2008: Animal Portraits - Highly Commended
Andreas Byrne (United Kingdom)
Car-park robins
'I went to the gardens at the Devon home of Edwardian scientist Otto Overbeck. As soon as I arrived, two robins landed on my car aerial and then hopped up to me. I put my camera on its widest setting and one robin hopped to within 30 centimetres of it. Thus a strip of tarmac proved to be as rewarding, photographically, as Overbeck's exotic gardens.' In spite of its friendly image, the robin is territorial and highly aggressive towards other robins. Adult males and females look the same, but males distinguish potential mates from rivals by song. Both sexes sing to defend their territories, but females are less vocal and their songs are shorter.
Canon A620 compact + fixed zoom lens; 1/50 sec at f8; ISO 100.
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Adult awards Grouper grab Aaron Wong
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Adult awards Angry queen Piotr Naskrecki
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