Tim writes: every autumn Grizzly Bears move down to the rivers to feed on spawning salmon, which enables them to put on enough fat to sustain them through hibernation. This is a huge battle-scarred male with a collapsed ear that scattered all the smaller bears when he arrived on the scene. This was taken at…
Category: THE PHOTOGRAPHS: by Tim Melling, Oscar Dewhurst, Paul Leyland, Guy Shorrock, Brian Leecey
Oscar Dewhurst – Raccoon
Oscar writes: while I was in Canada, I had a day to myself in Vancouver, so jumped on a bus and headed to Stanley Park in the hope of finding some wildlife to photograph. The Raccoons there are very confiding, presumable because they are fed by the visitors there, so I spent a couple…
Tim Melling – Harlequins
Tim writes: I think Harlequins are one of the most beautiful ducks in the world. They breed in Iceland, Greenland, northern North America and eastern Asia. These two were floating in the surf off the Vancouver Island coast. I have always found them to be quite unapproachable, which might explain their scientific name (Histrionicus histrionicus),…
Bird Photographer of the Year
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I’m looking forward to being a judge of this competition for another year – it was fun last year. If you are a photographer with some great images that would fit into the categories of this competition then have a look through your images and consider entering. Yes, the standard is high but you…
Paul Leyland – Tansy Beetle
The Tansy Beetle Chrysolina graminis is a wonderfully iridescent leaf beetle about 1cm long. It was once widespread in the UK but now has a severely limited range. The main site is along the banks of the River Ouse as it flows through York, with a much smaller, recently discovered, population at Woodwalton Fen. There…
Tim Melling – Northern Harrier
Tim writes: this is a wild Northern Harrier giving me eye-to-eye contact as it flew right over my head at Reifel Bird Sanctuary near Vancouver. It is a youngster, hatched this year and identifiable by the rufous wash on its underparts. I can also identify this as a juvenile male because it has greenish eyes. …
Oscar Dewhurst – Bald Eagle
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Oscar writes: One of my housemates at university last year lives in Canada, so as a post-graduation trip a few of us went out to see him for a couple of weeks. For part of this trip we spent a few days at their cabin, where a pair of Bald Eagles happened to have a…
Tim Melling – Anna’s Hummingbird
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Tim writes: The Anna’s Hummingbird is about 10cm from bill tip to tail and weighs less than five grams. It was named after Princess Anna d’Essling the 19th century Duchess of Rivoli, wife of Prince Victor Massena and son of one of Napoleon’s Marshalls. It was named by René Lesson, a French naturalist who also…
Paul Leyland – Heineken Hoverfly
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Not many hoverflies have English names and even this one has a fairly recent history. Due to its long proboscis, up to 13mm, it can apparently reach the parts other hoverflies can’t, this coupled with a popular beer advert, made the name inevitable. However I think most hoverfly enthusiasts will still use its Latin name,…
Guy Shorrock – Puffin
The ‘Clown of the Sea’ is no laughing matter The Atlantic Puffin – familiar, comical and extraordinarily popular. During my bird watching youth I considered this a common species. So, within my short lifetime, it is hard to conceive the catastrophe that appears to be unfolding as populations of puffins and other familiar seabirds –…