Many of the photographersentering this competition willbe well known by name to

readers, as their work is regularly seen inbird books and popular magazines. Thefact that the top photographers enter is asign of the prestigious status of this annualcompetition, now in its twenty-third year.

The judging process was explained indetail last year (Brit. Birds 91: 219). Afterthe second viewing of the transparencies,we reduced the selection to a short-list of37 slides. Several photographers had allthree of their entries still in contention at this stage: Dr Jens Eriksen, TonyHamblin, Mike Lane, Wayne Richardsonand Steve Young. The next viewing had

us struggling to agree on a final 20photographs. At this stage, Mike Lane wasthe only photographer with all three shotsstill in the running; Tony Hamblin still had two.

The final short-listed photographs were then projected, and finally criticallyexamined on the light box. The judgesindependently and secretly placed them inorder from 1 to 20. All the scores wereadded to reveal the winners. Of the top 20photographs, 18 showed interesting aspectsof the bird’s behaviour. Potential winnersmust submit images that are beautiful,perfectly exposed, crisp, show goodcomposition and also depict an interestingaspect of behaviour. A tall order!

BIRD PHOTOGRAPH OF

THE YEAR 1999

1st Little Owls Athene noctua Tony Hamblin2nd Temminck’s Stint Calidris temminckii Mike Lane3rd Peregrine Falcon Falco peregrinus Edmund Fellowes4th Greenfinch Carduelis chloris Alan Petty5th Goldcrest Regulus regulus Tony Hamblin6th European Bee-eater Merops apiaster Dr Jens Eriksen 7th Wilson’s Storm-petrel Oceanites oceanicus Axel Halley 8th Common Kestrel Falco tinnunculus Wayne Richardson 9th = Herring Gull Larus argentatus Reston Kilgour9th = Long-tailed Tit Aegithalos caudatus Mike Lane

11th = Booted Eagle Hieraaetus pennatus Roger Tidman11th = Common Kingfisher Alcedo atthis Roy Glen11th = Yellow Wagtail Motacilla flava Gordon Langsbury14th Great Cormorant Phalacrocorax carbo Hans Schouten15th Grey Heron Ardea cinerea Mike Lane16th = Red-footed Falcon Falco vespertinus Richard Price16th = Indian Roller Coracias benghalensis Steve Young18th Melodious Warbler Hippolais polyglotta Ray Tipper19th Herring Gull Larus argentatus Gary Smith20th Mute Swans Cygnus olor David Norton

Other photographers whose work was initially short-listed were: Tony Clarke, Bob Gloverand George Higginbotham.

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85. BIRD PHOTOGRAPH OF THE YEAR 1999: Little Owls Athene noctua, Warwickshire, May 1998(Canon T90; Canon 500L 4.5 lens; 1/60, f4.5; Fuji Sensia 100 uprated to 200ASA) (Tony Hamblin)

All 20 photographers whose work wasshort-listed will be invited to the PressReception at The Mall Galleries at whichthe prizes will be presented. This year’swinner will receive a complete set of themagnificent Handbook of the Birds of theWorld published by Lynx Edicions.

Tony Hamblin, as well as being thewinner, had a second photograph in thetop five. The consistency of a master! It wasagreed by all the judges that TonyHamblin’s winning shot of two Little Owls ‘head-butting’ (plate 85) showed aremarkable and rarely observed part oftheir bonding behaviour.

Tony Hamblin describes the scene: ‘InMay 1998, this pair of Little Owls wasnesting under a corrugated metal roof ofsome out-buildings. I placed an old treebranch across the top of an unphotogenicchicken-wire fence (erected to stop Rabbitsfrom entering) in the hope that the birdswould use it.

‘I sat for two evenings, observing from ahide placed some 10 m away. The off-dutybird used the perch frequently, but generallythe owls flew directly to the nest under the

roof. Portraits were obtained, but, suddenlylate one evening, another Little Owl cameinto the next field, calling.

‘“My” pair emerged from the nest site and flew to a nearby tree, callingfrantically. Then, to my surprise, theyreturned to the perch that I had erectedand, with much activity, bonded withwing-flapping and facial contact. Theykept this up for at least eight minutes withme exposing a couple of rolls of film. Thisshot shows one bird digging its bill solidlyinto the branch whilst the other pushesvigorously against its partner. After this,they fell to the ground and continued thisamazing behaviour with vehemence forsome time before they returned to the nestsite. The late-evening light, luckily, wasdull, so has not given a colour cast,although many of my transparenciesshowed movement.’

In second place, Mike Lane’sTemminck’s Stint in display flight (plate86) is a truly beautiful photograph. Theout-of-focus background complements theplumage tones of the bird. The displayflight of this tiny wader is reminiscent of

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that of the Sky Lark Alauda arvensis. To getsuch a perfect shot of this behaviour ismost impressive. Note that Mike, winner ofthis title in 1995 (Brit. Birds 88: 326), had allthree of his entries in the top 15photographs in the final short-list.

