Powerful images show beauty and brutality of birds like you've never seen them before

See 14 extraordinary photos and videos of birds from the Audubon Photography Awards 2025.

Brandt's Cormorant, red grape algae and seagrass

Photo Credit: Barbara Swanson/Audubon Photography Awards

Lily Watts

Published: September 17, 2025 at 4:00 pm

The winners of this year’s Audubon Photography Awards – a celebration of the beauty of birds and the diverse ecosystems they inhabit – have been announced.

Chosen from thousands of entries, the winning images capture a dazzling array of bird species and behaviours – from vast flocks of migrating snow geese and flamingos feeding on a placid lake, to blue-headed parrots seeking shelter in the city.

Audubon Photography Awards 2025 winners

Conservation winner, United States and Canada - Jean Hall

A pile of lumber boards with numbers on them fills the frame, nearly all slightly out of focus. In the right third of the image, a small owl in sharp focus looks at the viewfinder. — Burrowing owl pictured between lumber boards in Marco Island, Florida, United States. - Photo Credit: Jean Hall / Audubon Photography Awards

Video winner, United States and Canada - Tianze Ling

Ling captures the moment a burrowing owl returns to the home it has made on a soccer field in, Hollywood, Florida, United States. Credit: Tianze Ling / Audubon Photography Awards

Plants for Birds winner, Colombia – Cristian Valencia

A hummingbird with bright hues of electric purple, black, and specks of yellow hovers in the center of the frame as it dips its long beak into a cluster of golden flowers. — Purple-backed thornbill pictured feeding on Gaiadendron punctatum in Villamaria, Caldas, Colombia. - Photo Credit: Cristian Valencia / Audubon Photography Awards

Birds without Borders winner, United States and Canada – Yoshiki Nakamura

Thousands of white geese fill the frame, and their blurred yellow and white wings create an abstract pattern. Their individual bodies are barely visible. — Snow geese, Mount Vernon, Washington, United States. - Photo Credit: Yoshiki Nakamura / Audubon Photography Awards

Where and when to see overwintering geese

Plants for Birds winner, United States and Canada – Barbara Swanson

Brandt's cormorant, red grape algae and seagrass photographed in La Jolla, California, United States. - Photo Credit: Barbara Swanson/Audubon Photography Awards

Youth winner, United States and Canada – Parham Pourahmad

An owl with yellow eyes and its wings fanned behind its head flies above a marsh. The long grasses are blurred, and the background is lit up in shades of yellow and orange. — Long-eared owl captured flying in Coyote Hills Regional Park, Fremont, California, United States. - Photo Credit: Parham Pourahmad / Audubon Photography Awards

Long-eared owl guide

Coastal Birds winner, Chile – Francisco Castro

A black and white American Oystercatcher feeds a chick a mollusk with its long orange beak. Out of focus, rocks and sea surround the scene. — American oystercatchers photographed feeding a chick in Antofagasta, Chile. - Photo Credit: Francisco Castro Escobar / Audubon Photography Awards

Birds in Landscapes winner, United States and Canada – Joe Subolefsky

Thousands of white gannets speckle a dark rock in the image foreground. A massive bay, starlit night sky, and the hazy Milky Way galaxy illuminate the background. — Thousands of northern gannets adorn a rock for the night in Cape St. Mary’s Ecological Reserve, Newfoundland & Labrador, Canada. - Photo Credit: Joe Subolefsky / Audubon Photography Awards

How do diving gannets avoid breaking their necks?

Birds without Borders winner, Chile and Colombia – Jacobo Giraldo Trejos

The blue heads of two parrots emerge from a hole in a curved tree branch. Below, out of focus, cars, motorcycles, and buses pass on a busy street. — Blue-headed parrots, 5th Street, Cali, Colombia. - Photo Credit: Shamir Shah / Audubon Photography Awards

Birds without Borders winner, Chile and Colombia – Jacobo Giraldo Trejos

A white and gray bird, hovering in the air with its wings fully extended, feeds a juvenile perched on a railing, handing it a fish with its orange beak. — Royal terns captured in San Andrés Island, San Andrés and Providencia, Colombia. - Photo Credit: Jacobo Giraldo Trejos / Audubon Photography Awards

What's the world’s longest bird migration?

Video winner, Chile and Colombia – Héctor Morales

A collared aracari devours a small baby bird in Mindo, Pichincha, Ecuador.

Grand Prize winner, United States and Canada - Liron Gertsman

Nearly two dozen birds fly in a dark blue sky. Their long, narrow wings and forked tails stand out against wispy clouds and the sun, which is surrounded by a bright halo. — Magnificent frigatebirds, Teacapán, Sinaloa, Mexico - Photo Credit: Liron Gertsman / Audubon Photography Awards

Here's how to photograph birds in flight

Conservation winner, Chile and Colombia – Luis Alberto Peña

A dark brown hawk stands on a pile of dried rice ears. Behind it, a fire burns, but in the midst of smoke and orange flames, the bird is alert and serene. — Savanna hawk, Cúcuta, Norte de Santander, Colombia. - Photo Credit: Luis Alberto Peña / Audubon Photography Awards

Birds in Landscapes winner, Chile – Caro Aravena Costa

About 25 flamingos stand in shallow water on a beach. Their backlit bodies cast shadows. A low, flat layer of clouds and looming mountain silhouettes form the background. Warm sunlight envelopes the scene. — Chilean flamingos, Puerto Natales, Magallanes, Chile. - Photo Credit: Caro Aravena Costa / Audubon Photography Awards

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Picture researcher across BBC Science Focus, BBC Countryfile and BBC Wildlife

Lily is the picture researcher across BBC Science Focus, BBC Countryfile and BBC Wildlife. She holds a degree in Photojournalism, where she specialised in social documentary reportage. Her photographic work has been shortlisted for the BarTur Photo Award’s Unity in Diversity category and exhibited internationally as part of the Urban Photo Awards. Before joining the team, she worked on freelance projects and as a product specialist for leading camera brands.