Great Shearwater by Joe Pender
A pelagic trip is by far the best way to photograph elusive seabirds that never come close enough to land for decent images.
Joe Pender has the advantage over most of us by having his own boat and running trips on a regular basis off the Isles of Scilly during summer; he has also developed his photographic skills over the years so that he can take wonderful shots like this week's winning capture of a Great Shearwater.
Hand-holding a big lens on a swaying boat is always a challenging task but using a 400mm lens and shooting at 1/3200th second has done the job — although I should imagine there were a few shots of birds without wingtips as the boat bobbed up and down!
Congratulations to Joe on his Photo of the Week, the 30th winning shot of the year; it's hard to believe we are now in August and t's already the start of autumn!
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
Little Owl, undisclosed site, Norfolk (Photo: Mick Green)
Spotted Flycatcher, undisclosed site, Suffolk (Photo: John Richardson)
Little Grebe, Frampton Marsh RSPB, Lincolnshire (Photo: Nigel Deacon)
Wood Sandpiper, Boyton Marshes RSPB, Suffolk (Photo: John Richardson)
Dunlin, Seaton Marshes, Devon (Photo: Tim White)
Reed Bunting, St. Aidan's RSPB (Swillington Ings), West Yorkshire (Photo: Gary Vause)
Western Swamphen, Minsmere RSPB, Suffolk (Photo: Craig Shaw)
Tawny Owl, undisclosed site, Devon (Photo: Steve Hatch)
Linnet, undisclosed site, Clwyd (Photo: Andy Davis)
Corn Bunting, Salisbury Plain, Wiltshire (Photo: Phil Gower)
