{"id":32776,"date":"2023-09-05T01:01:00","date_gmt":"2023-09-04T23:01:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/e696ea26-3087-4db6-bdd4-74958270aa1f"},"modified":"2023-09-05T02:46:18","modified_gmt":"2023-09-05T00:46:18","slug":"protective-parent-in-a-dramatic-dive-swoops-in-to-win-bird-photographer-of-the-year","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcsciencefocus\/rss_feed\/protective-parent-in-a-dramatic-dive-swoops-in-to-win-bird-photographer-of-the-year\/","title":{"rendered":"Protective parent in a dramatic dive swoops in to win Bird Photographer of the Year"},"content":{"rendered":"

All the latest winners from the annual Bird Photographer of the Year Competition. <\/p>

By James Cutmore\n <\/p>

Published: Tuesday, 05 September 2023 at 23:01 PM<\/p>

\n\n

Every year, the annual Bird Photographer of the Year competition<\/a> blows us away with the beauty and drama of their shots. The winners of this year’s competition have just been announced, and the standard is as high as ever.<\/p>

The winning image shows a protective peregrine falcon heading off a much larger brown pelican that had got too close to her young in a nearby nest, demonstrating the speed and agility of the falcon in flight.<\/p>

\u201cEach image is not merely a testament to the immense talent of our photographers, but a poignant reminder of the breathtaking beauty of birds,\u201d says Will Nicholls<\/a>, Director of Bird Photographer of the Year.<\/a> <\/p>

\u201cThe astonishing calibre of these photographs underscores a vital message: let us champion the cause of conservation so that future generations can marvel at the real-life inspirations behind these extraordinary images.\u201d<\/p>

The Young Bird Photographer of the Year 2023 was awarded to 17-year-old German photographer Anton Trexler for his incredibly atmospheric image of a blackbird silhouetted against the Moon.<\/p>

In our gallery, we bring you our favourites from the Bird Photographer of the Year competition.<\/p>

Bird behaviour category \u2013 A mother’s love<\/h2>
Great Grey Owls (Strix nebulosa<\/em>) photographed in Zhejiang, China. Photo by Qiuqing Mu\/Bird Photographer of the Year 2023<\/figcaption><\/figure>

Birds in flight category \u2013 Flying sword<\/h2>
\"A
A sword-billed hummingbird (Ensifera ensifera<\/em>) photographed in Bogot\u00e1, Colombia. This hummingbird species has the longest bill relative to its size and is common in the Andean forests. Photo by Rafael Armada\/Bird Photographer of the Year 2023<\/figcaption><\/figure>

Comedy bird category \u2013 More fish, please!<\/h2>
\"penguin
A juvenile king penguin (Aptenodytes patagonicus<\/em>) begs the adult for food on Saunders Island, Falkland Islands. Photo by Levi Fitze\/Bird Photographer of the Year 2023<\/figcaption><\/figure>

Urban birds category \u2013 Urban paradise<\/h2>
\"Many
Flocks of great cormorants (Phalacrocorax carbo<\/em>) fly over the skyline of Shenzhen, China. Photo by Xiaoke Wang\/Bird Photographer of the Year 2023<\/figcaption><\/figure>

Black and white category \u2013 Fascinating droplet<\/h2>
\"ducks
A young musk duck (Biziura lobata<\/em>) seems mesmerised by a drop of water falling from its mother\u2019s mouth. Photographed in Perth, Australia. Photo by Jason Moore\/Bird Photographer of the Year 2023<\/figcaption><\/figure>

Under 11 category \u2013 Verditer flycatcher<\/h2>
\"turquoise
A verditer flycatcher (Eumyias thalassinus<\/em>)photographed in the garden of a hotel in Pelling, Sikkim, India. Photo by Arko Saha\/Bird Photographer of the Year 2023<\/figcaption><\/figure>

