Australia’s spectacular bird population is truly a banquet for the eyes. The winners of the BirdLife Australia photography awards have demonstrated how exceptionally blessed by feathered species the country is.
The 2022 winners were selected from more than 5,600 images, taken by professional photographers of different citizenships, however all on Australian territory.
Rich in color, creative and curious, the bird types were represented in a total of nine classifications including bird habits, birds in flight, yard birds, birds in the landscape, human effect, and more. Behind all the shots are tales of oftentimes extreme lengths the photographers who took them went to and the affection they hold for their topics.
Elmar Akhmetov, who scooped the title of portfolio winner, followed a single lyrebird closely over a duration of 3 months while working on a brief film on lyrebirds.
“I have actually invested over a hundred hours in the bush and saw the most intriguing scenes of his habits in a range of weather,” Akhmetov stated. “This is my ode to this fantastic bird understood to many locals as Pretender.”
Cupid’s arrow by Elmar Akhmetov, portfolio winner. (Courtesy of Elmar Akhmetov via BirdLife Australia)
Cheng Kang, the winner of the bird behavior classification, mentioned his surprise at seeing a Eurasian coot asking for food– and even getting some– from a Little pied cormorant.
“When I initially saw them getting more detailed with mouths open, I could not help however believe– are they going to combat?” he stated. “I was so impressed and touched to see this act of charity among birds of various species and made me think about my expectations of how nature connects. It turns out birds not of a plume likewise flock together!”
Feed Me Please by Cheng Kang, winner of the Bird Behaviour classification. (Courtesy of Cheng Kang by means of BirdLife Australia)
The shortlisted entries and winner of the birds in the landscape category portrayed the spectacular variety of Australia’s landscapes.
On the other hand, the shortlisted entries and winner of the backyard birds classification focused on the wonderful quirks of birds closer to home.
Leaning In by Rebecca Harrison, winner of Yard Birds classification. (Courtesy of Rebecca Harrison via BirdLife Australia)
However especially poignant was the winner of the human effect classification.
“The wheels of a vehicle speed past the lifeless body of a stunning Western Rosella, victim of a car strike,” read the description of the image captured by Nathan Watson. “For all the impact us humans have on birds, roadway mortality is possibly the most overlooked.”
Over the Rainbow by Nathan Watson, winner of the Human Impact classification. (Thanks To Nathan Watson by means of BirdLife Australia)
Every year the awards have one category that concentrates on a bird types native to Australia. This year the unique theme was Australasian Robins and the winning image was recorded by Glenn Faithfull.
“I like this image due to the fact that the robin is displaying their stunning yellow while looking wistfully into the distance, seemingly not troubled by my electronic camera click,” Faithfull said.
Yellow by Glenn Faithfull, winner of the unique theme Australasian Robins category. (Thanks To Glenn Faithfull by means of BirdLife Australia)
As the country’s biggest independent, not-for-profit, bird preservation company, BirdLife Australia is devoted to protecting native birds and their habitat.
According to their website, as a special interest group of BirdLife Australia, BirdLife photography has actually brought in a strong community of bird enthusiasts with an enthusiasm for photography. With its gallery of great Australian bird images, BirdLife Photography provides both a platform and a resource for photographers, bird observers, and web users to increase their knowledge and gratitude of birds through their medium.
The winner of each category likewise received a prize money of $1,000 and $5,000 was provided to the portfolio winner.
Below are some more winners and shortlisted entries:
White-faced Storm Petrel by John Harrison– Winner of Birds in Flight classification. (Courtesy of John Harrison through BirdLife Australia)
Hokey Pokey by Danny Lee, winner of the Bird Portrait classification. (Thanks To Danny Lee via BirdLife Australia)
Morning Peacefulness by Desmond Wang, winner of the Youth classification. (Thanks To Desmond Wang via BirdLife Australia)
The Sentinel by Maria Coleman, winner of Birds in the Landscape category. (Thanks To Maria Coleman by means of BirdLife Australia)
Hanging for breakfast by Joel Evans, shortlisted for the Bird habits classification. (Courtesy of Joel Evans by means of BirdLife Australia)
Spending time by Shelley Hearson, shortlisted for the Bird behavior category. (Courtesy of Shelley Hearson through BirdLife Australia)
Bullers Albatross by John Harrison, shortlisted for the Bird picture classification. (Courtesy of John Harrison via BirdLife Australia)
Emu Mist by Christian Spencer was shortlisted for Birds in the Landscape classification. (Courtesy of Christian Spencer via BirdLife Australia)
My pearl by Lawrence Chan was shortlisted for Birds in the landscape classification. (Thanks To Lawrence Chan by means of BirdLife Australia)
Romeo and Juliet by Ellis Cummins was shortlisted for the Youth category. (Thanks To Ellis Cummins via BirdLife Australia)
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