Our 2020 Members Survey closed on Sunday 20^th September; we were pleased to receive responses from 350 members.  The winner of the random draw for responding with the first 14 days was Jacob Crisp, who will soon receive a $200 gift voucher from Ted's Cameras.

A document containing all the survey responses is available in the Our Articles - Science & Surveys page; this document is member-only access.  We are preparing a summary document to highlight the important findings from this survey,

BirdLife Australia member Margaret Crane is organising an art show in October, with the theme "Birds of a Feather".  She would like to show some bird videos in the background, of birds that are seen on the New South Wales coast.  The video footage need not have been taken on the NSW coast, but should show species that occur there; it should not include people in the shot.  If you can assist, please contact Margaret directly: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

BirdLife Photography members are once again well represented in this year's results for two prestigous international competitions.

Georgina Steytler won the Best Portfolio Award in the Bird Photographer of the Year 2020 competition.  Those who follow her on Instagram will have seen a number of photos she's taken recently with her new Olympus mirrorless camera.  Glenn Pure also did well in this competition, with two Commended images in the Best Portrait category and one in the Bird Behaviour category.

Seven members were in the shortlisted finalists of the Australian Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year competition.  They were Kim Wormald and Gary Meredith in the Animal Behaviour category, Keith Lightbody and Claire Greenwell in the Threatened Species category, Lea Scaddan and David Stowe in the Animal Portrait category, and Elizabeth Oxnam in the Botanical category,

Congratulations to all these photographers for their excellent work - well done!

Our Mystery Reviewers have completed their assessments of the images in each level of the Head and Bill competition; their ratings are as follows:

Advanced Level – Head and Bill

• Winner: Glossy Black-Cockatoo, by Con Duyvestyn (Image ID 41173)
• Highly Commended: Palm Cockatoo, by Doug Castle (Image ID 41203)
• Commended: Gang-gang Cockatoo, by Stephen Garth (Image ID 41069)
• Commended: Brown Goshawk, by Kim Wormald (Image ID 41324)
• Commended: Musk Lorikeet, by Stephen Garth (Image ID 41013)

Intermediate Level – Head and Bill

• Winner: Little Pied Cormorant, by Steven Roe (Image ID 41735)
• Highly Commended: Black Swan, by Nathan Watson (Image ID 41009)
• Highly Commended: Southern Royal Albatross, by Chris Young (Image ID 41820)
• Commended: Australian Brush Turkey, by Chris Young (Image ID 41405)
• Commended: Emu, by Barry Deacon (Image ID 41473)
• Commended: Green Rosella, by Chris Young (Image ID 40457)
• Commended: Pacific Black Duck, by Michiko Iida (Image No. 41164)
• Commended: Osprey, by Chris Young (Image ID 41417)
• Commended: Little Corella, by John Eley (Image ID 41141)
• Commended: Olive-backed Oriole, by Mary Wheeler (Image ID 41630)

Entry Level – Head and Bill

• Winner - Emu, by Glenda Gore (Image ID 41589)
• Highly Commended - Great Egret, by Evelyn Player (Image ID 41575)
• Commended - Galah, by Lorraine Gordon (Image ID 41420)
• Commended - Australian King Parrot, by Alison Bowling (Image ID 40899)
• Commended - Great Frigatebird, by Diana Vine (Image ID 40855)
• Commended - Fan-tailed Cuckoo, by Donna Evans (Image ID 41561)
• Special Mention - Galah, by Indrani Pathirage (Image ID 41768)
• Special Mention - Little Wattlebird, by Evelyn Player (Image ID 41582)
• Special Mention - Australian Raven, by Graham Gall (Image ID 40866)

The Mystery Reviewer Critiques are available in the Resources - Mystery Reviewer Critiques page.  Critiques published within the last two years are only visible to our members; you must be logged in to the site to see them.

