed: The Bird Photographer of the Year winners - and the images that flew to the top slots
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By WILL HALLOWELL, NEWS REPORTER
Published: | Updated:
After more than 24,000 pictures from around the world were submitted into the renowned competition, the Bird Photographer of the Year winners have been revealed.
And it was a British snapper who claimed the £3,000 prize money this year with an extraordinary submission from under water.
Henley Spiers was named grand prizewinner after capturing a gannet mid-dive as it plunges into Scottish waters in search of prey at speeds of up to 86km/h (53mph).
Mr Spiers said of his image, named Sunball Rocket, and competition victory: 'The handsome northern gannets lead a dualistic existence.
'In the nest, their newborn is carefully nurtured, and a couple's bond is reinforced by pointing sharp beaks to the sky as they tenderly stroke their white necks together.
'In flight, hunting mode takes over, and piercing yellow eyes, fringed with blue circles, scour the sea for prey.
'When 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.'
A photographer was snorkeling in the magnificent Port Charcot bay in Antarctica when a raft ofgentoo penguins suddenly showed up, en route to fish and feed on krill
The Great Bear Rainforest on the west coast of Canada, as its name suggests, is a wetplace, and on this particular day, it had been raining nonstop. A snapper was walking on a Zodiac when he spotted this magnificent juvenile baldeagle with its wings spread open
The winning entry by British photographer Henley Spiers. He named the image Sunball Rocket as the photo shows a northern gannet bursting through the sun as it pierces down through the water in Scotland (Awards: Overall Winner and Birds In The Environment)
A male greater sage-grouse during its courtship display. As the sunwas rising over the shadowed sagebrush hill behind him, itilluminated the bird's tail feathers such that they appeared to radiate light. (Award: Best Portrait)
Camouflaged against bark and shadow, a fledgling tawny frogmouth stretches its wings in what looks like covering its other siblings from water drops from the rain in an Australian forest (Award: Bird Behaviour)
A short-eared owl courses over the salt marshes of BritishColumbia's Fraser River Delta (Award: Birds In Flight)
An ostrich makes its way towards the dry lake bed of Amboseli. In black and white, the stark landscape emphasizes the bird's solitary journey across the dust and heat. (Award: Black and White)
On a blazing summer day, a common swift slices through the air, captured in an in-camera multiple exposure reflected in the glossy roof of a blue car (Award: Creative Perspectives)
A seagull lands on a wall depicting a cartoon seagull wearing a balaclava and carrying an open wallet with its feet. The seagull imitates the movement of the cartoon (Award: Urban Birds)
A great blue heron (with a bobber and fishing line around his beak) landed right next to the photographer and was so close the snapper could only get a head shot (Award: Conservation)
On a small island in Norway, a teenager observed Red-Necked Phalaropes foraging for food. One bird they found a pair of Great Horned Owls nesting in a park next to their house (Award: 15-17 Years and Young Bird Photographer of the Year)
A bird flies up from the water to catch prey. It is caught mid-flight by the photographer (Award: 12-14 Years)
A Great Cormorant, with its 'emerald-green eyes' as the photographer pointed out, is pictured in London (Award: 11 And Under)
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