homehome Home chatchat Notifications


The best photos from the 2017 Bird Photographer of the Year

These are some brilliant entries.

Mihai Andrei
September 5, 2017 @ 7:33 pm

share Share

Winner, Bird Photographer of the Year 2017. Feeding Flamingos by Alejandro Prieto Rojas.

In recent years, bird photography has picked up in popularity. There are scores of Facebook or Flickr groups, Twitter pages, forums, anything you could wish for. With that in mind, Nature Photographers Ltd and the British Trust for Ornithology kickstarted the Bird Photographer of the Year competition three years ago. This time, the winner was Alejandro Prieto Rojas for his stunning photo (above) of flamingos feeding their offspring at Río Lagartos in Mexico.

Birds in Flight, Gold. Australian Pelican landing on water by Bret Charman.

Photos were split into six categories: Best Portrait, Birds in the Environment, Attention to Detail, Bird Behavior, Birds in Flight, and finally, Garden and Urban Birds. All entries were impressive, we’ll only present some of our favorites here. You can see a full gallery of winners here.

Snowy Owl by Markus Varesvuo. Snowy owls are native to Arctic regions in North America and Eurasia. Juvenile snowy owls have black feathers until they turn white.

Birds in the Environment, silver. Crane flock misty lake by Piotr Chara. Cranes are opportunistic feeders. Unlike the similar-looking but unrelated herons, cranes fly with necks outstretched, not pulled back. Cranes live on all continents except Antarctica and South America.

An Andean condor ( Vultur gryphus) circles the thermals looking for prey in its dramatic habitat of Torres del Paine national park, Chile; by Ben Hall.

Attention to Detail, Silver. Grey Heron looking under wing by Ahmad Alessa.

Cormorant wing by Tom Hines. Cormorants have relatively short wings due to their need for economical movement underwater, and consequently, have the highest flight costs of any bird.

Birds in Flight, Honorable Mention. Seagulls and fox by Gabor Kapus.

Fighting Coots by Andy Parkinson. Two common coots (Fulica atra) fighting in a dispute over territory, a rather common behavior.

 

Additional information via Wikipedia.

share Share

Scientists filmed wild chimpanzees sharing alcohol-laced fermented fruit for the first time and it looks eerily familiar

New footage suggests our primate cousins may have their own version of happy hour.

Why the Right Way To Fly a Rhino Is Upside Down

Black rhinos are dangling from helicopters—because it's what’s best for them.

Same-Sex Behavior Is Surprisingly Common in Animals — Humans Are No Exception

Some people claim same-sex attraction is "unnatural." Biology says otherwise

Crows seem to understand geometry — and we thought only humans could

In a remarkable new study, crows demonstrated an intuitive grasp of geometry—identifying irregular shapes without training.

In 2013, dolphins in Florida starved. Now, we know why

The culprit is a very familiar one. It's us.

Could man's best friend be an environmental foe?

Even good boys and girls can disrupt wildlife in ways you never expected.

Alcohol Helps Male Fruit Flies Get Lucky—But They Know When to Stop

Male fruit flies use booze to boost pheromones and charm potential mates—just not too much.

But they're not really dire wolves, are they?

and this isn't a conservation story

A 97-Year-Old Tortoise Just Became a First-Time Mom at the Philadelphia Zoo

Mommy has been living at the Philadelphia Zoo for 90 years, and waited until old age to experience motherhood.

Birds Are Changing Color in Cities. Here’s Why

Birds in cities are getting flashier — literally.