We were delighted to receive so many entries for the RSPB Langstone Harbour photographic competition. It seems that the standard gets higher and higher each year, making it such a difficult task to chose the winners. We are thrilled to see that so many people are out there actually enjoying the delights of the harbour, the scenery and of course the wildlife, and we hope that by running this competition we continue to encourage more and more people to go out and enjoy the lovely landscape - it really is a place of beauty and I for one feel incredibly lucky to have such a wonderful place on my doorstep. So without further ado, here are the winners
The Landscape of Langstone Harbour by Lisa Mundy
Wildlife in Action by Paul Leach
Wildlife Portrait by Sheila Mackie
Wildlife in Landscape by Sheila Mackie
I'm sure you agree they are all amazing images and worthy winners. Well done to them and to all of the entrants, I can't reiterate enough how difficult it was to select winners from so many marvelous photographs that were submitted.
Well, it's with a heavy heart that I say my farewells once more. The seabird breeding season is at an end, the last chicks have finally flown off this week and I too am moving on. It's a rare privilege to be with such wonderful people doing such wonderful work. Conservation is an amazing field in which to be employed and despite it's many challenges (particularly lack of funding!) I'm very lucky to have had the opportunity to be there 'at the coal face' so to speak, seeing how absolutely imperative protecting our environment and wildlife is. Many tern chicks born and raised in Langstone Harbour this year are, as I speak, embarking on their first monumental journey to Africa, let's hope it's the first of many, many more to come.