Claire Waring from Little Addington has been announced as the overall winner of this year’s Galapagos Conservation Trust Photo Competition with her photo of a juvenile great frigatebird attacking a swallow-tailed gull which was defending its chick. The photo also won the ‘Animals in Action’ category.

Claire said: “We were on the last day of our wonderful expedition round the Galapagos Islands and had landed on North Seymour for a few hours before catching our plane home. The island is home to great frigatebirds and blue-footed boobies nesting near the path and Galapagos sea lions were basking on the rocks.

“A movement caught my eye and I saw this juvenile great frigatebird attacking a swallow-tailed gull, presumably with a view to taking the chick for a tasty meal. However, the parent was determined to defend the chick. It all happened too quickly for me to photograph it but, fortunately for me (but not the gull), the frigatebird came round for another go and I was able to capture this shot.

“The Galapagos Islands are a magical place to visit with such unique wildlife and landscape. The work of the Trust is vital to maintaining the environment against threats such as overfishing and plastics pollution. It carries out vital work including clearing islands of invasive species to allow the endemic populations to recover. I have supported the Trust since my first visit to Galapagos some 20 years ago.”

Claire is The Country Smallholder’s bee correspondent and author of many bee books. In 2005, she won the gold medal for beekeeping photography at Apimondia, the biennial International Beekeeping Congress, followed by the silver medal in 2009. She has been successful in other competitions including the Wanderlust Travel Photo of the Year, the National Geographic Traveller (UK) Photography Competition and the North American Nature Photography Association Showcase.

Over the years, Claire’s interests have expanded and her passion for wildlife photography has grown. She loves visiting wild places to shoot the very special wildlife found there and has been privileged to travel to all seven continents. On her travels she has also become increasingly conscious of the danger that these special places are in. She hopes her photography will bring this message to a wider group of people who will be inspired to take action.

More of Claire’s images can be seen on Instagram – @wildwaring

Information about the Galapagos Conservation Trust can be found at https://galapagosconservation.org.uk/

Picture caption: Claire says: “Frigatebirds exhibit kleptoparasitism where they steal food rather than catching it for themselves. They chase and harass other seabirds until they disgorge their food and by using their aerobatic prowess they can catch it before it hits the water. This juvenile great frigatebird (Fregata minor) was harassing an adult swallowtail gull (Creagrus furcatus) looking after its chick on the nest on North Seymour in the Galapagos Islands. It chased it out to sea in an attempt to steal its food but the gull gave it the slip and returned. I missed the action the first time but was ready for the second wave of the attack.”

More news like this can be found in The Country Smallholder magazine. Subscribe here.

For FREE updates from the world of smallholding, sign up for The Country Smallholder newsletter here.