2021 bird photographer of the year – winners

Best portrait, gold winner: Underwater Portrait, Felipe Foncueva, Spain

This image of a brown pelican was taken off the Pacific coast of Costa Rica, near the mouth of the Tarcoles River

Best portrait, silver winner: Sing Heartily, Maofeng Shen, China

June marks the start of the breeding season for demoiselle cranes on the vast grasslands of Keshiketeng in Inner Mongolia

Birds in the environment, gold winner and bird photographer of the year: Blocked, Alejandro Prieto, Mexico

The 2,000-mile US-Mexico border crosses some of the continent’s most biologically diverse regions

Birds in the environment, silver winner: Claiming the Forest Floor, Joshua Galicki, US

A male ovenbird singing on top of a fallen log. The bird is staking its claim to a breeding territory shortly after arriving from a lengthy migration to the north-east US from wintering grounds in Central America

Attention to detail, gold winner: Disappearing, Rafael Armada, Spain.

A penguin reflected in the water

Attention to detail, silver winner: Growing Up, Raymond Hennessy, US

Great northern divers (known as common loons in North America) and their chicks take to the water soon after the chicks hatch. The size difference between adult and youngster is evident in this image and shows just how much growing is left for this tiny chick

Birds in flight, gold winner: Thirsty, Tzahi Finkelstein, Israel

Common swifts live their lives on the wing and are a challenge to capture in flight. With a diet of flying insects, they need to drink from time to time, and they even do that on the wing

Birds in flight, silver winner: The Art of Motion, Nicolas Reusens, Spain

A hummingbird feeds from a flower

Bird behaviour, gold winner: Floral Bathtub, Mousam Ray, India

This image was taken at North Bengal Agricultural University in Cooch Behar, West Bengal

Bird behaviour, silver winner: The Face of Death, Massimiliano Apollo, Italy

In northern Italy in late summer, prior to migrating south, purple herons try to feed as much as possible and take advantage of the abundance of prey present in the rice fields

Black and white, gold winner: Chinstrap Penguin, Renato Granieri, UK

A single chinstrap penguin on top of a giant iceberg

Black and white, silver winner: Feather Light, James Rogerson, UK

A preening northern gannet

Urban birds, gold winner: Dipper On Shopping Trolley, Terry Whittaker, UK

A white-throated dipper nests under an old road bridge in Greater Manchester

Urban birds, silver winner: Lockdown, William Steel, South Africa

A karoo prinia searching for insects on a security gate in South Africa

Creative imagery, gold winner: Sprats and Bread, Ruediger Schulz, Germany

Creative imagery, silver winner: Funnel, Kathryn Cooper, UK

Between November and March, tens of thousands of common starlings migrate to Yorkshire Wildlife Trust’s Potteric Carr nature reserve

Portfolio award, winner: Puffins: Wing Stretch, Kevin Morgans, UK

Portfolio award, winner: Puffins: Lost in Thought, Kevin Morgans, UK

Conservation award, gold winner: Hargila Army: Beautiful Scavengers, Carla Rhodes, US

Towering at 1.5 metres tall and with a wingspan of 2.5 metres, greater adjutants are the most endangered species of stork on the planet. These birds were pictured in Assam in north-east India where they live on a landfill site

Conservation award, gold winner:

Hargila Army: Beautiful Scavengers, Carla Rhodes, USWorkers sorting garbage at the Boragaon landfill in Guwahati in north-east India where the greater adjutant storks live

14-17 years, gold winner and young bird photographer of the year: Black Grouse Lekking at Sunrise, Levi Fitze, Switzerland

9-13 years, gold winner: In the Woodland, Andres L Dominguez Blanco, Spain

This Eurasian nuthatch regularly uses the trunk of a Portuguese oak as a route to go down to drink