Grab the Bull by the Horns. Grand Prize Winner and Gold Winner, Bird Behavior. During the breeding season, a female peregrine falcon fiercely protects her young, attacking anything that comes near the nest. For four years, I attempted to capture these rare moments of her attacking large brown pelicans with incredible speed and agility. The high-speed chase made it challenging to capture a close-up shot with a long lens. #

Blue-Footed Fishing Dive. Silver Winner, Bird Behavior. In early autumn, a sardine shoal at Los Islotes attracted seabird predators. Amid the shoal, I waited patiently for the elusive shot of a blue-footed booby rising with a sardine in its beak. Finally, a crash came down close to me, and I instinctively captured the moment. #

Glistening-Green. Gold Winner, Best Portrait. Venturing into the tropical forest, I was excited to spot the rare glistening-green tanager. After hours of waiting, I saw the vivid-green bird on a perfect heart-shaped leaf. Its shimmering feathers reflected a dazzling array of colors. #

Parenting Goals. Silver Winner, Best Portrait. Before capturing this image, I spent two days observing these penguins, lying flat on the ice to avoid scaring them. Waiting for the chick to appear, I finally got this touching shot of parental love. #

Urban Paradise. Silver Winner, Urban Birds. From October to March, Shenzhen is a wintering ground for more than 100,000 migratory birds. In January 2022, tens of thousands of great cormorants were spotted flying over Talent Park, adding to the area’s avian diversity. #

Common Nighthawk in Flight. Bronze Winner, Birds in Flight. At 10 a.m., a barn owl appeared before us and we followed it to a field, where it began hunting. Nearby, several cooperative common nighthawks circled around our vehicle. #

Blue Hour and Red Moon. Young Photographer Overall Winner and Gold Winner, 15–17 Years. Blackbird singing in the dead of night. Blue atmosphere and red moon. Getting up before sunrise allows you to experience the magical awakening of animals. #

A Mother's Love. Bronze Winner, Bird Behavior. An adult great gray owl was hunting in a wheat field, and a juvenile flew to the edge of the field to be fed. Suddenly, the parent caught some prey. I quickly pressed the shutter and captured a heartwarming moment between the parent and the next generation. #

Flying Sword. Bronze Winner, Bird Behavior. The sword-billed hummingbird, common in the Andean forests, has the world’s longest bill relative to its size. This bird’s unique bill, adapted to feed on flowers with long corollas, makes it a vital pollinator, as bees and butterflies can’t reach the nectar and so don’t pollinate these plants. This image captures the bird approaching a feeder, with natural backgrounds and lighting. #

Verditer Flycatcher. Gold Winner, 11 and Under. Pelling is one of the most beautiful hill stations in India. I observed so many birds when I visited the area. I snapped this very colorful bird in a garden near our hotel. #

No Way Out. Gold Winner, Comedy Bird Photo. The purple heron is a migratory bird that nests in the lake basins of the Italian Peninsula and feeds mainly on fish, although it also preys on mice, snakes, toads and other creatures. In this shot, the heron caught a large crucian carp and voraciously swallowed it after several attempts to turn the fish onto its side. #

Sunflower Paradise. Gold Winner, Birds in the Environment. Flooding meant that a field of sunflowers could not be harvested, and thousands of birds, including greenfinches, goldfinches, and bramblings, flocked to it in winter. Using a wide-angle lens masked with snow and dried sunflowers, I photographed a flock of bramblings from their perspective, with one perched in front of my camera. #

Green Planet Flamingos. Silver Winner, Birds in Flight. This aerial photograph captures a flock of lesser flamingos in flight over a vast and concentrated bloom of cyanobacteria, their staple food source. #

More Fish Please! Silver Winner, Comedy Bird Photo. When observing king penguins, I was struck by how their behavior sometimes resembles that of humans. This juvenile constantly begged until the annoyed adult walked away. However, the fact that the juvenile was more massive than the adult suggests good parenting overall. #