8 hours Ago By Popular Science Team
Jack Zhi watched as a practiced its rudimentary hunting skills in the skies of Southern California. And then, after a week of practice, the young of prey snatched a butterfly mid-flight. In that moment, Zhi snapped a photograph.
The resulting image (seen above) captured the fierce concentration of the falcon, focused intently on the flittering butterfly. “[The fledgling] was successful on occasion, caught the butterfly, played with it for a second, then released it,” Zhi said. “I have been photographing peregrines for years, and this was the first time I have seen fledglings play with butterflies.
” The image took the silver award in the Bird Behaviour category of the contest. More than 23,000 images from photographers around the world were submitted across eight categories as part of this year’s awards. The prestigious title Bird Photographer of Year went to photographer Patricia Homonylo of Canada for her stirring image titled “When Worlds Collide” (seen below).
The photographs shows more than 4,000 dead birds, all victims of run-ins with windows and other reflective surfaces in urban areas. Entries for the are now open to photographers of all skill levels and backgrounds..
