Hen Harrier by John Clark
A wonderful flying capture of a male Hen Harrier by John Clark is this week's winning image. This is a really lovely shot, with a perfect exposure revealing incredible underwing feather detail as the bird banks in front of the photographer.
This shot also illustrates the quality of today's top cameras and lenses, being taken at 1/1600th second at f11 on ISO 8000, while using a 500mm lens combined with a 2× converter.
Congratulations to John on winning our Photo of the Week award. We now enter the final two months of an incredible year for stunning images — what else is to come?
You can read more on bird photography from Steve Young, including product reviews and a regular Photo Challenge for readers, every month in Birdwatch magazine.
Other notable images
Pine Bunting, Bressay, Shetland (Photo: Richard Bonser)
Black-throated Accentor, Finland (Photo: Petteri Hytönen)
Coues' Arctic Redpoll, Lerwick, Mainland, Shetland (Photo: Brendan Doe)
Red Kite, Llanddeusant, Carmarthen (Photo: Wayne Davies)
Purple Sandpiper, Hengistbury Head, Dorset (Photo: Joe)
Eastern Black Redstart, Skinningrove, Cleveland (Photo: Jim Almond)
Desert Wheatear, Cley Marshes NWT, Norfolk (Photo: Jaz)
Little Egret, Pennington Flash CP, Greater Manchester (Photo: John Tymon)
Hoopoe, Hazlewood Marshes SWT, Suffolk (Photo: Jeff Higgott)
Stonechat, Frampton Marsh RSPB, Lincolnshire (Photo: Russell Hayes)
Cattle Egret, Slimbridge WWT, Gloucestershire (Photo: Roy Shilham)
Ring-billed Gull, Canada (Photo: Mr.D.T. Greenwood)
Shore Lark, Hayling Island, Hampshire (Photo: Paul Loader)
Pied Wheatear, Redcar, Cleveland (Photo: Brian Martin)
Long-tailed Duck, Musselburgh, Lothian (Photo: S Gillies)
Egyptian Plover, Gambia (Photo: Ed Hutchings)