Bird Photographer of the Year

Hi Folks. Yes, Susie and I are back from Greece sporting sun tans but very few bird photos, a tale for another occasion. 

DPD knocked at the door. My friends at Princeton posted a book for review, The Bird Photographer of the Year, Collection 9. 

I discovered that the parcel had arrived a week after official launch date of 24 September and that news about the book plus the name of this year’s winner had featured in a number of daily newspapers and periodicals so as to give sales a kick start across the globe. Therefore apologies to my readers who may already know all about this book through reading Amateur Photographer, The Daily Mail or The Times! Maybe even via Positive News, a website devoted to helping more people to get a balanced and uplifting view of the world? 

The Bird Photographer of the Year, Collection 9 is a competition that celebrates bird photography from around the world and as the sub-title explains this is the ninth iteration. As might be expected this is a large format book of landscape size 11.25 x 9 inches, a perfect visual aspect that displays to best advantage the many wonderful digital images therein. 

 Bird Photographer of the Year - Princeton

As someone who claims to be a bird photographer but whose non-inclusion in the book came as no surprise, I took great interest in the images, keen to find out how the photographers acquired the many splendid, stunning images laid out before me. I wanted too the vital technical information of the lenses, cameras and the nitty-gritty of f numbers, ISOs and exposure compensations that camera geeks crave. 

This book features only the best of tens of thousands of images, including the winning and short-listed pictures of those submitted. It presents a vast variety of photos by experienced professionals and enthusiastic amateurs alike, reflecting the huge diversity and numbers of bird and nature lovers across the world. Most if not all of the entrants prove that the best images are won by investing in very expensive equipment; however those setting out in pursuit of birds with slightly less costly equipment should not be discouraged but instead take heart and advice from the stories here that luck, perseverance, timing and field craft are vital elements in taking that extra special picture. 

The competition divides into categories, a good way of allowing differing specialisms to make their mark. Hence there is Bird Behaviour, Conservation, Birds in Flight, Urban Birds, Young Bird Photographer of the Year, and even a Comedy Bird, etc, etc. - 8 Categories and 3 Special Awards. 

Categories - Bird Photographer of the Year - Princeton

Comedy Award - Bird Photographer of the Year - Princeton

Many of the images can be viewed at Princeton via “look inside”. 

Bird Photographer of the Year - Princeton

Tough Fight - Bird Photographer of the Year - Princeton

Cock of the Rocks - Bird Photographer of the Year - Princeton

The images here are more than acceptable from the point of view of promoting the book but do not approach the hard copy here in front of me or the copy you will buy after reading this review. The examples on the web are chosen to give a flavour only of the book, the images in the book the cream of the crop. 

There are many images which are indescribably fantastic and stunning – Bird with Attitude Takes a Walk on the Beach (Peregrine), Oystercatcher Graces the Arctic Sky (a beautiful photo from a drone), Air Traffic Chaos at A Gannetry, or Slow Glider (Northern Harrier). But I challenge anyone to find one image alone above so many others that they could categorically state their choice the best. It is all down to personal choice and a buyer's own bird specialism. 

Bird Photographer of the Year - Princeton

Bird Photographer of the Year - Princeton

Bird Photographer of the Year - Princeton

It is instructive to read a particular photographer's notes on the day of each photo and also to scrutinise the technical data of the actual photos. The latter can only serve to help less experienced picture takers with their choice of camera, lenses and settings. Perhaps too, less experienced toggers will learn something useful from the notes about the use of field craft, bird empathy and bird behaviour before trotting off into the wild on their new found hobby. 

And the Winner Is - When Worlds Collide’ by Patricia Homonylo. A striking image showing over 4,000 birds that died colliding with windows in Toronto. “Each year, more than one billion birds die in North America alone due to collisions with windows,” says Homonylo. “I am a conservation photojournalist and have been with the Fatal Light Awareness Program (FLAP) working to save window-collision survivors. Sadly, most of the birds we find are already dead.”  

When Worlds Collide’ by Patricia Homonylo - Bird Photographer of the Year - Princeton

The organisation collected the birds and at the end of the year and created the startling display to increase public awareness. Reflected light poses a severe threat to birds. To a bird, a reflective surface like a window can appear to be a continuation of the landscape that is behind them. Consequently, birds may fly straight into windows at full speed. 

The winning photograph is not my particular favourite however I do agree it sends an important message about how the modern world sees birds as collateral damage of the New World Order. 

I was blown away by Bird Photographer of the Year. Collection 9. It is not simply “photography.” It is art via photography, art to make you stare in wonder, art to make you blink in awe at the scene and marvel at the skill employed in capturing the split second. 

