Eider lift-off - Stig Frode Olsen - Wildlife Photographer of the Year2006

2006: The Gerald Durrell Award for Endangered Species - Winner

Stig Frode Olsen Enlarge image Eider lift-off

Stig Frode Olsen (Norway)

Eider lift-off

Running on the surface, with much splashing and slapping of wings, the heavy male spectacled eider needed a 'runway' of several metres to achieve lift-off. He and his mate were feeding in an ice-free area of a lake in the far north of Alaska. Setting up his tripod beside the lake, Stig watched the pair as they fed in the open water. 'I noticed they flew off several times a day to a nearby pond that was fairly ice-free,' says Stig, 'possibly because they had a nest site close by'. He was soon able to anticipate their departures and so was well prepared for this shot. Spectacled eiders breed mainly in three coastal areas of Alaska and Russia, and winter out in the Bering Sea. In Alaska, their numbers have dropped greatly over the past decades. Why is not known, but recent changes in the populations of prey, such as bottom-living molluscs and crustaceans in the Bering Sea, and disturbance by bottom-trawling fisheries may be major problems.

Canon 20D with 300mm f2.8 lens and 2x converter; 1/1600 sec at f5.6; 200 ISO; tripod.

This photograph is available to buy as a print.