"Snow Landing" By Jérémie Villet, France, Rising Star Portfolio Award, Winner 2019
With outstretched wings and intense eyes fixed on its prey, a bald eagle lands in fresh snow on a riverbank. Jérémie spent a week observing the behaviour of these birds from his hide. Spotting this one swooping down to catch salmon from the icy water below, he was well-positioned to capture this portrait.
To complete their life cycle, salmon return to their river of origin to spawn, dying shortly afterwards. An overabundance of dying salmon makes for easy meals for opportunistic eagles. Every year around 3,000 bald eagles gather at the Chilkat River in Alaska to feast on salmon.