From 11 April to 26 July, the Latvian Museum of Natural History is hosting “My Bird 2026”, a photography exhibition featuring more than 100 images of wild birds found in Latvia. The photographs are complemented by items from the museum's galliform bird collection that are not normally on display in its permanent exhibitions.
The Latvian Museum of Natural History's “My Bird” photography competition is an annual event, much loved and eagerly awaited among bird photographers, which will mark its 25th anniversary next year. The competition encourages people to get to know Latvia's birds and their characteristic ways of life more closely, as well as to develop their nature observation skills.
This year the competition drew 104 entrants with 276 photographs, with a particularly large number of works received in the “50+” age group. The birds were photographed in a variety of settings, including, for example, in flight or with prey. The organisers thank participants for the great response and admit that it was very difficult to choose the winners.
Dmitrijs Boiko, ornithologist and head of the Zoology Department, expresses satisfaction that the entries represent a wide diversity of bird species, including waders, woodland birds and waterfowl alike. As was to be expected, many shots were taken at bird feeders. The judges single out for particular praise the capturing of rarer species on camera: one of the works submitted to the competition, for instance, shows a European serin – a small songbird of the finch family that occurs unevenly in Latvia, only in certain places, and has not been represented in the photography competition for a long time.
The “My Bird 2026” exhibition is open in the first-floor exhibition hall of the Latvian Museum of Natural History from 11 April to 26 July. Until 31 May, every visitor can vote for the photograph they consider the most beautiful in the exhibition.
Alongside the photographs, taxidermy specimens of various galliform birds from the museum's zoological collection are on display – capercaillie, black grouse, grey partridge and hazel grouse.