Birds are elegant, powerful, cute, majestic and sometimes goofy. The Bird Photographer of the Year competition highlights these qualities of the bird kingdom along with the passion and skill of photographers from around the world. The annual competition unveiled the 2023 winners this week. Here are some of the highlights.
The top prize winner is a dramatic image of a female peregrine falcon attacking a brown pelican while in defense of her nest in Southern California. “The high-speed chase made it challenging to capture a close-up shot with a long lens. The falcon’s precision was amazing as it struck at the pelican’s head,” said photographer Jack Zhi.
This image received a gold award in the bird behavior category and earned Zhi the title of Bird Photographer of the Year 2023.
