Red Grouse by Ian Dickey

 

 

Two Northern Irish photographers shared some exceptional images of Red Grouse in flight in the BirdGuides gallery this week. A special shout-out to Jonathan Rosborough for his brilliant contributions, one of which is shown below, but ultimately it was this beautifully backlit shot above from Ian Dickey which just edged our latest Photo of the Week award.

Superbly framed against a moorland backdrop, the grouse is pin sharp – no easy feat for such a fast-flying bird – and caught in an arresting pose as it flies past the photographer. A closer look at the grouse itself reveals the stunning intricacies of its plumage, allowing the viewer to appreciate just what a gorgeous bird this is – and timely, too, given this could soon become a British and Irish endemic species, with a split from Willow Grouse having recently been proposed by the IOC.

 

Other notable images

 

Red-breasted Goose, Cley Marshes NWT, Norfolk (Tony Davison).

Common Buzzard, undisclosed site, Wiltshire (Geoff Snowball).

Red Grouse, Antrim Hills (Jonathan Rosborough).

Purple Sandpiper, Redcar, Cleveland (Nathaniel Dargue).

Northern Lapwing, Shrewsbury, Shropshire (Tony Webb).

Glaucous-winged Gull, Stjørdal, Trøndelag (Arnt Stavne).

Peregrine Falcon, Murcia, Murcia (Marc Fasol).

Common Kingfisher, Ferry Meadows CP, Cambridgeshire (John Atkins).

American Robin, Eastbourne, East Sussex (Tom Hines).

Dipper, Bradford Dale, Derbyshire (Ian Bollen).

Waxwing, Trondheim, Trøndelag (Arnt Stavne).

Yellow-browed Warbler, Dungarvan, Waterford (Tom Murphy).

Corn Bunting, Wyke Down, Dorset (Jeremy Mcclements).