My thanks to Birdlife Photography Group and to every Advanced Level entrant for giving me the opportunity to immerse myself, for several days, in a wonderful world of wrens. Having judged at international and national levels it has been particularly enjoyable to see so many expertly and ethically taken bird shots. I’ve savoured each photograph many times and have imagined early mornings filled with birdsong, serendipitous moments and insect bites.

Choosing winners in a competition of this standard is bound to be tricky. My initial scoring gave me too many winners so I started afresh but instead of losing a few I gained some - which illustrates the high quality of the entries. Clearly I had to be more pedantic, sometimes culling shots due to relatively minor issues with cropping, sharpness, exposure, head/body angles, perch and background distractions. 

For the winning shots I looked for for aesthetically pleasing, technically excellent images of subjects with backgrounds that give a sense of place.

Winner: Southern Emu-wren, by Steve Mantle (Image ID 48274)

This exquisite dawn shot of a Southern Emu-wren is captivating. The sharpness of the Southern Emu-wren and its perch (which I know as Xanthorrhoea rather than spear grass) is perfect. There is a very slight softness at the end of the tail feathers which is probably DOF but could be slight movement - either way it enhances the image, giving a sense of movement, a slight breeze perhaps. The bird’s stance is beautiful, I love the way its wing is held out a little, adding to the feeling that the image has been captured while the bird is moving. Although the comments mention eye-contact I feel as though the bird is looking to the right of the photographer, which I prefer. I like the idea of the bird having been captured as its going about its business, rather than having been distracted by a photographer. The colour, feather detail and catchlight are all exemplary. The background is heavily blurred which allows the emu-wren to stand out while still giving a sense of place. The crop emphasises how tiny the bird is and gives room for the bird to look into while a sense of balance is achieved by the bird’s tail being the same length as the grass tree. An outstanding shot in stunning light, congratulations.

Highly Commended: Superb Fairywren, by Mary Wheeler (Image ID 48493)

This is a magnificent, story-telling image that depicts a lively interaction in the matriarchal world of Superb Fairywrens. It takes a high degree of expertise to capture an action shot like this, especially to have set the aperture and shutter speed to enable all three fairywrens to be sharply depicted. The blurring of the dominant female’s left wing and the male’s right wing add to the drama. The female’s wing, and the shadow it creates, give her the look of a caped avenger. At first I thought it was a shame the behaviour had occurred on this tree stump but the cropping has been handled well with the detailed lefthand side of the stump serving as a leading line taking us straight back to the action. The colour of the stump is echoed in the lores, bills and eye rings of the female birds. I commend the photographer for having the skills to capture this fascinating behaviour so adroitly.  

Commended: Eyrean Grasswren, by Barry Deacon (Image ID 48552)

A spectacular shot of this stunning little bird. The low angle gives an intimate connection with the bird and its sandy environment and the crop works well with the bird having space to look into. The shallow DOF isolates the bird and highlights the grains of sand at its feet while blurring the foreground and background. The grasswren’s tail is also blurred but not, to my eye distracting. There are a couple of tiny areas where the whites are blown but these are insignificant. My only suggestion with this image is to make the tiny mound of focused sand on the lefthand edge of the image less obvious as it draws the eye away from the bird and out of the image; lifting the blacks in this area, and blurring it a little, or not including it in the overall sharpening could work well. A beautiful shot with a magical quality enhanced by the skilful use of settings. 

Commended: Superb Fairywren, by Con Duyvestyn (Image ID 48684)

What a superbly sweet shot of this young male Superb Fairywren as it preens. The keywords identify this bird as female but the lack of brown lores and the fact that the bill has started turning black, indicate a young male. The rim lighting on the right hand side of the fairywren brings my eye up and around where I then follow the bird's gaze along its extended wing, taking in the fine backlit detail of its flight feathers. The soft pastel background gives a misty feel to the image while the perch itself points towards the action. I’d suggest reducing the sharpening on top of the perch and on the bird’s right foot. This is a magical shot that immediately caught my attention. 

