Fowl photographer of the yr 2024 winners – in photos

A tobogganing penguin, balletic goldfinch and a Peregrine Falcon fledgling gleefully chasing a butterfly are among the many successful photographs on this yr’s Fowl Photographer of the 12 months competitors.

Eager-eyed snappers from everywhere in the world entered greater than 23,000 photos into the competitors, every with their eyes on the £3,500 grand prize. This yr, the venture donated £5,000 to companion charity Birds on the Brink, which supplies funding to grassroots hen conservation tasks all over the world.

Right here, the photographers behind 10 of the successful entries reveal the tales behind the photographs. View all of the winners right here.

Heavenly elegant flight, by Nicolas Groffal

European Goldfinch, (Carduelis carduelis). France
Birds in Flight. Silver award winner

“Within the lifeless of winter, I marvel on the aerial ballet of the backyard birds that come to go to my timber and to make the most of the seeds that I put out for them. Discreetly hidden, I attempted to immortalise their flight and its delicate path utilizing a flash and digicam in ‘rear curtain’ mode. The mission was difficult and these mischievous little fashions adopted their very own dance. Nevertheless, it’s exactly this spontaneity that makes the photographic problem exhilarating! Lots of of photographs had been required earlier than I captured the right second, which portrayed the fleeting magic of nature in winter.”

A contemporary dancer, by Nadia Haq (US)

Adélie Penguin, (Pygoscelis adeliae). Antarctica
Comedy Fowl Picture. Gold award winner

“I used to be sitting on a Zodiac [inflatable boat] subsequent to my husband and 10-year-old son close to Brown Bluff, Antarctica, once we noticed a gaggle of Adélie Penguins on some sea ice. As we slowly approached them, they began to toboggan on the ice, and I captured one in all them sliding as if performing a contemporary dance transfer.”

Playful fledgling, by Jack Zhi

Peregrine Falcon, (Falco peregrinus). Southern California, US
Fowl Behaviour. Silver award winner

“This Peregrine Falcon fledgling had been flying for over per week and his expertise had improved by the day. Whereas he nonetheless took meals from dad and mom, he had began to practise his looking expertise. He was not adequate to catch reside birds within the air but, so he took child steps by chasing a fluttering butterfly. He was actually a lot quicker than the butterfly and in addition nimble sufficient to maintain up with it. Take a look at the focus! He was profitable every so often, caught the butterfly, performed with it for a second, then launched it. I’ve been photographing peregrines for years, and this was the primary time I’ve seen fledglings play with butterflies.”

Black grouse, by Markus Varesvuo

Black Grouse, (Lyrurus tetrix). Kuusamo, Finland
Finest Portrait. Bronze award winner

“For a number of weeks every year, Black Grouse collect at leks on spring mornings for courtship and show. It may nonetheless be fairly wintry and chilly. They fly in earlier than dawn and land within the timber on the sting of the lek. Ultimately the males come down, every claiming their patch, and spend a few hours sizing one another up, charging at one another, partaking in largely mock battles. Generally, nevertheless, the encounters escalate to actual fights. The heated breath of a solitary fighter is steaming within the chilly air, which I captured whereas sitting inside a small images conceal, revelling within the sounds and sights of this historical play.”

Perspective, by Andrés Luis Domínguez Blanco

Eurasian Nuthatch, (Sitta europaea). Grazalema, southern Spain
12–14 years. Gold award winner and younger hen photographer of the yr

“I photographed this Eurasian Nuthatch at Grazalema in southern Spain utilizing a wide-angle lens. An oak tree subsequent to a river gives cowl for species corresponding to woodpeckers and nuthatches coming right down to drink. I used to be utilizing a remote-control set-up, and I simply needed to wait. Since these species prefer to climb trunks, I thought of what their imaginative and prescient and perspective could be like.”