In third place, Edmund Fellowes’photograph of a Peregrine Falcongrooming its neck feathers (plate 87) isanother remarkable action shot. Thisphotograph was taken from a hide set upnext to a regular loafing tree. The out-of-focus background and position of thebranch and trunk highlight the bird. Atruly memorable photograph, by anotherformer winner of this competition, in 1979(Brit. Birds 72: 222-227).

Alan Petty’s Greenfinch (plate 88) iscombing its upperwing with its foot. Thetopic of ‘comfort behaviour’ occupies nofewer than four pages in A Dictionary ofBirds (Campbell & Lack 1985), with‘scratch-preening’ or ‘extended scratching’being an important part of feathermaintenance. Alan Petty’s photographillustrates this action and, again, thebackground highlights the bird.

Tony Hamblin’s photograph of asinging Goldcrest (plate 89) was praisedfor its excellent composition. Tony haderected a 4-m scaffold from which tophotograph the male Goldcrest and ‘after along wait, he emerged to sing where Icould photograph him.’

Dr Jens Eriksen’s European Bee-eater(plate 90) is another crisp, well-lit, beautifulshot. Surely this is one of the mostphotogenic of all birds?

Axel Halley’s photograph of a Wilson’sStorm-petrel over the ‘liquid’ ocean (plate91) is also movingly beautiful. The fantasticreflection was noted by all the judges. Thephoto was taken from a small boat offPortugal; the transparency reveals thestorm-petrel’s diagnostic yellow websbetween its toes, which we hope will stillbe visible in this printed version.

Wayne Richardson’s photograph of aCommon Kestrel (plate 92) shows a rarelycaught bit of action: the moment when the bird changes from hovering to stooping on its prey.

The ‘British Birds’ Young Photographerof the Year Award, presented by The Eric

86. SECOND PRIZE: Temminck’s Stint Calidris temminckii, Norway, June 1998 (Canon EOS5; Canon600 lens + 1.4x converter; 1/350, f5.6; Fuji Sensia 100 uprated one stop) (Mike Lane)

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87. THIRD PRIZE: Peregrine Falcon Falco peregrinus, Dumfries & Galloway, May 1998 (Canon EOS5;Canon 300 lens + 2x converter; 1/60, f5.6; Fuji Sensia 100ASA) (Edmund Fellowes)

Hosking Trust, was for the third time in a row won by David Norton. This time he has won this under-26 award with aphotograph of two male Mute Swansfighting (plate 93). The sheer aggressive-ness of these males is depicted well. We receive disappointingly few entries in this section, so any budding bird-photographers who will be under 26 yearsold in mid January 2000 are urged tosubmit entries for next year’s competition.The prize comprises a cheque for £100, aselection of bird books and a superb

engraved goblet.As in other recent years, the monthly

magazine Bird Watching will publish thewinning photograph and a selection ofother short-listed entries in a forthcomingissue. We were sorry that its Editor, DavidCromack, was unable to join us on thejudging panel, but hope that this will provepossible next year.

Robin Chittenden, David Hosking and J. T. R.Sharrock, c/o Fountains, Park Lane, Blunham,Bedford MK44 3NJ

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88. FOURTH: Greenfinch Carduelis chloris, Kent, August 1998 (Nikon F90X; Nikon 300 lens f2.8 A.F.S.+ 2x converter; 1/320, f5.6; Fuji Velvia rated at 80ASA) (Alan Petty)

89. FIFTH: Goldcrest Regulus regulus, Warwickshire, May 1998 (Canon EOS/N; Canon 300L f4 lens;1/125, f8; Fuji Sensia 100ASA) (Tony Hamblin)

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Facing page, top: 90. SIXTH: European Bee-eater Merops apiaster, Oman, April 1998 (Nikon F5;Nikkor 300/AF-S 1:2.8D lens + 1.4x converter; 1/800, f4; Fuji Provia 100ASA) (Jens Eriksen)

Facing page, bottom: 91. SEVENTH: Wilson’s Storm-petrel Oceanites oceanicus, off Portugal,September 1998 (Nikon F90, Novoflex 400 lens; 1/250, f5.6; Kodachrome 64) (Axel Halley)

92. EIGHTH: Common Kestrel Falco tinnunculus, Cleveland, April 1998 (Nikon F80; Sigma 400 APOlens; 1/1,000, f5.6; Fuji Sensia 100ASA) (Wayne Richardson)

93. Winner of THE ‘BRITISH BIRDS’ YOUNG PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR: Mute SwansCygnus olor, Essex, April 1998 (Nikon F-801s; 105 Micro-Nikkor lens; 1/1,000, f4; Fuji Sensia 100ASA)(David Norton)

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