2010: The Gerald Durrell Award for Endangered Species - Highly Commended
Jari Peltomäki (Finland)
Pelican pack
By February, when Jari arrived at Lake Kerkini, many of the Dalmatian pelicans were already in their breeding plumage, the males displaying their orange-red throat pouches. Numbers have declined dramatically, but in winter, hundreds congregate on the lake in northern Greece. 'Local fishermen have a special relationship with them and feed them scraps,' says Jari. 'The pelicans follow the men around, and so I tagged along, too.' He used a floating hide to get the water-level angle he needed. His aim was to light them with the rising sun against a backdrop of the snow-covered mountains - which he did, to perfection, as the birds reached skyward for scraps thrown from a nearby boat.
Canon EOS-1D Mark III + 70-200mm f2.8 lens; 1/2000 sec at f10; ISO 800; angled viewfinder + Finnature ground pod.
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