The winning entry in this year’s Bird Photographer of the Year competition showed a peregrine falcon using its brilliant orange talons to attack an enormous pelican, which was spectacular.
The event, now in its eighth year, honours the beauty of birds while also bringing attention to the increasing challenges they face.
More than 20,000 photographs were submitted to the competition by photographers from around the world, who were all competing for the £5,000 ($6,280) grand prize.
US photographer Jack Zhi claims he waited four years to catch the unusual moment when a female falcon pounced on a brown pelican that was more than twice her size. Zhi captured the winning shot in southern California.
“During breeding season, a female peregrine falcon fiercely protects her young, attacking anything that comes near the nest,” he explained in a press release. “The high-speed chase made it challenging to capture a close-up shot with a long lens.”
But finally, he succeeded. “The action was fast, and over in the blink of an eye. But I’ll remember that moment forever,” he said.
Other photographers received recognition for their artistic and atmospheric photographs, such as Anton Trexler, 17, who won Young Bird Photographer of the Year for his snapshot of a blackbird silhouetted against the moon.
Additionally, Antonio Aguti’s humorous photograph of a hungry heron trying to fit a very huge fish into its beak won an award.
The competition’s organisers hope that the eye-catching photos will highlight photographers’ talent as well as the value of birds and the need to protect them.
The most recent State of the World’s Birds report released by BirdLife International claims that one in eight bird species are endangered with extinction and that nearly half of all bird species on the planet are in decline.
“The astonishing caliber 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,” said Will Nicholls, director of Bird Photographer of the Year, in a press release.
Through the award’s official charity, Birds on the Brink, the competition’s earnings fund various conservation initiatives. Additionally, every year, a coffee table book including the winning photos is released.
