The visitor centre at the Swiss Ornithological Institute is always worth a visit.

Overall winner 2024 | Grey Partridge | Christian Höfs

«The picture was taken shortly after sunrise on the edge of uncultivated land near Marburg. In the uniform agricultural landscape, these fallows are the last refuges for many species. I discovered the grey partridge by chance and managed to take this photo by approaching it very slowly and staying flat on the ground.»

1st place general | Black-legged Kittiwake | Jonathan Lhoir

«This image of a black-legged kittiwake was taken on the cliffs of Scotland’s east coast. I wanted to put the bird back into its biotope by incorporating the wilted and still blooming flowers in the foreground. The background is made up of the flares created by the sparkles on the surface of the water. These are reminiscent of clouds and give the image a different interpretation.»

2nd place general | European Herring Gull | Oscar Diez

«Searching for White-tailed eagles along the Norwegian coast in a boat, Herring Gulls become very trusting, to the point that they often land on your hat. I took advantage of this moment to take pictures of them from below with a wide-angle lens, getting this very attractive point of view for a bird.»

3rd place general | White Wagtail | Nicolas de Vaulx

«Two pairs of white wagtails share the car park of a supermarket. As they are small and the same colour as the ground, few people notice them. I waited for a bank holiday so that no one would be around, and I could lie down in front of the lines painted on the ground to give the photo a graphic look.»

1st place emotion | Greylag Goose | Christoph Kaula

«Every spring, hundreds of greylag goose chicks scurry through Frankfurt’s city parks. On a changeable day, not only I but also the greylag goose family were caught in a rain shower. The mother sat protectively over the chicks, which looked out of their feathers after the rain before they went back to looking for food.»

2nd place emotion | White-throated Dipper | David Bertuleit

«For several years now, I have observed a pair of dippers that nest in a nesting box under a bridge every year. Due to the current below a weir, I was able to take some nice photos with a long exposure time until I noticed the reflection of the dam lighting and was able to create a series with a sunset atmosphere.»

3rd place emotion | Rock Ptarmigan | Markus Varesvuo

«An otherworldly atmosphere surrounds the lone Ptarmigan in this picture as it seems to contemplate life amongst the snow dunes, sparkling with icy crystals under the full moon – a hostile environment where only the specifically evolved and highly specialised experts can survive.»

1st place action | Common Swift | Sebastian Inhofer

«Swifts live a life in the air. To be able to drink, the water must be calm. Then the swifts glide down to the water at high speed. Sailing just above the surface, they open their astonishingly large mouths until the lower half of their beaks touch the water. This moment lasts only a fraction of a second and then the birds disappear back into the sky.»

2nd place action | Grey Heron | Patrick Fellay

«This photo was taken in Valais. I had been dreaming of taking this picture for a long time because I had already seen this grey heron around. Then one February morning, it came as if it had heard my request. It was a magical moment!»

3rd place action | Willow Tit | Alex Pansier

«To capture this image, I spent a long time lying on my back in the snow, watching as the birds flew from tree to tree. I used a wide-angle lens and stopped down the aperture to achieve a greater depth of field, increasing the chances of getting the bird in focus. The wideangle lens became heavy over time, but fortunately, I managed to capture several beautiful shots.»

1st place youth | Eurasian Coot | Konrad Gräter

«I discovered by chance a coot’s nest in a park. I found this nest very special because it had been built on the water on a bridge pillar and there was often a perfect reflection. I deliberately underexposed the image to reduce it to the nest. I then tried to emphasise this effect in the image processing.»

2nd place youth | Alpine Chough | Konrad Gräter

«I got up early to photograph the mountain birds in beautiful light at sunrise. After a while, when the first rays of sunlight flashed behind the mountain and the birds, especially the alpine choughs, were very tame, I switched to a wide-angle lens as quickly as possible to capture the incredible atmosphere. Finally, an alpine chough settled on the perfect stone, which I had been keeping in the corner of my eye the whole time.»

3rd place youth | Brambling | Silvan Kyburz

«This winter there was a large roost of bramblings. Before the birds settled down to roost, they flew around in flocks, often over a clearing in the forest. There I placed my camera with a wide-angle lens on a tripod. With a slightly shorter focal length, I was able to integrate the forest into the picture. At the same time, you can also see the large number of bramblings. With a slightly slower shutter speed, the movement became visible.»