Swanception, by Samual Stone

Mute Swan, (Cygnus olor). London, UK
Finest Portrait. Silver award winner

“I conceived the concept for this picture a while in the past, however every time I tried to show it into actuality one of many parts was not proper. It felt like I used to be in a inventive rut and I had not taken a picture I used to be actually proud of for some time. On this specific morning, I made a decision to return to this concept out of desperation. I noticed my native Mute Swans of their regular spot, preening within the morning gentle. Luckily, it was additionally a crisp morning, and the mist was slowly descending, making a tender morning glow. After so many makes an attempt, the whole lot lastly got here collectively when a swan swam into the right spot. Lastly, I created the picture I had pictured in my thoughts.”

Open door, by Robert Gloeckner

Japanese Screech-Owl, (Megascops asio). Clearwater, Florida, US
Comedy Fowl Picture. Silver award winner

“This picture exhibits an Japanese Screech-Owl because it leans out of a ‘window’ of its dwelling. These tiny owls are widespread in Florida’s densely populated areas. On my solution to work someday I noticed a lifeless palm tree in Clearwater that had doubtless trying holes in its trunk. Later that day I checked once more and noticed this owl peeking out of it. Throughout nesting season, Japanese Screech- Owls typically use premade holes in timber as their nesting cavity.”

Treacherous journey, by Grzegorz Długosz

Goosander, (Mergus merganser). Warsaw, Poland
City Birds. Gold award winner

“Goosanders breed within the park about 1 kilometre from Poland’s life-giving River Vistula. Every mom has to maneuver her brood to the river as rapidly as attainable on account of lack of meals and security within the park. They make the journey by a sequence of underground passages and over a six-lane freeway. Annually a gaggle of volunteers assist them cross this lethal highway by stopping the site visitors. After crossing they arrive on the River Vistula the place they’ll feed and develop. This picture exhibits a mom Goosander crossing a smaller highway as a result of she determined to not use the scary and darkish underground passage beneath it.”

Daybreak’s whispers. Swish Hoopoe silhouette at dawn, by Hermis Haridas, (India)

Eurasian Hoopoe, (Upupa epops). Al Qudra Lakes, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Birds in Flight. Gold award winner

“A Eurasian Hoopoe took flight with its wings unfold in a easy movement throughout the canvas of the early-morning sky illuminated by the dawn’s shiny hues. I noticed that this hen would often seize its prey within the air and different instances on the bottom. Moreover, I seen that every time it caught prey, it flew in the identical route to a close-by tree. That was once I had the concept to {photograph} the hen in opposition to a background divided into darkish and light-weight, representing the contrasting sides of existence.

“The next morning, I returned to the identical spot properly earlier than dawn, desirous to witness nature’s spectacle unfold as soon as once more. Anticipation heightened as the primary rays of sunshine bathed the panorama, and, true to my expectations, the hoopoe appeared within the distance, gliding gracefully in direction of the perch that was acquainted from the day before today. With my digicam poised and settings adjusted, I commenced capturing the unfolding scene. Among the many flurry of clicks, I chanced upon a body that resonated deeply with me – a second frozen in time, brimming with distinctive attraction. It was as if nature had bestowed upon me a present, a singular composition that encapsulates the essence of the hoopoe’s magnificence and beauty. Certainly, many have remarked that this body is a marvel that can not be replicated – a testomony to the serendipitous wonders that await those that search them amid the pure world.”

Eclipse, by William Metal (South Africa)

Gray Heron, (Ardea cinerea). Okavango Delta, Botswana
Black and White. Silver award winner

“Right here we see a Gray Heron because it appears to be like for a roosting place within the high of a lifeless tree,
illuminated by a full moon. Figuring out that it was a penumbral lunar eclipse, my company and I went in quest of a particular topic to position in entrance of it. Because the heron jostled for place alongside some bigger Marabou Storks, we managed to seize the second simply earlier than the heron flew away. Utilizing a excessive f-stop, closely underexposing, and maintaining a sluggish shutter velocity of only one/2 hundredth of a second, I used to be capable of seize among the moon’s element, whereas suppressing many of the noise.”

Predominant picture: Samual Stone 

The 2025 competitors is now open for entries at birdpoty.com. Organisers invite photographers of all expertise ranges to submit their finest hen pictures

Photographs: all pictures are printed courtesy of the photographer / Fowl Photographer of the 12 months