{"id":3547,"date":"2026-09-27T07:51:35","date_gmt":"2026-09-27T11:51:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.echoartfoundation.com\/plunge-preen-and-patrol-highlights-from-the-2026-bird-photographer-of-the-year\/"},"modified":"2026-09-27T07:51:35","modified_gmt":"2026-09-27T11:51:35","slug":"plunge-preen-and-patrol-highlights-from-the-2026-bird-photographer-of-the-year","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.echoartfoundation.com\/es\/plunge-preen-and-patrol-highlights-from-the-2026-bird-photographer-of-the-year\/","title":{"rendered":"Plunge, Preen, and Patrol: Highlights from the 2026 Bird Photographer of the Year"},"content":{"rendered":"

Bird Photographer of the Year, the world\u2019s largest competition devoted to images of birds, returns in 2026 with more than 24,000 entries that span diving penguins, urban denizens, mating rituals, and dramatic flights. Alongside celebrating avian form and behavior, the program underscores threats driven by human-triggered habitat loss, poaching, pollution, and other factors. Categories range from Best Portrait<\/em> and Bird Behavior<\/em> to Conservation<\/em> and Urban Birds<\/em>, plus three youth categories for photographers aged 17 years and younger.<\/p>\n

An underwater dive takes top honors<\/h2>\n

The Overall Winner is Henley Spiers for \u201cSunball Rocket,\u201d awarded Gold in Birds in the Environment<\/em>. The underwater image captures a northern gannet off the Shetland Islands, about 110 miles north of mainland Scotland. These large seabirds, which nest on steep cliffs and rocks, are a common sight around Scotland, which is home to around 40 percent of the world\u2019s population. Some massive colonies have suffered severe losses due to bird flu, an outbreak that may take 15 years to recover from. Spiers photographs the bird from beneath the surface as it zeroes in on prey. \u201cWhen fish are spotted, the gannets fly into the wind and stretch out their wings as brakes, precisely adjusting their position in relation to their quarry. Moments later, with wings tucked in tightly, the gannet shape-shifts into a pointed torpedo, diving into the water at speeds of up to 86km\/h,\u201d said Spiers. That\u2019s over 50 miles per hour.<\/p>\n

Category standouts across habitats and ages<\/h2>\n

Across the contest\u2019s sections, photographers framed birds in deserts, cities, coastlines, and polar waters. A selection of honorees:<\/p>\n