Conservation category \u2013 Don’t make war<\/h2>
\"hunter
A Maltese hunter stands proud, having legally shot a European turtle dove (Streptopelia turtur<\/em>). European Union legislation bans the hunting of turtle doves in the breeding season. Nevertheless, across the Mediterranean, nearly one million are killed every year. Photo by Ewan Heath-Flynn\/Bird Photographer of the Year 2023<\/figcaption><\/figure>

Birds in flight category \u2013 Blue-footed fishing dive<\/h2>
\"Blue-footed
A blue-footed booby (Sula nebouxii<\/em>) takes a dive and catches a fish off the coast of Los Islotes, Baja California Sur, Mexico. Photo by Henley Spiers\/Bird Photographer of the Year 2023<\/figcaption><\/figure>

Birds in the environment category \u2013 Sunflower paradise<\/h2>
\"Bird
A brambling (Fringilla montifringilla<\/em>) sits on the stalk of a sunflower in Lower Silesia, Poland. Flooding meant sunflowers here could not be harvested, and thousands of birds like this brambling flocked to it. Despite their colourful plumage, they blended with the surroundings, making them hard for predators to spot. Photo by Mateusz Piesiak\/Bird Photographer of the Year 2023<\/figcaption><\/figure>

Comedy category \u2013 No way out<\/h2>
\"Large
The purple heron (Ardea purpurea<\/em>) is a migratory bird that nests in the lake basins of the Italian Peninsula and feeds mainly on fish as well as mice, snakes and toads. In this image, the heron caught a large crucian carp (Carassius carassius<\/em>) and voraciously swallowed it after several attempts to turn the fish onto its side. Photo by Antonio Aguti\/Bird Photographer of the Year 2023<\/figcaption><\/figure>

Age 15-17 years category \u2013 Blue hour and red Moon<\/h2>
\"Bird
A Eurasian blackbird (Turdus merula<\/em>) sits in a tree in the shadow of a full Moon in Mainz, Germany. Photo by Anton Trexler\/Bird Photographer of the Year 2023<\/figcaption><\/figure>

Portrait category \u2013 Glistening green<\/h2>
\"bright
A glistening-green tanager (Chlorochrysa phoenicotis<\/em>) rests in the middle of a leaf in the Mashpi Amagusa Reserve, Ecuador. Photo by Nicolas Reusens\/Bird Photographer of the Year 2023<\/figcaption><\/figure>

Urban birds \u2013 A moment of prayer<\/h2>
\"Owl
A great grey owl (Strix nebulosa<\/em>) sits on a graveyard in Helsinki, Finland. During winter migration, owls from northern Finland often head south where they can find more food due to less snow. Photo by Arto Lepp\u00e4nen\/Bird Photographer of the Year 2023<\/figcaption><\/figure>

Conservation category \u2013 seeing eye to eye<\/h2>
\"Man
Scientist Dr Luke Gregory looks into the eye of a southern boobook (Ninox boobook<\/em>) at Bonorong Wildlife Hospital, Brighton, Tasmania, Australia. The southern boobook is Australia’s smallest owl species. Photo by Michael Eastwell\/Bird Photographer of the Year 2023<\/figcaption><\/figure>

12-14 years category \u2013 High-key terns<\/h2>
\"Heads
An Arctic tern (Sterna paradisaea<\/em>) and a common tern (Sterna hirundo<\/em>) sit closely together in \u00d6rnsk\u00f6ldsvik, Sweden. Photo by Harry Sedin\/Bird Photographer of the Year 2023<\/figcaption><\/figure>

Overall winner \u2013 Grab the bull by the horns<\/h2>
\"Falcon
The winner of this year’s Bird Photographer of the Year Competition is an image of a female peregrine falcon (Falco peregrinus) <\/em>attacking a brown pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis<\/em>) who had strayed too close to her nest. Photographed in California, USA. Photo by Jack Zhi\/Bird Photographer of the Year 2023<\/figcaption><\/figure>

Read more:<\/strong><\/p>