The 2024 Birdo photography contest concluded with a lively and solemn award ceremony. The seven-member international jury, comprised of renowned photographers and ornithologists, independently evaluated the works that advanced to the second round, thus determining the final results.

In each category, awards were given to the top three entries and two highly commended photographs. Alongside their cash prizes—amounting to over 2 million HUF in total this year—winners received personalized certificates, a Veled commemorative item, and the Birdo photo album showcasing the winning images. The Veled pin, designed to attach to a camera strap, embodies Birdo’s mission: photographers are part of inspiring more people to appreciate and love birds through photography.
In addition, the first-place winners also received unique trophies representing bird nests and camera lenses, designed by alumni of the Moholy-Nagy University of Art and Design.

The ceremony, held in the Hall of Giants at the Budapest Zoo, celebrated 49 works, including category winners and special awardees. The award-winning photographs will soon be showcased in a dedicated gallery.
This year, the ceremony was also streamed online, allowing more bird photography enthusiasts to join the celebration, even if they didn’t participate in the contest. This innovation was particularly significant, as submissions came from over 30 countries in 2024. The event was streamed in English on the Birdo Facebook page and in Hungarian on the YouTube channel, where the full recording remains available for viewing.

Under the vibrant and dynamic hosting of András Petur, viewers were treated to an inspiring and thrilling celebration. Dr Endre Sós, Director of the Budapest Zoo and the event’s host, opened the ceremony with fascinating insights about birds and bird photography. Using vivid examples, he illustrated why bird photography contests are both important and valuable.
Dr Sós shared that there are nearly 11,000 bird species on Earth today. For instance, the bar-tailed godwit undertakes an astonishing journey of 11,000 km between Alaska and New Zealand in just eight days of nonstop flight, while a hummingbird can achieve 10-80 wingbeats per second. While these statistics are awe-inspiring, they can feel abstract—bird photography, however, brings these phenomena to life for us to see and appreciate.

He highlighted one particular photograph from the contest entries, capturing a pheasant vibrating its wings during a courtship display—an event few people would ever witness in person. Of the 51 known pheasant species, one inhabits Africa, while the rest are found in Asia, with nearly half of them classified as endangered. Dr Sós emphasized that contests like Birdo not only help people discover such species but also play a role in fostering their protection.

Doris Abdel Halim one of the contest's organizers, echoed this sentiment in her remarks, emphasizing Birdo’s commitment to aiding bird conservation.
“The world of birds is a treasure we must protect. Through Birdo, we aim not only to showcase stunning photographs but also to highlight what we can do to ensure the safety of birds. Alongside breathtaking portraits, action-packed scenes and extraordinary moments, we present inspiring examples, local initiatives and bird conservation projects. These efforts help raise awareness of the ecological roles birds play and the importance of protecting them.” she said.

S. Takács Zsuzsanna, another organizer of the contest, emphasized that trust and collaboration are essential for a contest to truly thrive. She noted that a shared language—the love of birds—helps bridge the gap between organizers and participants, fostering mutual understanding and support for each other’s work.
“This contest is brought to life by the photographers. If they love it, then it becomes a contest worth loving. I hope that’s the case,” she added. She also shared some interesting statistics: “The second-round photos showcase more than 170 bird species. The most popular birds in Birdo 2024 were the European bee-eater and the grey heron, each appearing in 16 photos. The black stork, crane, and mallard were not far behind.”

After the special prizes were awarded, the category awards and the grand prizes followed.

The titles of Birdo Bird Photographer of the Year 2024 and Birdo Young Bird Photographer of the Year were awarded to the photographers whose submitted works achieved the highest scores. The overall winner of the contest and the title of Birdo Bird Photographer of the Year 2024 went to renowned nature photographer Bence Máté. The title of Birdo Young Bird Photographer of the Year 2024 was awarded to Tamás Koncz-Bisztricz. The title of Birdo Bird Photo of the Year 2024 was selected from the category-winning images. This prestigious award was won by Éva Glavati-Nagy for her piece Dance of the Starlings, which took first place in the Open category.

The ceremony concluded with an exhibition of the winning photographs. The exhibition was officially opened by jury member Imre Potyó, who began his remarks by stating, “Birdo is a celebration of bird photography, a collection of the most significant bird photographs in Hungary, and as such, it is truly unique.”

He expressed his gratitude to the contest's founders for envisioning and creating this extraordinary initiative. He shared his experience of being continuously impressed by the participants’ ability to innovate, which he attributes partly to Birdo’s encouragement of photographers to push boundaries, create new images, and develop fresh techniques. He confessed that some photographs moved him so deeply during the judging process that he couldn’t help but applaud them.
Potyó summed up the spirit of the contest with the statement, “This is a family.”

The traveling exhibition will move to Tata on November 20, where it will be part of the Tatai Vadlúd Sokadalom (Wild Goose Festival, Hungary) for three weeks. It will then return to the Budapest Zoo on December 10, where it will remain open to visitors during the Zoo's regular hours until the end of February 2025.

Photo Montage from the Ceremony. Photo Credit: Dániel Dömölky.