The theme for the February 2018 competition was On the Beach.  We will accept pictures of birds on a beach – sand, pebbles, mud, or (stretching the definition of beach a little) rock shelf – or birds in/over water adjacent to a beach; we will also accept pictures of birds on beach structures (eg. piers, boat-ramps, etc). We will NOT accept photos of birds in trees (including mangroves) on/beside a beach, birds on cliff-sides, or birds on/over the open ocean (eg images taken during a pelagic trip).  Since Australia has an extensive coastline, there’s lots of beach, so plenty of opportunity for this competition; but Australia also has lots of inland, and so in order not to disadvantage members who don’t make it to the coast, we’ll also consider that “beach” applies to beach-like sections of riverbanks and lake shores (rivers and lakes must contain water – Lake Eyre in the dry season is not acceptable).

The results of member voting for the top 5 images in each category are listed here.  In line with many other bird/wildlife photo competitions, we present the results in the following manner: the Winner is the image which received the most votes; and we also show the next four highest placed images, rating them as Highly Commended if they received at least 90% of the votes for the winning image, and Commended for scores less than that.

Advanced Level – On The Beach

This category attracted 66 entries, from 20 photographers. 41 members voted, with the following result:

• Winner - Red-necked Stint, by Wilson Lennard (Image no longer available)
• Commended - Pied Stilt, by Wilson Lennard (Image no longer available)
• Commended - Red-necked Avocet, by Wilson Lennard (Image no longer available)
• Commended - Hooded Plover, by Wilson Lennard (Image no longer available)
• Commended - Red-capped Plover, by Dick Jenkin (Image ID 29460)

Intermediate Level – On The Beach

This category attracted 104 entries, from 32 photographers. 41 members voted, with the following result:

• Winner - Australian Pied Oystercatcher, by Adam S Kraska (Image ID 29297)
• Commended - Fairy Tern, by Cherilyn Corker (Image ID 29679)
• Commended - Osprey, by Angela Jansz (Image ID 29733)
• Commended - Pied Cormorant, by John Eley (Image ID 29439)
• Commended - Hooded Plover, by Doug Castle (Image ID 29363)

Entry Level – On The Beach

This category attracted 47 entries, from 16 photographers. 46 members voted, with the following result:

• Winner - Wandering Tattler, by Warren Bennett (Image ID 29308)
• Commended - Great Knot, by Anne Burgess (Image ID 29670)
• Commended - Eastern Reef Egret, by Warren Bennett (Image ID 29313)
• Commended - Australian Pied Oystercatcher, by Carol Trevanion (Image ID 29686)
• Commended - Australian Pied Oystercatcher, by Rose Wisemantel (Image ID 29700)