Bence Máté shortlisted for Wildlife Photographer of the Year

Hungarian nature photographer Bence Máté has been shortlisted for the 2026 Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition, organized by the Natural History Museum in London. His photograph, titled ‘Flock of Gold’, was selected as one of the top 100 entries from over 65,000 submissions from 121 countries.

The image captures tens of thousands of red-billed weavers gathering to drink at a small pool in Kenya’s Tsavo East National Park during the golden light of late afternoon. The scene was so intense that the air movement caused by the birds' wings could be felt from 30 meters away. Red-billed weavers are considered the largest wild bird species by population, with an estimated global population of 1.5 billion.

The competition winners will be announced on October 13, with an exhibition of the winning works scheduled to open at the Natural History Museum in London on October 16.