Conservation Documentary Award 2020 Winner - Congratulations Nick Upton!

New for 2020, this award sought entries in the form of a series of three to six images and extended captions that together document the story behind a bird-related conservation or environmental issue. It was BPOTY’s intention that the subject story could have a positive or negative narrative; it could be ‘shock and awe’, or it might be unerringly optimistic. The judges looked for a cohesive set of images that show tenacious and innovative storytelling in a photo-journalistic style. Congratulations to the winner of the inaugural Conservation Documentary Award, Nick Upton from the United Kingdom. Nick’s documentary charts the fortunes of the declining Common Swift population in the UK. View all the winning images in this series below and watch Nick’s video where he describes the project and how he went about obtaining the images.

Our thanks go to Gitzo for sponsoring this award. Nick wins a GT2542 tripod and GHF2W tripod head, together worth over £1,000.

Mark Carwardine is one of the judges for the award and sits on the advisory panel for Birds on the Brink. Mark shares his thoughts on the plight of the UK’s Swift population and the role of photography in conservation.

UK Swift Conservation by Nick Upton

All images and text ©Nick Upton/Bird Photographer of the Year

‘This photographic documentary charts the fortunes of the UK’s declining population of Common Swifts Apus apus. It features birds returning to remaining nest sites in old roofs and to increasingly vital nestboxes; and it highlights conservation success stories. My project involved long, hot shifts and rapid camera action following waits of up to three hours for parents to return with insect-crammed throat-pouches. I took some shots from a scaffold platform and others with a rooftop remote camera, and I captured screaming displays at dusk while the light still allowed fast shutter speeds. Climbing a near-vertical 15m ladder to access a church tower’s nestboxes was a challenge, but working with the wonderful Common Swift conservation community was always a pleasure.’

Common Swifts originally nested in tree-holes but have nested almost entirely in our buildings for centuries and have become dependent on us for their survival. This swift is inspecting an old cottage roof to find a nesting space under its traditional tiles, where three pairs went on to breed. Swift numbers have, however, fallen by 50 per cent in the last 20 years across the UK, partly as the supply of suitable nest sites has fallen as old roofs are renovated and entrances are sealed, while newly built properties rarely offer nest spaces or access.

A screaming party of Common Swifts fly around the church bell tower at dusk in Worlington, Suffolk, in a spectacular, noisy ritual that highlights a notable conservation success. Swifts almost completely disappeared from the village ten years ago, when the last cottage where a few pairs still nested was due for demolition. But mercifully the colony survived and has even increased by moving to the village church, where more than 25 pairs now breed every year.

The sudden upswing in Common Swift fortunes at Worlington is thanks to the installation by a local swift charity of more than 40 nestboxes behind the window louvres since 2009. It is also thanks to the efforts of bird-ringer Simon Evans, who has recorded up to 70 chicks being raised in the boxes in good summers recently.

Fitting nestboxes of many kinds in churches and on other buildings old and new has really helped the recovery of Common Swift populations in several UK towns and villages. Watching these remarkable birds whizzing to and from their nests at high speed is a wonderfully rewarding sight, though challenging to photograph!

Judith Wakelam, who raised the alarm about the decline of Common Swifts in Worlington and enlisted the help of her local swift charity, hand-feeds orphaned Common Swift chicks from across East Anglia with insect food in her home in the village.

Every year, Judith releases around 50 orphaned Common Swift chicks when they are ready to fly – ones she has fostered and fed with insects at her home. Conservation – much of it done by homeowners and local swift groups, as well as large wildlife charities – really can make a difference to the prospects of threatened wildlife.

Nick Upton - BPOTY Conservation Documentary Award Winner 2020

Nick Upton has been a naturalist since he was very young and began photographing wildlife as a teenager. He trained as a biologist before working as David Attenborough’s researcher on a big series 30 years ago and then produced many wildlife films for the BBC, other major broadcasters and the RSPB, and has concentrated on shooting wildlife stills and video clips in recent years.

He specializes in documenting UK wildlife reintroduction, conservation and rescue projects including Cranes, White Storks, Beavers, Harvest Mice, Seals, Bats and Swifts, photographing both wildlife shots and animal/people interactions.

He’s much published in major books and newspapers, his work has illustrated many features in BBC Wildlife magazine and has appeared in National Geographic magazine. Among other awards, he’s twice won the Documentary Series category of the British Wildlife Photography Awards.

Nick explains how he took the winning images in the following video that includes some fabulous nest footage that you will not want to miss!

BPOTY Supporting Swift Conservation

In honour of the inaugural winning story, we thought it fitting to offer our support to a Swift conservation project through the charity Birds on the Brink.

Birds on the Brink is a grant awarding charity that funds grass roots conservation projects where modest sums of money can do the most measurable good. It has received its first generous donation from the profits of Bird Photographer of the Year 2020. Everyone involved is truly thankful to all those people who enter their pictures, buy books and support the competition through promotion and giving up their time.

Birds on the Brink has recently announced that it is funding a project being organised by Hampshire Swifts to install 20 swift nest boxes in Winchester Cathedral’s tower.

Find out more about Birds on the Brink by visiting their website: www.birdsonthebrink.co.uk/conservation

Paul Sterry, Trustee of Birds on the Brink, said "A few years ago I saw Swifts nesting in tree holes in the pristine forests of northern Latvia. Historically, that would have been the nest site of choice in the UK except we have cut down large swathes of forests meaning that we now live in one of the least wooded regions in Europe. Elsewhere, in southern Europe I have seen them nesting, alongside other swift species, in coastal cliff crevices and hollows and that's where roof spaces and other nooks and crannies in old buildings formerly satisfied the nesting requirements of these wonderful birds. But again we have begun to ruin that with our quest for air-tight buildings. So all in all the fate of nesting Swifts in the UK, as elsewhere in the world, lies entirely in our hands. The work of Hampshire Swifts to install nest boxes, and their campaign for Swift bricks to be incorporated into modern architecture, resonates deeply with our own purpose at Birds on the Brink and we therefore had no hesitation in supporting this fantastic project.”

Bird Photographer of the Year - Collection 5

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