House Martin by Dick Groves 

 

 

In a strong week for submissions, this unusual House Martin image from Dick Groves caught the eye here at BirdGuides. Taken this week in Seville, southern Spain, it depicts a bird coming to drink from a swimming pool. Spain is suffering from a horrendous heatwave at the moment, with temperatures in excess of 45°C recorded, and the birds need every respite they can get – which is presumably what is driving them to use this man-made water supply.

While this image highlights the very serious weather situation being felt across a big portion of Europe at the moment, it can also be appreciated for its artistic qualities. The wonderful turquoise and buff reflections of the water give an almost psychedelic quality to the image, while Dick has done a fantastic job to freeze this action, which one can imagine happening in the blink of an eye. It might have been nice to see a bit more of the martin's reflection in the water to add an extra element to the image, but this is nonetheless a powerful and eye-catching photo that Dick should be very proud of. 

 

Other notable images

 

Black-browed Albatross, Bempton Cliffs RSPB, East Yorkshire (Steve Race).

Bulwer's Petrel, Madeira , Portugal (Martin Loftus).

Puffin, Skomer, Pembrokeshire (Robert Cox).

Western Cattle Egret, Saltholme RSPB, Cleveland (Bob Howe).

Eurasian Spoonbill, Cley Marshes NWT, Norfolk (Kev Joynes).

Eurasian Spoonbill, Frampton Marsh RSPB, Lincolnshire (Robyn Dalton).

Common Crane, Otmoor RSPB, Oxfordshire (Steven Brown).

Great Crested Grebe, Wilstone Reservoir, Hertfordshire (Suzy Bristow).

Lesser Yellowlegs, Normandy Marsh, Hampshire (Matthew Barfield).

Black-winged Stilt, Potteric Carr YWT, South Yorkshire (Andrew Jordan).

Long-tailed Skua, Gednje, Norway (Richard Pittam).

Caspian Tern, Cowpen Marsh, Cleveland (Bob Howe).

Common Swift, Loscoe Dam, Derbyshire (Robert Booth).

Yellow Wagtail, undisclosed site, Wiltshire (Geoff Snowball).