The 2026 Judges

Take a look at our wonderful panel of judges for Bird Photographer of the Year 2026.

Majed Al Za’abi

Kuwait

Majed is a multi award-winning photographer and a Nikon Ambassador. In 2020, he was the grand prize winner of Bird Photographer of the Year.

Aaron Baggenstos

United States of America

Aaron Baggenstos is an acclaimed wildlife photographer and tour leader, renowned for his captivating, conservation-focused images worldwide.

Paul Sterry

United Kingdom

Paul is a best-selling author of photographically-illustrated wildlife field guides. A passion for bird photography led to him to found BPOTY and he continues to promote the competition’s conservation-orientated vison through its supportive relationship with the charity Birds on the Brink.

Andrew Cleave MBE

United Kingdom

Andrew, a biology teacher by training, is one of the founders of BPOTY, author and contributor to over 30 books on a wide range of natural history topics, and a busy wildlife tour leader in the UK and further afield. Andrew was appointed MBE for services to Environmental Education in 1995.

Will Nicholls

United Kingdom

Will is the Director of Bird POTY. He is a wildlife cameraman working in natural history television, with credits for BBC, AppleTV, Netflix, Disney+, and more. He specialises in working at height in the forest canopy. He has also been a stills photographer since 2007.