Bird Photographer of the Year 2022 Winners
With over 20,000 images entered into the competition this year, Bird Photographer of the Year is pleased to present our winners. Celebrating bird life from around the world, these images comprise some of the most incredible bird photos in the world taken by talented photographers, whilst also raising vital funds for our partner charity Birds on the Brink.
‘Rock Ptarmigan’ by Erlend Haarberg. Overall Winner and Bird Photographer of the Year 2022.
Taking the title of Bird Photographer of the Year, our Overall Winner is ‘Rock Ptarmigan Flight’ by Erlend Haarberg. It features a Rock ptarmigan in winter plumage taking flight over the frozen landscape of Tysfjorden, Norway. Haarberg wins the top prize of £5,000 and the prestigious title. His image also won Gold Award in the Birds in the Environment category.
Young Bird Photographer of the Year
‘Facing the Storm’ by Levi Fitze. Young Bird Photographer of the Year 2022.
For the second year in a row, our Young Bird Photographer of the Year is 17-year-old Levi Fitze with his image ‘Facing the Storm’. Fitze wins £300 in vouchers for camera equipment.
Watch the announcement of the winners
Collection 7 is available now
Each year, we produce a high quality “coffee-table” book featuring the best images from the competition. This year is no different, with almost 300 images featured in this hardback collection.
The book features all the awarded and commended images, and is a great place to draw inspiration from for your next shoot.
Order your copy from the Bird POTY website.
Best Portfolio - Winner
Sponsored by Olympus
Our congratulations go to Gal Sherbelis from Israel, who wins the Best Portfolio award this year. Sherbelis’ photographs demonstrate an incredible ability to work with remote triggers to get a unique, close-up perspective of bird life.
Video Award - Winner
Sponsored by Red
Our congratulations go to Lukas Schaefer, who wins Gold in the Video Award. This award looks for a strong sequence of clips that create a powerful story.
Our thanks to Swarovski Optik, F-Stop Gear, and Zenfolio for sponsoring our main competition categories.
Best Portrait
An image that best captures the character of the subject bird and its distinctive features. We look for images that include lots of detail, captured in a classic pose or showing the animal’s features.
Gold - Ly Dang, United States
Silver - Brad James, Canada
Bronze - Richard Flack, South Africa
Highly Commended
Birds in the Environment
This category focuses on photos that best demonstrate the relationship between a bird and its habitat.
Gold - Erlend Haarberg, Norway
Silver - Paul Mckenzie, Ireland
Bronze - Mario Suarez Porras, Spain
Highly Commended
Attention to Detail
This category looks at the smaller details of a bird. This could be a close-up headshot, or a macro image of feather details. The judges look for an image that shares the more intimate details of a bird that we don’t get to appreciate from a wider view.
Gold - Andy Pollard, Falkland Islands (Malvinas)
Silver - Isabella Chowra, Sweden
Bronze - Sue Dougherty, United States
Highly Commended
Bird Behaviour
This category celebrates images that best depict a behaviour of a bird. This might be the lekking display of a black grouse, the courtship of a great crested grebe, or a singing robin.
Gold - Peter Ismert, United States
Silver - Henley Spiers, United Kingdom
Bronze - Simon d'Entremont, Canada
Highly Commended
Birds in Flight
Celebrating avian mastery of the sky, this category focuses on birds in flight.
Gold - Raoul Slater, Australia
Silver - Mark Williams, United Kingdom
Bronze - Aaron Baggenstos, United States
Highly Commended
Black and White
B&W can introduce simplicity and drama into images. This category celebrates the effective use of the monochromatic style.
Gold - Henley Spiers, United Kingdom
Silver - Paweł Smolik , Poland
Bronze - Tomasz Sczansny, Poland
Highly Commended
Urban Birds
In an increasingly urban world, many birds are forced to live on the doorsteps of humans. This category explores the world of urban bird photography.
Gold - Ammar Alsayed Ahmed, United Arab Emirates
Silver - Laszlo Potozky, Romania
Bronze - Kerry Wu, United States
Highly Commended
Creative Imagery
This category encourages creativity in all its forms. Both in-camera techniques (such as multiple exposures) and post production techniques are permitted. Any digital manipulation is permitted, as long as the foundation of the final piece is an original photo. Composites, cloning, and any other effects are allowed.
Gold - Petro Katerynych, Ukranine
Silver - Janine Lee, UK
Bronze - Wei Lian, United States
Highly Commended
Conservation Award
This category looks at images that tell a story of conservation efforts or the struggle of a particular species.
Winner - Ewan Heath-Flynn, UK
‘Avian Assassination’
The Mediterranean is a substantial sea crossing for birds using the African-Eurasian Flyway. For birds to successfully reach their breeding and wintering grounds, stop-over sites are vital for them to rest and refuel.
Situated in the centre of the Mediterranean Sea is Malta. With 170 regular migrants recorded here every year, the geographical location acts as a perfect stop-over site.
However, in the last thirty years a decline in long-distance migrants using the African-Eurasian Flyway has been documented, with hunting being a contributing factor. Every year, an estimated
11–36 million migratory birds are being illegally killed or captured in the Mediterranean region. It is recognised within the European Union that Malta, a contributor to this, has the highest density of hunters per square kilometre.
14-17 years
This category celebrates the photography of those aged between 14 and 17 years old.
Gold - Levi Fitze, Switzerland
Silver - Tamás Koncz-Bisztricz, Hungary
Bronze - Thamboon Uyyanonvara, Thailand
9-13 years
Celebrating the photography of those aged between 9 and 13 years old.
Gold - Parham Pourahmad, United States
Silver - Andrés Luis Domínguez Blanco, Spain
Bronze - Achintya Murthy, India
Highly Commended
8 and under
Celebrating the photography of those aged 8 years old or younger.
Gold - Arjun Jenigiri, United States
Silver - Ameyaa Akhil Vinayak, India
Bronze - Malia Piecha, Germany
Collection 7 is available now
Each year, we produce a high quality “coffee-table” book featuring the best images from the competition. This year is no different, with almost 300 images featured in this hardback collection.
The book features all the awarded and commended images, and is a great place to draw inspiration from for your next shoot.
Order your copy from the Bird POTY website.