Once-in-a-Lifetime Bird in Flight Eclipse Photo Wins Bird Photographer of the Year

Photographers worldwide entered over 25,000 images into this year’s Bird Photographer of the Year competition, and Canadian wildlife and nature photographer Liron Gertsman took the grand prize and £3,000 in cash for his incredible portrait of a frigatebird silhouetted against last year’s total solar eclipse.

Regular PetaPixel readers may recognize Gertsman’s award-winning shot, as we interviewed Gertsman for a feature story in April 2024 to learn about his years of preparation, how he captured the shot, and why he traveled from Canada all the way to Mexico for the eclipse.

This is an image I’ve wanted to get for a long, long time,” Gertsman told PetaPixel over the phone after returning from Mexico with a memory card full of incredible eclipse photos. “[A bird in flight in front of the eclipse] has been a dream shot in my mind.”

“I spent well over a year of planning to capture my dream of a bird in front of the total solar eclipse,” Gertsman tells Bird Photographer of the Year. “I enlisted the help of a boat to position myself near some islets off Mazatlán that were frequented by seabirds. As the moon uncovered the sun’s edge at the end of totality, I captured this image during the eclipse phase known as the ‘diamond ring’ — a moment that lasts mere seconds.”

“Exceptional bird photography takes technical excellence, artistic vision, and dedication,” explains Bird Photographer of the Year Director Will Nicholls. “When everything comes together, you get a spectacular image like this one.”

For many more details about how Gertsman captured this winning photo and many more off the coast of Mexico during 2024’s “Great North American Eclipse,” be sure to read PetaPixel‘s feature, “How a Photographer Captured His Spectacular Dream Eclipse Photo.” Gertsman is an exceptionally talented and inspiring photographer.

Young Bird Photographer of the Year 2025 — Tomasz Michalski

Alongside Gertsman’s overall grand prize, the Bird Photographer of the Year contest also names a “Young Bird Photographer of the Year.” The 2025 winner is Polish youngster Tomasz Michalski, who also won for a silhouetted photo of a bird. In Michalski’s case, the picture depicts a black vulture, with the bird’s head and part of its torso and wings occupying a significant portion of the black-and-white frame.

Bird Photographer of the Year 2025 Category Winners

The competition, which partnered this year with Birds on the Brink to help support bird and wildlife conservation efforts, also includes an assortment of categories: Best Portrait, Bird Behavior, Birds in the Environment, Birds in Flight, Black and White, Urban Birds, Conservation (Single Image), and Creative Perspectives. Gertsman won the “Birds in Flight” category and Michalski won the 15-17 Years section of the youth competition, so their images are omitted below.

Best Portrait

Bird Behavior

Birds in the Environment

Birds in Flight

Black and White

Creative Perspectives

Urban Birds

Conservation (Single Image)

There are also winners across three youth categories, divided by age range. Michalski won the 15-17 Years Old category, so his image is not included below.

All the awarded images, including silver and gold award winners for each main category and special category winners, are featured in a hardcover photography book by Princeton University Press. The book is available now on the Bird Photographer of the Year website for £35.

Inspired bird photographers are encouraged to enter the 2026 Bird Photographer of the Year competition, which is now open.

Image credits: Bird Photographer of the Year. All photographers are credited in the individual image captions.