TIGER RAIN Bare-throated Tiger-heron Tigrisoma mexicanum. Costa Rica. Gail Bisson, Canada. Category: Best Portrait. Commended. I accompanied my husband to a fly-fishing camp to photograph the local birds. Our hobbies match well when we travel, because I have found that areas where fly fisherman cast their lines usually have lots of great birds. I hired a boat and set off despite the torrential rain. The boat driver thought I was crazy heading out in such weather, but soon changed his mind when he saw the results. This was a difficult picture to create. There was not much light, so I had to increase my ISO to 2,500 and shoot with a wide-open aperture. In order to expose correctly, my shutter speed ended up at 1/200 second. It was very challenging to get a tack-sharp shot at this low shutter speed while being on a small, unstable boat and with the camera in portrait orientation. I got lucky with this one as the bird was very still and gave me a great head angle. Canon EOS 1DX with Canon EF600mm f/4L IS II USM lens and 1.4× converter. Focal length 840mm; 1/200 second; f/5.6; ISO 2,500.
VULTURE RAIN Eurasian Griffon Vulture Gyps fulvus. Sierra de Gúdar, Spain. Salvador Colvée, Spain. Category: Birds in Flight. Commended. I was working with remote-triggered cameras in the Sierra de Gúdar, Spain, photographing Eurasian Griffon Vultures. Here I managed to capture these birds landing on the cliff in numbers, as if it were raining vultures in a storm. Placing and hiding the DSLR camera systems for days at a time, without scaring the animals, was a real challenge during this project. Nikon D500 with Nikkor 14–24mm f/2.8
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lens. Focal length 21mm; 1/250 second; f/16; ISO 400.
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JUMPING FOR LIFE
As part of their courtship behaviour, Little Bustard males jump in their own personal arena in order to make themselves visible in tall grass
Little Bustard Tetrax tetrax. Spain. Marco Valentini, Italy. Category: Bird Behaviour. Commended.
are huge and the grass is very tall. Even when the subject is in the right position, you need enough light to allow a fast shutter speed to
and attract the attention of a female. Before dawn, I entered a hide and waited for him to jump; this is not guaranteed as bustard territories capture the movement. Canon EOS 5D Mk IV with Canon EF500mm f/4L IS II USM lens and 1.4× converter. Focal length 700mm; 1/3,200 second; f/13; ISO 2,000.
OYSTERCATCHER IN SEA-LAVENDER
Originally, I had arranged to take pictures of flowering sea-lavender with my friend Jan. After a time, I spotted this Eurasian
Eurasian Oystercatcher Haematopus ostralegus. Amrum Island, Germany. Sven Sturm, Germany. Category: Birds in the Environment. Commended.
I adjusted my position, so that only the eye and bill of the bird were not obscured by the plants. Because of the moving bird, this was
Oystercatcher between the plants. I was very happy, because this was the missing element in the picture that I had been searching for. more difficult than expected. After many unsuccessful attempts I got it. Canon EOS 1DX with Canon EF300mm f/2.8L IS II USM lens and 2× converter. Focal length 600mm; 1/250 second; f/7.1; ISO 640.
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SETTING SUN Dunlin Calidris alpina. Gijón, Spain. Mario Suárez Porras, Spain. Category: Attention to Detail. Commended. I spent several minutes crawling slowly towards this resting Dunlin in order to get close to it. Eventually I was about 2m away – the minimum focusing distance of my lens with the 2× converter in place. Look closely and in its eye you can see the setting sun – such a pleasure for a bird lover like me. Canon EOS 7D with Canon EF300mm f/2.8L IS II USM lens and 2× converter. Focal length 600mm; 1/250 second; f/7.1; ISO 1,250.
KITENADO Black Kite Milvus migrans. New Delhi, India. Luke Massey, United Kingdom. Category: Garden and Urban Birds. Commended. Black Kites are accomplished scavengers and often live alongside people in the Indian subcontinent. Here, a young boy in Delhi’s Muslim quarter throws meat scraps to feed the birds. For the local Muslims it is as an act of generosity to feed those less fortunate than themselves, be they humans or animals. So, after morning prayers they toss meat up to the numerous Black Kites that call the city home. Canon EOS 1DX with Canon EF17–40mm f/4L USM lens. Focal length 40mm; 1/5,000 second; f/5.6; ISO 320.
ENTWINED Northern Gannet Morus bassanus. Heligoland, Germany. Petr Bambousek, Czech Republic. Category: Bird Behaviour. Commended. This image was taken in the Northern Gannet colony on the island of Heligoland in Germany. It is a very sad story these days as birds are often using artificial materials, like the nylon twine shown here, with which to construct their nests. Unfortunately, it can often lead to the deaths of both chicks and adults. Canon EOS 5DS with Canon EF300mm f/2.8L IS II USM lens. Focal length 300mm; 1/1,250 second; f/2.8; ISO 1,250.
HYACINTH MACAWS Hyacinth Macaw Anodorhynchus hyacinthinus. Pantanal, Brazil. Petr Bambousek, Czech Republic. Category: Birds in the Environment. BRONZE AWARD WINNER. I was enjoying the scenery of blooming trees around me when a pair of noisy Hyacinth Macaws landed right above my head. I had to switch lenses swiftly while the macaws sat there looking directly at me; the wide-angle lens allowed me to capture a picture of the birds in the context of the beauty of the tree. Olympus E-M1 Mk II with Olympus M.12–100mm f/4 lens. Focal length 20mm; 1/125 second; f/10; ISO 640.
SPA TIME Giant Cowbird Molothrus oryzivorus. Pantanal, Brazil. Petr Bambousek, Czech Republic. Category: Bird Behaviour. Commended. Just after this Capybara left the water, a Giant Cowbird landed on its back. This is one of those mutually beneficial symbiotic relationships between species: the cowbird gets an easy meal, while the Capybara can enjoy some ‘spa time’ as the bird removes those annoying parasites. Olympus E-M1 Mk II with Olympus M.300mm f/4 lens. Focal length 300mm; 1/320 second; f/5.6; ISO 200.
SANDERLING Sanderling Calidris alba. Shetland Islands, United Kingdom. Martin Grace, United Kingdom. Category: Birds in the Environment. Commended. Various small waders were visible foraging along the shoreline, so I shuffled towards them across the rocky foreshore as slowly as possible, keeping a low profile. This ‘softly, softly’ approach worked, and 20 minutes later I was almost within touching distance of a number of the birds, none of which was affected by my presence. With a low camera angle, I was able to isolate this Sanderling but place it in its typical habitat. The quality of the light was a huge bonus. After taking many photographs I was able to shuffle away back to where I started, again without disturbing the birds. Result!
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Canon EOS 5DS R with Canon EF500mm f/4L IS USM lens. Focal length 500mm; 1/1,250 second; f/7.1; ISO 200.