Wildlife Photographer of the Year

Joe McDonald (United States of America)

Winged termite feast

The evening before Joe took this photograph in Kenya's Masai Mara Game Reserve, it had rained, which triggered an explosion of termites colonising a small sapling. Part of the shrub was dead, and a hollow branch acted as a funnel out of which the winged reproductive forms of the insect streamed on their way to a mating orgy. It's a common sight in the short rainy season, and many birds take advantage of this feast, either in the air or when the termites land and discard their wings to mate on the ground. Grey kestrels normally feed on rodents, small birds and reptiles, but this one tucked into the insects with relish, completely ignoring Joe's vehicle as he crept closer. 'Periodically, clouds of termites erupted, sometimes coating the kestrel in scrambling bodies,' says Joe, 'but it ignored them and simply snapped up those swarming around its feet.'

Nikon F5 with 300mm lens; Fujichrome Provia 100; strobe with fresnel lens; tripod with ball head.