Member voting for the Head and Bill competition, which closed for entries on 10^th August and for voting on 31^st August, has been analysed and the results for the top five images (or more, in the case of a tie) in each category are listed here.  This competition received excellent support from the membership, with 368 images entered across the 3 competition levels by 119 photographers.  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 – Head and Bill

This category attracted 101 entries, from 32 photographers. 50 members voted, with the following result:

• Winner - Brown Goshawk, by Kim Wormald (Image ID 41324)
• Commended - Gang-gang Cockatoo, by Stephen Garth (Image ID 41069)
• Commended - Yellow-faced Honeyeater, by Bill Harding (Image ID 40840)
• Commended - Musk Duck, by Jason Moore (Image ID 41677)
• Commended - Glossy Black-Cockatoo, by Con Duyvestyn (Image ID 41173)

Intermediate Level – Head and Bill

This category attracted 167 entries, from 55 photographers. 58 members voted, with the following result:

• Winner - Brolga, by Barry Deacon (Image ID 41558)
• Commended - Australasian Darter, by Bruce Howard (Image ID 40871)
• Commended - Superb Fairy-wren, by Mary Wheeler (Image ID 41346)
• Commended - Pacific Black Duck, by Michiko Iida (Image ID 41164)
• Commended - Brown Goshawk, by Gunther Frensch (Image ID 40936)
• Commended - Chiming Wedgebill, by Les George (Image ID 41518)

Entry Level – Head and Bill

This category attracted 100 entries, from 32 photographers. 55 members voted, with the following result:

• Winner - Tawny Frogmouth, by Evelyn Player (Image ID 41569)
• Commended - Great Frigatebird, by Diana Vine (Image ID 40855)
• Commended - Fan-tailed Cuckoo, by Donna Evans (Image ID 41561)
• Commended - Australian Raven, by Graham Gall (Image ID 40866)
• Commended - Galah, by Lorraine Gordon (Image ID 41420)

Congratulations to all these photographers for their quality images.

Our 2021 Photo Competitions for BirdLife Photography members will have the following themes:

1. Best of 2020.  Up to four of your best bird shots taken during 2020.
2. Cranes, Storks, Crakes, Rails and Swamphens.  There should be something for everyone here. The following species are eligible: Brolga, Sarus Crane, Black-necked Stork, Lewin’s Rail, Buff-banded Rail, Lord Howe Woodhen, Chestnut Rail. Red-necked Crake, Red-legged Crake, Ruddy-breasted Crake, Baillon’s Crake, Australian Spotted Crake, Spotless Crake, White-browed Crake, Australasian Swamphen. Pale-vented Bush-hen, Watercock, White-breasted Waterhen, Eurasian Coot, Dusky Moorhen, Common Moorhen, Black-tailed Native-hen and Tasmanian Native-hen.
3. Birds in the Landscape.  The challenge here is to photograph the bird in the landscape. The bird needs to be big enough to ensure that it is clearly identifiable as does the habitat/landscape in which it lives. Comments need to address both the bird and the habitat/landscape. For example, what is the landscape/habitat and is it a typical or unusual location for the species. No birds on sticks with a clear background required here. Examples are fruit-doves in rainforest trees, finches feeding on grass seeds, chats in heathland, kingfishers overlooking and including the stream, water-birds in wetlands, estuaries or beaches etc.
4. Wrens.  The final competition for 2021 includes any species with “wren” as part of its common name (more than 30 species around Australia). It includes Emu-wrens, Fairy-wrens, Grasswrens, Fernwren, Fieldwrens, Heathwrens and Scrubwrens.

Except for the Best of 2020 competition, all entries must have been taken within three years of the opening date of the competition; this is a change to our standard competition rules.  The competition dates are now available, on the 2021 Competition Themes page.

The BirdLife Australia Photography Awards competition - the national competition run jointly by BirdLife Photography and BirdLife Australia - closed for entries on 3rd August.  This year a record 6,200 entries were received, over half within the last three days of the competition.  Entries are being processed, and judging will be underway as soon as possible.

Our Mystery Reviewers have completed their assessments of the images in each level of the Finches and Chats competition; their ratings are as follows:

Advanced Level – Finches and Chats

• Winner (equal): Star Finch, by Bill Harding (Image ID 39769)
• Winner (equal): Zebra Finch, by Stephen Garth (Image ID 39852)
• Highly Commended: Doubled-barred Finch, by Sandy Castle (Image ID 39815)
• Commended: White-fronted Chat, by Scott Rolph (Image ID 40490)
• Commended: White-fronted Chat, by Gary King (Image ID 39975)
• Commended: Chestnut-breasted Mannikin, by Bill Harding (Image ID 39736)
• Commended: Red-browed Firetail, by John Cooper (Image ID 39899)
• Commended: Diamond Firetail, by John Cooper (Image ID 39894)
• Commended: Diamond Firetail, by Brian O’Leary (Image ID 39846)
• Special Mention: Gouldian Finch, Masked Finch, by Gary King (Image ID 39892)
• Special Mention: Chestnut-breasted Mannikin, by Terence Alexander (Image ID 40543)
• Special Mention: Orange Chat, by Wilson Lennard (Image ID 40355)
• Special Mention: Red-eared Firetail, by Stephen Garth (Image ID 40149)