A portion of  profits from this book goes to Birds on the Brink, a charity that supports bird conservation around the world. Please buy this book I guarantee you will be delighted and inspired alike.

At £30/$35 this is another Princeton Bargain Buy. 

Price: $35.00/£30.00 

ISBN:9780691263595  

Published:Sep 24, 2024 

Pages: 256 

Size: 11.25 x 9 in. 

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Out For The Count

There's is a lot of rain due today following a rather "lively" week. Lively as in  mixed and unpredictable rather than intellectually stimulating, a week of windy days and restricted activities.

So for now I’m stuck in at the computer and able to answer a question posed by a blog reader recently - “How are you at counting pickles in a pickle jar and candy in a candy jar...guess that would make for good practice. How do you get your numbers anyway...had to ask?”. 

I’d never thought that counting pickles in a jar could be similar to counting birds but in actual fact the same principles apply. 

Here is a summary of bird counting techniques methods which I and many other birders use when out in the field. I dotted the text with photographs of groups or flocks of birds for readers’ on-going practice and consideration. 

Many birding projects ask participants to count birds, and most birders I know enjoy keeping a count of the birds they see whenever they are in the field. Counting each individual bird seen can be challenging, but it can also provide valuable information for scientific research. As populations of birds change, mostly downwards, fluctuations in counts at the same locality at the same time of year may indicate shifts in pollution levels, habitat loss, migration timing and more. 

One is simple even if it does fly off as soon as the shutter activates. After that things become more difficult.

Little Egret - One

Woodpigeons - How Many?

Annual projects such as the Breeding Bird Survey, Common Birds Census, Garden Bird Survey, BirdTrack, Wetland Bird Survey or the Ringing Scheme are different types of bird census projects which over several years accumulate a massive amount of data about numbers of birds in different locations. The data would be impossible to gather without the help of every participant. However the more accurate a count is, the more useful the data is for conservation projects and ornithological research. 

There are various ways to count birds depending on the birds present, the size of the flock and how the flock is behaving. Techniques include: 

Individual Counts: When just a few, recognisable birds are present, each individual bird can be easily counted without fear of major miscalculations. This basic one-two-three technique works best when the birds are clearly seen and slow moving so that individual birds will not be counted multiple times.

Grouping: Counting birds in numeric groups is an easy method for totalling small or medium-sized flocks. With practice birders can easily learn to count birds not one by one, but five by five, ten by ten, and with practice, fifty by fifty. This allows for a faster count while still keeping the increments small enough for precise numbers. 

Oystercatcher - 240/260?

Grids or Counting in Blocks: This counting system is most often used with larger, single species flocks where the birds are relatively stationary. The field of view is divided into a grid or block of even sections where the birds in one section are counted as close to individually as possible. Multiplying this count by the number of grids or block sections in the flock can give a reasonable estimate of the total number of birds. 

Whooper Swan - circa 65/70?

Selective Counting: When a large flock of birds has some obvious mixed species, it may be possible to selectively count all the birds easily. First, pinpoint the more unusual birds in the flock and count them individually, then use the grid/block technique on the bulk of the birds. This provides not only a good count of the flock size, but also represents the diversity of the birds present. 

Proportions: When a mixed flock has too many species for selective counting, a good estimate can be made by counting proportions of the species present. Similar to the grid/block technique, only one section of the flock is counted, but each different species is noted individually, and the proportions are used to calculate the total number of birds of each species in the entire flock. This technique is best when a flock is heavily mixed and each species is spread throughout the flock. 

Timing: When a flock is moving quickly, it can be impossible to create a grid/block or to count birds individually, since the movement will obscure other birds and make any estimate less accurate. A timing count can be used by focusing on a fixed point the flock is passing, and counting the number of birds passing that point in a certain period of time, such as a few minutes. Then the entire amount of time it takes for the whole flock to pass is noted, and the count is multiplied by the number of increments in that overall time to gauge its full size. This system can also be employed during times of visible migration or massed flight e.g. Swallows, Meadow Pipits or finches passing overhead or through a fixed point. 

Wigeon - circa 70?

Photographs: A digital photograph can be used for an accurate count if the entire flock can be photographed. The photo is then manipulated on a computer or printed out and individual birds are marked off as they are counted. This is a time-consuming method but can be very precise for a reliable count when high levels of accuracy are necessary. 

Sanderling - 65/70?

Practice is essential to develop and refine bird counting skills. The more frequently someone counts birds, the more comfortable they will be with each count made while knowing the data collected is accurate and therefore more valuable. Other ways to enhance the methods of counting birds include: 

Maintaining a notebook at hand to write down a record of birds counted, particularly when counting over a longer period of time. With notes there is less need to “guesstimate”. 

