Guillemots by Venke Ivarrud

 

 

This divine image of two 'bridled' Guillemots, taken in Svalbard by Norwegian photographer Venke Ivarrud, is superbly composed and is this week's outstanding photo.

With its simple black, white and grey colour scheme, this image has a 'pure' quality to it and is beautifully composed, highlighting the striking eye-rings of the two seabirds. The so-called 'bridled' form becomes increasingly prevalent the further north you go, with it relatively uncommon around most British coasts but around one in two on Svalbard showing these white 'spectacles'.

Congratulations to Venke on this imaginatively composed winner!

 

Other notable images

 

African Fish Eagle, Mana Pools, Zimbabwe (Richard Allan).

Eurasian Sparrowhawk, Burton Marsh, Cheshire (Mark Woodhead).

Long-tailed Skua, Cley next the Sea, Norfolk (Andy Thompson).

Great Skua, Unst, Shetland (Dante Shepherd).

Arctic Skua, Svalbard, Norway (Venke Ivarrud).

Little Stint, Filey Dams YWT, North Yorkshire (Christopher Bell).

Curlew Sandpiper, Frampton Marsh RSPB, Lincolnshire (Ian Bollen).

Pectoral Sandpiper, Pennington Marshes, Hampshire (Ian Wells).

Greater Sand Plover, Redcar, Cleveland (Peter Garrity).

Greenshank, Slimbridge WWT, Gloucestershire (Jonathan Bull).

Citrine Wagtail, Kilnsea, East Yorkshire (Paul Coombes).

Whinchat, Burton Marsh, Cheshire (Frank Burns).

Spotted Flycatcher, Skiathos, Greece (Ian Wells).

Pied Flycatcher, Unst, Shetland (Dante Shepherd).