A dramatic underwater photograph of a northern gannet plunging into the sea to hunt for fish has won the overall prize in the Bird Photographer of the Year 2026 competition, beating more than 24,000 other images from around the world.
The winning shot, titled Sunball Rocket, was taken by photographer Henley Spiers off Shetland, in the United Kingdom, as the bird hunted for fish to feed its offspring. Spiers had been diving in the chilly 10°C waters when he noticed the sun was visible from below the surface, and he dedicated the entire dive to capturing a single frame of a gannet diving straight through the middle of it.
«Even in summer, sunshine is far from guaranteed in this remote British archipelago, so my creative engine started firing when the sunball was visible from underwater,» Spiers said in an announcement about the win. «The gannets were diving all around me, but I refused to be distracted and kept my camera pointed at the sun. After a long wait, a gannet finally dived through in the perfect spot and I met the bird as it careened under the sea. The moment was over in a split second.»
Northern gannets have evolved a suite of adaptations for their high-speed hunting dives. When they spot fish, they turn to fly into the wind, stretch out their wings as brakes, precisely adjust their position and then dive-bomb into the water with wings tucked at speeds of up to 86 kilometres per hour. Muscles lock their vertebrae into position, air sacs in the face and chest protect them from the impact, and specialised nostrils prevent jets of water from entering.
Spiers described the birds as leading a dualistic existence. «In the nest, their newborn is carefully nurtured, and a couple's bond is reinforced by pointing sharp beaks to the sky as they tenderly stroke their white necks together,» he said. «In flight, hunting mode takes over, and piercing yellow eyes, fringed with blue circles, scour the sea for prey.»
The competition also recognised photographers in several other categories. David Stowe received a bronze award in the portrait category for an image of a western parotia dancing in the dark rainforest of West Papua, Indonesia, in a dazzling attempt to attract a female.
Donald Chin won a gold award in the bird behaviour category for a photograph of a protective tawny frogmouth near Perth, Australia. As rain falls in the forest, the fledgling appears to raise a wing to cover its siblings.
Alex Pansier took a silver award in the birds in flight category for an image showing hundreds, if not thousands, of guillemots in flight over Hornøya, Norway. The repeating shapes give the photograph an Escher-like quality.
In the conservation, single image category, Luca Eberle of Italy won a bronze award for a photograph of an Egyptian vulture in Malta that had been killed, stuffed and discarded. Authorities inspect taxidermy samples to catch illegal hunting of protected species, causing some collectors to dispose of older specimens. The image shows a BirdLife Malta officer finding the stuffed vulture left by the roadside.
Another underwater shot, by Romain Barats, features gentoo penguins feeding in Charcot Bay, Antarctica. Barats was snorkelling when a raft of gentoo penguins appeared to fish and feed on krill. «These iconic birds are incredibly curious so they went straight to me to evaluate if I could be a threat or not. They spent a while swimming so fast around me,» he said. He won a bronze award in the birds in the environment category.
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