AWARD CATEGORIES

1 Conservation Hero of the Year Cameron Bespolka and the Cameron Bespolka Trust

Cameron tragically passed away in 2013, but his legacy and passion for wildlife live on in the trust in his name, which is working to make nature more accessible and inclusive for all.

Chris Packham

Despite some strong opposition – including arson – Chris continues to fight for nature and call out wildlife crime. This year he has also given up short-haul flights.

Jonny Rankin and Nick Moran

This impressive pair overcame injury to take part in Dove Step Rehab: epic feats of walking, running and cycling to raise money for European Turtle Dove conservation.

Roy Dennis

Roy has dedicated his life to protecting the UK’s wildlife, working on reintroduction projects for species such as White-tailed Eagle, Red Kite, Beaver and Red Squirrel.

Tessa Boase

Tessa has brought the women who created the RSPB to the fore, this year setting up the inaugural Emily Williamson Festival celebrating women in conservation.

2 Local Hero of the Year

This is your chance to nominate someone you know personally who has made a big difference to conservation or birding – maybe a dedicated fundraiser or volunteer at a local nature reserve, a stalwart of your local bird club, or perhaps a long-standing organiser of/ participator in surveys in your area. The winner will be the nomination that most impresses our editorial team, so please think carefully about who you choose and give as much detail as possible. The winner will receive a free annual subscription to BirdGuides Bird News Pro.

3 Campaign of the Year A statue for Emily Williamson

This campaign to recognise the work of pioneering activist – and RSPB founder – Emily Williamson will culminate in a statue in Fletcher Moss Park, Didsbury.

Gough Island Restoration

Baiting on the island has been completed, in order to eradicate the introduced House Mouse which predates the island’s native breeding seabirds.

Langham Moor community buyout

This crowdfunded campaign saw the successful buyout of more than 2,000 ha of land and the subsequent creation of the Tarras Valley Nature Reserve.

League Against Cruel Sports

The culmination of a four-year campaign resulted in National Trust members voting overwhelmingly to ban trail hunting on trust land.

Namibian Albatross Task Force

After a decade of work with Namibia’s fishing industry and fisheries managers, seabird deaths in the country’s demersal longline fishery have been reduced by 98%.

4 Guano Award for Environmental Harm Coca-cola

The soft drinks company has been named the world’s top plastic polluter for the third year running, with its bottles the most frequently found discarded on beaches, rivers, parks and other sites.

The Faroe Islands government

The government is yet to act on this year’s Grindadráp, in which a ‘superpod’ of 1,428 Atlantic White-sided Dolphins was slaughtered in July.

The Jordanian government

For granting permission to mine for copper in Dana Biosphere reserve, Jordan’s largest nature reserve and under consideration for UNESCO World Heritage site status.

The UK government

For, among many other things, lowering excise duty on internal flights, allowing water companies to dump raw sewage and deciding to not publish data on state of the country’s biodiversity in 2022.

Water companies in England

Companies across the country have been dumping thousands of tonnes of untreated sewage into England’s waterways, including chalk streams, a habitat vital for many rare species.

5 Birding News Crane chick fledges in Oxfordshire for first time in 500 years

A pair of Common Cranes bred successfully at the RSPB’s Otmoor reserve for the first time this summer, following five years of unsuccessful nesting attempts.

English Hen Harriers enjoy best year in a decade

A total of 31 breeding attempts were logged, 24 of which were successful, fledging 84 chicks. These are the highest numbers in modern times.

RSPB’s 2020 Birdcrime report confirms bloodiest year on record

Published this year, the report revealed some 137 known incidents of raptor persecution last year – the highest number recorded in 30 years.

Turtle dove hunting to be banned in Spain for one year

The majority of regional authorities across Spain have agreed a one-year ban on the hunting of European Turtle Doves, sparing an estimated 900,000 birds.

US declares Ivory-billed Woodpecker extinct

Along with 22 other species, the woodpecker was officially deemed extinct by the US Fish and Wildlife Service.

6 Rarity of the Year Egyptian Vulture

With just two accepted British records and none for Ireland, this mega bird of prey, first seen in Scilly and later picked up in Co Donegal, was popular with the few birders who managed to see it.

Long-toed Stint

One of the most celebrated birds of the year, the stint generated the biggest twitch of 2021, with thousands visiting St Aidan’s RSPB, West Yorkshire.

Northern Mockingbird

Found at the beginning of the year in Devon and amazingly relocated in both West Sussex and Northumberland, this British third was the first anywhere in the Western Palearctic for 30 years.