Allow for density when counting flocks, particularly when using grid or timing techniques. Birds are often less dense on the outer edges of the flock, and if grid sections are not balanced a count can be significantly off. 

Work to be as accurate as possible, but when necessary, choose to underestimate rather than overestimate the numbers of birds seen. This will help correct for any inadvertent errors, such as birds that were counted more than once. 

Counting birds can add a new dimension to birding, by not only keeping track of the numbers of birds seen but also making the birding so much more purposeful and useful for conservation science. 

Remember that counting birds may not be an exact science but it is a highly enjoyable one. 

Pink-footed Geese - +500? 

Meanwhile, and in view of the parlous state of  many bird species, I think that very soon there will be very few birds left for anyone to count.

For those of a certain age. Does the Joni Mitchell song from 1961 ring a warning bell?

Insert the word "birds" in place of "trees"

Don’t it always seem to go

That you don’t know what you’ve got ’till it’s gone?
They paved paradise, put up a parking lot.

They took all the trees
Put 'em in a tree museum
And they charged the people
A dollar and a half just to see 'em 

Please log in to Another Bird Blog soon - I'm counting on it.

Blog Post

I suddenly realised I had not blogged for ten days or more and mentioned to Floridian friends that I currently lacked inspiration for the task. It’s OK for them living in a 365 day sunshine state where a single nature reserve like Withlacoochee River State Forest consists of nearly 60,000 acres to explore! If there is anywhere here in the UK with a spare 60,000 acres, brown paper envelopes change hands and the said acres disappear under concrete in the blink of an eye. 

Gini who is wise in all things, advised me to “just slap the keyboard until a few words pop onto the screen, call it a “blog post” and her and Wally would supply the enthusiasm.” Here we go then Gini. 

The week began with good numbers of Swallows on the move. On Tuesday, an overcast mizzly morning, we drove to Garstang for food shopping and bacon butty day when it became quickly apparent that Swallows had hit their pathways south. They whizzed back and forth, left to right, feeding like mad but with a certain southerly slant. Four hours later and on the same road back there was hardly a Swallow and by this Saturday morning’s patch visit, none. Autumn had begun in earnest. 

 

Swallow

Most, about 90-95% of those migrating Swallows off to South Africa would be birds of the year, born this summer and now heading off into the unknown with just their DNA and the company of others to guide them. Magical. 

There was no ringing this week. Sidekick Andy was indisposed and mostly windy days meant that camera days came into play. 

The Common Kingfisher is an autumn and winter visitor to this part of coastal Fylde where sheltered ditches and dykes sustain a surprising number of easily missed birds. A flash of disappearing pale blue is often the view that many people experience. I snapped one midweek on a habitual gate post that is located alongside said dykes. 

Kingfisher

Kingfisher

I photographed a Little Egret in a couple of unlikely poses. Maybe it was drying out in the sunshine rather like a Cormorant or simply watching the water and reeds below and hoping for a meal? 

Little Egret

Little Egret

A young Yellow Wagtail quite liked the farmer’s midden, one of a number of wagtails on the move this week.

  

Yellow Wagtail

More than a couple of Marsh Harriers came my way. A once scarce migrant the harrier is now well established in parts North, South, East and West of here and from where its spring and autumn migrations mean it is now regularly spotted. I hear that this year a pair bred in the uplands of the Bowland Hills, an area more famous (or infamous) for the trials and tribulations of the persecuted Hen Harrier. 

The young Marsh Harrier seen here was hunting fields close to 13th Century Cockersands Abbey.

Marsh Harrier

Cockersands Abbey

 

It’s a good spot to see a Marsh Harrier or watch Wheatears using the ancient rocks as look out posts or listen to the wild cry of Curlews, much like the monks of old in around 1200AD. 

Wheatear

Saturday morning saw large numbers of Buzzards kettling as they dispersed south, a not unknown phenomena in the Fylde but made noticeable in recent years by the downturn in our local and somewhat persecuted population of Buzzards. 

The Buzzard is not a species ringed in any great numbers and one that in a dead or dying condition is probably unlikely to be reported, more so if the finder is a person with a mind to harm the species.; therefore we know little about these individuals but it seems likely they originate from less populated parts of Northern England & Scotland and disperse south & west for the approaching winter. 

Buzzard

 

Although Buzzards are known to eat mammals, birds, carrion, even earthworms and large insects when other prey is in short supply, their propensity for taking leverets and game birds released for shooting makes the species unpopular with some communities. 

The week ended badly on Friday as wine o’clock drew close we realised that the Portuguese bottle on the dining table had a cork stopper and our trusty waiter’s friend had gone missing. Panic set in until we found an Italian screw top bottle. We followed on with a quick search on Ebay to find and order a bright yellow replacement friend just in case we require a bottle opener later in the week.  