Intermediate Level – Finches and Chats

• Winner: Orange Chat, by Linda Unwin  (Image ID 40386)
• Commended: Red-browed Finch, by Paul Jensen (Image ID 40169)
• Commended: White-fronted Chat, by Les George (Image ID 39985)
• Commended: Crimson Chat, by Les George (Image ID 39986)
• Commended: Double-barred Finch, by Allan Rose (Image ID 40243)
• Commended: Double-barred Finch, by Bruce McNaughton (Image ID 40457)
• Commended: Zebra Finch, by Woody Woodhouse (Image No. 40552)
• Commended: Crimson Chat, by Linda Unwin (Image ID 40480)
• Commended: Beautiful Firetail, by Chris Young (Image ID 40482)

Entry Level – Finches and Chats

• Winner - Double-barred Finch, by Russell Dann (mage ID 40366)
• Highly Commended - Zebra Finch, by Diana Womersley (Image ID 40088)
• Commended - Chestnut-breasted Mannikin, by Graham Gall (Image ID 39771)
• Commended - European Goldfinch, by Graham Gall (Image ID 39694)
• Commended - Red-browed Finch, by Jenny Donald (Image ID 40530)
• Commended - Zebra Finch, by Diana Womersley (Image ID 40068)
• Special Mention - White Fronted Chat, by Donna Evans (Image ID 40160
• Special Mention - White Fronted Chat, by Donna Evans (Image ID 40161)

The Mystery Reviewer Critiques are available in the Resources - Mystery Reviewer Critiques page.  Critiques published within the last two years are only visible to our members; you must be logged in to the site to see them.

Member voting for the Finches and Chats competition, which closed for entries on ^18th May and for voting on 8^th June, has been analysed and the results for the top five images in each category are listed here.  This competition received good support from the membership, with 209 images entered across the 3 competition levels by 97 photographers.  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.

There were 29 species eligible for entry to this competition, and all but six of those were represented in the entries. Those missing were Pale-headed Munia (a vagrant, which we have no images of), Java Sparrow, Black-throated Finch, Blue-faced Parrot-Finch, Gibberbird, and - somewhat surprisingly - European Greenfinch.

Advanced Level – Finches and Chats

This category attracted 71 entries, from 22 photographers. 39 members voted, with the following result:

• Winner - Diamond Firetail, by John Cooper (Image ID 39894)
• Commended - Diamond Firetail, by Brian O'Leary (Image ID 39846)
• Commended - Orange Chat, by Wilson Lennard (Image ID 40355)
• Commended - Crimson Chat, by Steve Mantle (Image ID 40507)
• Commended - Crimson Chat, by Scott Rolph (Image ID 40469)

Intermediate Level – Finches and Chats

This category attracted 84 entries, from 36 photographers. 45 members voted, with the following result:

• Winner - Orange Chat, by Linda Unwin (Image ID 40386)
• Highly Commended - Double-barred Finch, by Gregory Griffiths (Image ID 39718)
• Commended - Crimson Chat, by Les George (Image ID 39986)
• Commended - Beautiful Firetail, by Chris Young (Image ID 40482)
• Commended - Yellow Chat, by Chris Young (Image ID 40221)

Entry Level – Finches and Chats

This category attracted 54 entries, from 20 photographers. 39 members voted, with the following result:

• Winner - Double-barred Finch, by Russell Dann (Image ID 40366)
• Commended - Chestnut-breasted Mannikin, by Graham Gall (Image ID 39771)
• Commended - Gouldian Finch, by Lynette English (Image ID 40487)
• Commended - Zebra Finch, by Diana Womersley (Image ID 40068)
• Commended - Zebra Finch, by Diana Womersley (Image ID 40088)

Congratulations to all these photographers for their quality images.