Soft-plumaged Petrel

First picked up by Andrew Allport off Flamborough Head, East Yorkshire, this first for Britain was seen by a handful of observers as it toured up the east coast of England.

Sulphur-bellied Warbler

Originally identified as a Dusky Warbler, this national first was a oneday wonder for Lundy, Devon, allowing only a lucky few to connect.

Varied Thrush

Only the second for Britain, and the first for 40 years, this stunning mega was a dream come true for those who saw it on Papa Westray, Orkney.

7 Site of the Year Flamborough Head/Bempton Cliffs, East Yorkshire

Some of the best seawatching in the UK, and the adopted home of the crowd-pleasing Black-browed Albatross.

Idle Washlands, Nottinghamshire

This site enjoyed a typically exciting and dynamic year in 2021 – a fine advocate for how good inland birding can be.

Lundy, Devon

The island had another fine year, with Britain’s first Sulphur-bellied Warbler in June a particular highlight.

Otmoor RSPB, Oxfordshire

Site of the first Common Crane chick to fledge in the county for 500 years, this reserve offers varied habitat with lots of birds near to Oxford.

St Aidan’s RSPB, West Yorkshire

A great variety of birds, including the popular Franklin’s Gull in spring, Long-toed Stint in autumn and a fine suite of breeding species.

8 Product of the Year Canon EOS R5 camera

This new mirrorless camera from Canon has proved very popular with bird photographers, outperforming DSLRs on many fronts.

Celestron Regal ED Flat Field 8x42 binocular

Designed with birders in mind, this robust model delivers a bright, vibrant image with a nicely wide field of view and virtually no curvature of the field.

Kite APC Stabilized 12x42 binocular

Kite really upped the ante in the image stabilisation market with this latest addition to its range, addressing many of the technical issues previously associated with stabilising images.

Pulsar XM30 thermal imaging monocular

As thermal imaging begins to take off in birding, allowing observers to ‘see’ birds at night, this piece of kit is gaining in popularity, especially with surveyors.

Swarovski 115mm objective lens module

Said to be the biggest of its kind for birding, the latest addition to Swarovski’s innovative modular spotting scope system delivers the goods to the highest quality.

9 Book of the Year

Back to Nature by Chris Packham and Megan McCubbin

Born from lockdown, this personal and thought-provoking book from two of the UK’s favourite naturalists explores the wonder and the solace of nature.

Collins Birds of the World by Norman Arlott

This impressive title amalgamates the world’s birds into a beautiful and professionally presented checklist; it is a superb piece of work, produced to typically high Collins standards.

European Breeding Bird Atlas 2 by Verena Keller, Sergi Herrando, Petr Voríšek, Martí Franch, Marina Kipson, Pietro Milanesi, David Martí, Marc Anton, Alena Klvanová, Mikhail V Kalyakin, Hans-Günther Bauer and Ruud P B Foppen

This monumental tome dedicated to the region’s avifauna is an eye-catching and well-produced publication, with exquisite artwork throughout.

Flight Identification of European Passerines and Select Landbirds by Tomasz Cofta

An impressive benchmark in recognising birds in the field, packed with 850 illustrations and more than 2,400 photographs, this is a visual guide like no other.

Seabirds: The New Identification Guide by Peter Harrison, Martin Perrow and Hans Larsson

Set to be revered as a modern classic by birders everywhere, this allencompassing title provides a wealth of detail and information on the world’s seabirds.

10 Discovery of the Year Black-browed Babbler rediscovered after 172 years

No Asian bird species had been missing as long as this babbler, which was rediscovered by locals in South Kalimantan, Indonesia, in October 2020.

Major seabird hot-spot identified in North Atlantic

An area of great importance to millions of seabirds has been identified in the North Atlantic, with the focus now on its designation as a protected area.

Migrating Great Snipe logged at unprecedented heights

Research published in Current Biology has found that the species can rise nearly 2,500 m in elevation at dawn and descend again at dusk each day, reaching heights of up to 9 km.

Plain Swift discovered breeding in mainland Portugal

Confirmed in Parque da Cidade in Porto, the finding marks a remarkable range expansion for a species thought previously confined to Macaronesia as a breeder.

Shelley’s Eagle-Owl photographed for first time

The bird was seen in Ghana by Dr Joseph Tobias and Dr Robert Williams. One of Africa’s most elusive birds, there haven’t been any confirmed sightings in the country since the 1870s.