Commended: Variegated Fairywren, by Gary King (Image ID 48521)

This is an instantly appealing image of a female fairywren in her habitat. By cropping the image this way the foliage seems to form a protective cave around her while pointing towards her. She is beautifully sharp with just the tiniest loss of detail in her white underparts. I’d like to see more intensity in the blacks, or the shadows increased to give more contrast to the image and more definition to the bird. Overall a beautiful shot with the colours well handled. 

Commended: Red-backed Fairywren, by Steve Mantle (Image ID 48356)

We all need as many smiles as we can get at the moment, and this ‘bird in hop’ shot certainly provides a smile. Some photographers speak disparagingly about birds and sticks but they often go together and I look beyond that to other elements of the image. The colour of the prey stands out dramatically against the bird while the heavily blurred background gives an impression of place while ensuring the fairywren stands out. As mentioned by the maker, the slight blurring of the bird’s feet conveys movement. It’s especially good to see detail in the blacks. Fabulous shot. 

Commended:  Splendid Fairywren, by Nathan Watson (Image ID 48722)

A big WOW for impact and for the idea of capturing this shot. Seeing this bird silhouetted so beautifully against the moon is magical and unique. The crop choice is excellent. I especially like being able to see to the end of the branch, and the flurry of leaves in the bottom left gives a sense of the rest of the tree. Although the specific bird species can’t be identified in this shot, it is clearly a fairywren and to my mind definitely deserves inclusion in my final list. Congratulations. 

Special Mention: Splendid Fairywren, by Jason Moore (Image ID 48767)  Another beaut shot taken from ground level, emphasising our connection with the bird in its grassy habitat. The shallow depth of field used for this image is particularly effective in relation to the ground but has impacted the bird a little. Artifacts from post processing, dodging, are visible between the bird's tail feathers and along its underbelly and rump. This appears to be an oversight, maybe from using a masked adjustment brush, and is easily fixed. The way this bird stands in its grassy, softly lit, environment is very effective. 

Special Mention: Red-winged Fairywren, by Jim Schulz (Image ID 48597)  This Red-winged Fairywren is sitting prettily among the softly lit greenery. It is perfectly sharp with some loss of detail in the whites. I’d suggest using an adjustment brush to drop the highlights on the white feathers and especially on the brighter leaves as they are distracting. This is lovely shot of this bird nestled in its environment, I can just imagine it disappearing in the blink of an eye.

Special Mention: Superb Fairywren, by Sandy Castle (Image ID 47985)  What a joyous image of this fairywren singing. The bird is well focused and stands out against the dark background. Leaving extra space to the right of the bird gives room for it to look into and also seems to leave space for its voice to travel. I recommend dropping the highlights on the perch and darkening them further at each end to help keep focus on the fairywren. This is a lovely, uplifting image. 

Special Mention: White-winged Fairywren, by Steve Mantle (Image ID 48276)  This is a dramatic shot of a White-winged Fairywren in its natural environment. As mentioned in the comments, the angle of the bird’s tail is reflected in the upright vegetation although I do find that the tallest stem competes with the bird for attention. Cloning is not permitted in official nature photography but I'd recommend trying a gradual reduction of highlights on the top half of that stem. White-winged Fairywrens aren’t easy birds to photograph but this shot shows admirable detail in the feathers and is sharp from the tip of its bill to the end of its tail. An extremely well-captured portrait. 

Special Mention: White-browed Scrubwren, by Doug Castle (Image ID 47947)  The soft colours in this shot and the way the scrubwren has tiny leaves across its head, are very engaging. The dewdrops on the flower spikes add to the magical feel as do the way the colours of the blurred background relate to the colours of the bird and the plant. The placement of the bird in the image isn’t well balanced, I’d try cropping flower spike on the left, and if possible, adding a little more to the bottom and the right to keep the aspect ratio balanced. I like that the tall flower spike is completely in the image. The bird has room to look into but that feeling is compromised due to the extra space on the left. A memorable image, with a beautifully sharp little scrubwren.