Soaring Winners of the 2022 Bird Photographer of the Year Competition

Best Portrait, Gold Award Winner – Ly Dang, “Strut Performer.” © Ly Dang | Bird Photographer of the Year
“You know that springtime has arrived on the prairies of the Great Basin of the American West when the Sage Grouse gather at their leks. On these traditional display grounds, males of this Near Threatened species perform their strutting displays in the hope of winning the right to mate. This behaviour is for the benefit of the females, which judge the talent show and select the best genes to pass on to the next generation. I arrived at the lek more than an hour before the birds so I could set up my hide without causing disturbance. Similarly, with the best interests of the birds at heart, I packed up the hide only when the last bird had left the area. In previous years I had tried to capture this type of portrait shot but had been unsuccessful. However, on this particular morning my luck changed when this bird wandered close to my hide in full display. The photograph was taken without using baiting, calls, lures or unethical practices of any kind.”