Waiter's Friend

Sue and I are not fans of most screw tops, metal closures invariably found on cheap wines with meaningless, made-up labels that try to hide the fact that it is bulk wine sloshed around in a rusty container for months on end to be eventually bottled at a Warrington post code adjacent to the Manchester Ship Canal. No thanks. 

Cork has centuries-old tradition behind it, a little like us. 

How did I do Gini?

Back soon if Wally and Gini OK this post.

 

Shopping Or Birding?

Sue took the 5C bus to go shopping. I grabbed the car and went birding. Read on to discover who got the best deal. 

The 0630 start saw me driving along a bumpy farm track at an easy going 10mph where I met up with Andy for our planned ringing session. Zero wind and a slightly misty start suggested sun, warmth and clear skies ahead. 

Birds were on the move from the off with Meadow Pipits in abundance and one or two fellow travellers. Out of the first net round we picked 3 Meadow Pipits, a Sedge Warbler and a Reed Bunting 

Sedge Warbler

Meadow Pipit

Reed Bunting

 

We had more Meadow Pipits but the initial surge of post-dawn birds did not continue in any huge way. We ended with a slightly disappointing 14 new birds – 12 Meadow Pipits, 1, Sedge Warbler and 1 Reed Bunting. 

Major disappointment came when we saw a female Sparrowhawk heading for and then landing in a mist net 30 yards away from where we sat drinking coffee while putting the world to rights. A few flaps of those wide wings together a little panic and the hawk freed itself, gone before we could get a hand on her.  

A bad-tempered Sparrowhawk out to dig its talons into your fingers always livens up a slow ringing session. 

Sparrowhawk

 

We didn’t see the hawk again and settled for views of other raptors, a Marsh Harrier and a Kestrel. The Marsh Harrier was the fifth or sixth sighting of this autumn when it arrived from an easterly direction and then continued in deep V profile as it flew purposefully west and out of sight. 

The Kestrel crossed our line of sight rapidly with typically strong and consistent wing beats, quite unlike the pumping wings and flat glides of a Sparrowhawk. 

Kestrel

Andy had an appointment and left at 1030. I sat in the car hide for a while and grabbed a few pictures in the morning light. Along came a few Linnets, Pied Wagtails and a single Yellow Wagtail – nice! 

Yellow Wagtail

Linnet

Pied Wagtail

Back home I had a short nap until woken by the Happy Shopper returning home home and handing me a dog-eared debit card.  Today's financial advice - buy shares in Marks & Spencer. 

Back soon folks. Enjoy your days whatever you do. 

Autumn Arrives

Friday produced my first autumnal Kingfisher of 2024, whizzing back and forth across farmland drainage ditches, enough stimulus to inspire another visit on Sunday morning where I hoped for more pictures. At the same place, and if the wind speed stayed low as predicted, maybe catch and ring a few other species. 

Kingfisher

 

As an early season  breeding species of inland waters the Kingfisher is a surprisingly early returnee to coastal Fylde where the tiny and seemingly fragile fisherman is able to make a winter living wherever there’s a spot to watch, wait and then plunge. 

August and September can be an ideal time to look out for their arrival. Warmed by The Irish Sea our coastal waters here remain ice and snow free during most winters when just 15/20 miles away near Preston or Garstang the reverse can be true. 

Almost four hours later there was neither sight nor sound of a Kingfisher; such are the vagaries of trying to predict migration or to second guess a species like Kingfisher, its habits or whereabouts. 

At first, and for an hour or so, the wind was non-existent. A single net in the open except for the minimal background of vegetated fence posts remained unwavering and strangely still, quite unlike our frequently blown away ringing sessions. It wasn’t to last but in the meantime I caught in double figures, 9 Meadow Pipits and a single Willow Warbler. 

Meadow Pipit - first summer

Willow Warbler - first summer

As the wind speed increased so did the birds with a rather sudden but splendid arrival of dozens of Meadow Pipit, Linnet and wagtails, as if they had all waited for a breeze to give them lift off from the runway. Bright morning sunlight gave photo opportunities whereby the strengthening breeze mattered not. 

By now Meadow Pipits poured through with a rough count of 100+, joined in their arrival with mainly Pied Wagtails (30+), Linnets (45+) and even a couple each of Great-spotted Woodpecker and Sedge Warbler. 

Click the pics for close-ups.

Pied Wagtail

Meadow Pipit

Pied Wagtail

Stock Dove

Linnet

Linnet

 

Great-spotted Woodpecker

Linnet

Meadow Pipit

Sedge Warbler

Back soon folks. Take care out there, it's a funny old world at the moment.

Another Bird Blog.