2020 photo challenge
Find out how the Hampshire 150 team has fared so far...
The Bird Photographer of the Year team are continuing their challenge to photograph 150 species within the county of Hampshire over the course of 2020. Autumn is now definitely in control with low pressure systems sweeping in strong winds and heavy rain, on a regular basis. It is certainly time to break out the waterproofs and wellington boots! Species such as Brent Geese and Redwings are starting to appear in some bird reports around the county, overlapping with Swallows, martins and other summer breeding birds making their way south.
Having exceeded their target of 150 species last month, the team started to turn their attentions to photographing species already on the list, attempting to obtain improved images, while keeping an eye out for some of those birds not yet encountered. As it turned out, a bonus Grey Phalarope turned up at Farlington Marshes, and Keith managed to photograph it before it disappeared out to sea again. Also new for this month from Keith were Bar-tailed Godwit, Sand Martin, Osprey and Feral Pigeon. The prize for photographing the biggest number of tricky species will certainly be Mr Betton’s!
Paul and Andrew spent a few days on the south coast over the course of the month and managed to notch up Yellow Wagtail and some ‘improvements’ of species already photographed, including Greenshank and Knot. Juvenile gulls also made an appearance with Common and Mediterranean both photographed. With more trips planned over the coming weeks, there are a handful of species that may yet be possible to add to the list. Rob also managed a couple of trips to the coast and was rewarded by improving the quality of images for species such as Little Egret, Turnstone and Black-tailed Godwit.
The current total now stands at 159 species. With a couple of months to go, this is an impressive tally, considering the challenges faced throughout the year; and demonstrates what a rich and diverse county Hampshire is!
The team are keeping their eyes on the bird reports, and their cameras poised for any of the missing species, or for the odd rarity that may turn up over the next few weeks. Given a little luck and hard work, there remain at least half a dozen species that the team should be able to add to keep the total nudging higher. A year- end total of 165 certainly seems possible, if some of the missing species can be tracked down, successfully. And if nothing new appears in front of their lenses, then fun will no doubt be had photographing other species to grace these updates.
Bird Watching magazine is donating £2,000 to Birds on the Brink for the Hampshire 150 Challenge and we would like to call on the support of the readers too. Visit the BPOTY website and follow the link to the Hampshire 150 page and click the donation link (donations taken via PayPal) You can also see some more of the images taken by the team as the challenge progresses. birdpoty.co.uk