Dynamic Photo of Gannet Bursting From the Sea Wins Bird Photographer of the Year 2026

The winners of Bird Photographer of the Year 2026 are in, and the top prize went to a photo that doesn’t look like a bird image at first. But it is! It’s a northern gannet, caught mid-dive from the ocean’s surface, wings folded, body locked into a torpedo. It’s appropriately named Sunball Rocket, and it earned UK photographer Henley Spiers the £3,000 grand prize.

Henley shot the image in Scottish waters. He describes the gannet’s world in two distinct modes: “The handsome northern gannets lead a dualistic existence,” he says. “In the nest, their newborn is carefully nurtured, and a couple’s bond is reinforced by pointing sharp beaks to the sky as they tenderly stroke their white necks together.” Then hunting mode kicks in. “Piercing yellow eyes, fringed with blue circles, scour the sea for prey.”

The dive itself is something else. “With wings tucked in tightly, the gannet shape-shifts into a pointed torpedo,” Spiers adds, “diving into the water at speeds of up to 86km/h.” As you can probably guess, that’s precisely the moment he caught in the winning image. Other than the overall win, this image also earned Henley first place in the Birds in the Environment category.

More than 24,000 images came in from photographers around the world. Eight adult categories covered Best Portrait, Birds in the Environment, Bird Behaviour, Birds in Flight, Black and White, Urban Birds, Conservation (Single Image), and Creative Perspectives. There was also a Conservation Award, Portfolio Award, and Video Award, as well as 3 categories in the youth competition.

Young Bird Photographer of the Year

The Young Bird Photographer of the Year went to 16-year-old Parham Pourahmad from the United States. His image, Moonlit Night, shows a great horned owl perched against a rising full moon.

Parham had gone out hoping for a portrait. The moon changed his plans. “I quickly moved into position to frame it against the moon,” he says. Personally, this photo reminds me a lot of the moods of long winter evenings, when little me would go out for walks with my brother and our grandad to observe owls in nearby trees. Good times.

About the Competition

Will Nicholls, Director of Bird Photographer of the Year, made a point of noting what all these images have in common. “In a world where AI-generated imagery is becoming increasingly common, this year’s winners are a powerful reminder of the value of authenticity,” he says. “Every image in the competition represents a real moment in the wild, earned through patience, dedication and a genuine connection with nature.” If you ask me, things like this is something generative-AI will never be able to replace.

The competition also donated more than £5,000 to Birds on the Brink, a charity funding grassroots bird conservation projects worldwide. Conservation has been central to BPOTY since the beginning.

All the winning images are collected in a hardback book published by Graffeg, with a foreword by wildlife filmmaker and host Lizzie Daly. It’s available now on the contest website for £35.

We bring you the category winners and runner-ups below. You can browse the full gallery on the contest website. And if you wanna submit your own work, BPOTY 12 is already open for entries.

Category Winners

Runner Ups

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