2025 BirdLife Australia Photography Awards now open!

Enter the BirdLife Australia Photography Awards 

Calling all bird photographers! The BirdLife Australia Photography Awards are back in 2025 – and entries are open now!

To enter, visit the BirdLife Australia Photography Awards website. 

You have until 28 July to enter, but if you enter before 16 June you’ll be eligible for an early bird discount. To enter the competition, you’ll first need to log in or create a BirdLife Australia account.

Categories and special theme

This year, we’re back with another special theme: Diurnal Raptors! 

Photos entered in this category must contain one or more raptor species – or birds of prey – that are active during the day. Nocturnal raptors (including any species of owl, nightjar or frogmouth) aren’t eligible for this year’s Special Theme, so please enter any photos of these species in other relevant categories.

You can also enter the following competition categories:

• Backyard Birds
• Bird Behaviour
• Bird Portrait
• Birds in Flight
• Birds in the Landscape
• Youth
• Human Impact
• Portfolio Prize

Find out more information about each category here.

Sponsors and prizes

The 2025 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.

This year, we’re also excited to announce our very first Award for 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 digital camera valued at $7,449 RRP. The winner of the Portfolio Prize will receive a $2,000 cash prize – both courtesy of Principal Sponsor, Nikon Australia.

Ethical bird photography

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.

Good luck, and happy snapping!

Need some inspiration? Check out the winning and shortlisted entries from last year’s BirdLife Australia Photography Awards here. 

The Photography Awards are a collaboration between BirdLife Australia and BirdLife Photography. One of BirdLife Australia’s special interest groups, BirdLife Photography welcomes all bird lovers with a passion for photography and aims to inspire and support photographers of Australian birds.