Finalists of the Bird Photographer of the Year 2021 Announced

The Bird Photographer of the Year Awards (BPOTY) has announced the finalists for its 2021 competition, with the winner to be announced in September. This selection is a “sneak preview” of what to expect from the 6th-annual awards.

This year’s competition saw over 22,000 entries from over 73 countries which have been narrowed down to the shortlist of finalists below who will go on to compete for the £5,000 cash prize (~$6,912). In addition to hosting the competition, the BPOTY says that it is a proud supporter of conservation and provides financial aid to grassroots conservation projects through its charity partner Birds on the Brink.

Photo by Brian Matthews / Bird Photographer of the Year
Photo by Daniel Zhang / Bird Photographer of the Year
Photo by Li Ying Lou / Bird Photographer of the Year
Photo by Øyvind Pedersen / Bird Photographer of the Year
Photo by Terry Whittaker / Bird Photographer of the Year
Photo by Daniela Anger / Bird Photographer of the Year
Photo by Gail Bisson / Bird Photographer of the Year
Photo by Tom Schandy / Bird Photographer of the Year
Photo by Mark Sisson / Bird Photographer of the Year
Photo by Diana Schmies / Bird Photographer of the Year
Photo by Scott Suriano / Bird Photographer of the Year
Photo by Irene Waring / Bird Photographer of the Year
Photo by Fahad Alenezi / Bird Photographer of the Year
Photo by Irma Szabo / Bird Photographer of the Year
Photo by Raymond Hennessy / Bird Photographer of the Year
Photo by Brad James / Bird Photographer of the Year
Photo by Amanda Cook / Bird Photographer of the Year
Photo by Andy Parkinson / Bird Photographer of the Year
Photo by Zdeněk Jakl / Bird Photographer of the Year
Photo by James Wilcox / Bird Photographer of the Year
Photo by David White / Bird Photographer of the Year
Photo by Aguti Antonio
Photo by Gábor Li / Bird Photographer of the Year
Photo by Mark Williams / Bird Photographer of the Year
Photo by Tzahi Finkelstein / Bird Photographer of the Year
Photo by Daphne Wong / Bird Photographer of the Year
Photo by Anupam Chakraborty / Bird Photographer of the Year
Photo by Taku Ono
Photo by Thomas Vijayan / Bird Photographer of the Year
Photo by Eirik Grønningsæter / Bird Photographer of the Year
Photo by Mario Suarez Porras / Bird Photographer of the Year

Each of the images above is in the running for a set of awards across a group of categories along with the most-coveted title of Bird Photographer of the Year. Last year, the overall winner was Majed Alza’abi of Vardø, Norway, who captured an “artistic and impressionistic” photo of European Shag. You can see it and the other winners from the 2020 competition here.

The images here and others entered to the competition will be included in a book published by William Collins, the sixth in the collection. It will be a hardback, coffee-table book featuring the best images from the 2021 competition across 256 pages and filled with stunning images to inspire any keen bird photographer. Those interested in picking it up can pre-order it at the BPOTY website.

Image credits: All photos individually credited and provided courtesy of the Bird Photographer of the Year.