BirdLife Australia and BirdLife Photography are thrilled to announce the winners of the 2026 BirdLife Australia Photography Awards.
The BirdLife Australia Photography Awards are a collaboration between BirdLife Australia and BirdLife Photography.
Started in 2018, the BirdLife Australia Photography Awards see thousands of entries every year from photographers of all ages and experiences – including some of Australia’s finest.
BirdLife Photography, one of BirdLife Australia’s Special Interest Groups, welcomes all bird lovers with a passion for photography. With an extensive public online photo gallery of Australian birds, BirdLife Photography promotes ethical bird photography and aims to inspire and support photographers of Australian birds.
For just $15 a year, members can access forums, competitions, e-news and other useful resources to help develop their photography skills.
Find out more and become a BirdLife Photography member today.
Your 2026 Winners are…
⭐ Kings Down Under by Lachlan Hall Overall Winner, Birds in the Landscape
The Crown by Rachelle Mackintosh Winner, Bird Portrait
In full bloom by Cheng Kang Winner, Birds in Flight
It takes two to tango by Elmar Akhmetov Winner, Bird Behaviour
Gang tackle by Mark Doro Winner, Backyard Birds
The Sugar Thief by Kylie Facey Winner, Human Impact
Master of Disguise by Micah Boyce Winner, Youth
Bold by Stephen Garth Winner, Special Theme: Australian Finches
Coastal Warriors by Samara Achermann Winner, Portfolio Prize
View the winner’s gallery.
Australia is home to 18 resident native finches, including grass-finches, parrot-finches and mannikins. They’re some of our smallest and most striking birds, renowned for their vibrant plumage, distinctive calls and lively, highly social behaviour.
From the spectacularly-coloured Gouldian Finch foraging in tall grass, to a frenetic flock of Zebra Finches drinking from an outback waterhole, Australia’s finches have long captured the imagination of bird lovers all over the world.
Found across the country in a variety of habitats, including in urban and rural areas, these small seed-eating birds depend on native grasses to survive. Sadly, many Australian finches are in decline, increasingly threatened by the destruction, development and degradation of their feeding and breeding habitats.
This category is a celebration of Australia’s iconic native finches.
The 2026 BirdLife Australia Photography Awards are proudly sponsored by Nikon Australia and Lake Cowal Foundation.
Thanks to their generous support, each category winner will receive a $1,000 cash prize – with a whopping $2,000 up for grabs for the winner of this year’s Portfolio Prize, courtesy of our Principal Sponsor, Nikon Australia.
This year, we’re also excited to announce BirdLife Australia Photographer of the Year. By entering any competition category, you’ll go in the running to win the Grand Prize – a Nikon Z 8 camera valued at $7,449 RRP.
Remember – the welfare of birds always comes first, and no winning shot should see birds losing out. All entries must adhere to BirdLife Photography’s Code of Ethics.
You can find a full list of eligible species here.
We charge a modest entry fee, which supports our bird conservation work and helps fund the prize pool and offset running costs.
A discount for Early Bird entries will apply from 7 April to the 24 April.
Prices are per entry, are in AUD and include GST. The prices for the 2025 competition are as follows:
Open Categories
Portfolio Category
Collection of 6 photos per portfolio
Youth Category
For entrants under the age of 18 only
