Winners of the World Wetlands Day photo competition announced!
The River Lee, Ballincollig. ‘Lovely sense of place and time of year’. Overall winner (under 18) of the World Wetlands Day Photo Competition. Photo taken by Lucy Gallagher.
Whooper Swans rising from Kilcolman Fen. ’Very well captured. Evocative. I can hear them calling’. The overall winner (over 18) of the World Wetlands Day photo competition. Photo taken by James McGrath.
Award-winning wildlife camera man Colin Stafford-Johnson kindly agreed to select the overall winners of the World Wetlands Day Photo Competition. The WWD photo competition was organised by the IRWC and Wetlands Surveys Ireland to mark 50 years since the signing of the Ramsar Convention. The competition which ran over four months in 2021 had a great response and monthly winners were posted on the IRWC website. The winners will each receive a framed copy of their photo and an OPW Family Heritage Card.
The overall winner of the under 18 category was Lucy Gallagher from Cork. Colin Stafford -Johnson commented that this photo gave a ‘Lovely sense of place and time of year’
The overall winner of the over 18 category was James McGrath, also from Cork . Colin Stafford -Johnson commented that the Whooper Swans were, ’Very well captured. Evocative. I can hear them calling’.
Fine praise indeed for two photos which represent Ireland’s wonderful, varied, and vital wetlands.
Thanks to Colin Stafford-Johnson for judging the overall competition winners, to members of the IRWC (Niamh Fitzgerald of BirdWatch Ireland, Tadgh O’Mahony of the EPA, Mary Roache of Teagasc) and to Patrick Crushell of Wetland Surveys Ireland for judging the monthly competition winners. Thanks to the National Biodiversity Data Centre for their monthly prizes of Identification Swatch Packs and to the OPW for the overall winner prize of a Family Heritage Card.
The Winning Photos by Month
Brenda Sheridan, 1st place in over 18 category, wonderful close up of a Meadow Pipit carrying food for its young on Bull Island Nature Reserve
Robert O’Leary, 2nd place in over 18 category, the careful steps of a Little Egret fishing on the River Dodder
Maria Tierney, 3rd place in over 18 category, stunning view of Killary Fjord on the Wild Atlantic Way
Niamh Boner, 1st place in under 18 category, stunning view of lake and upland in Glenveagh National Park
Lucy Gallagher, 2nd place in under 18 category, great shot of river and riparian habitats on the River Lee At Ballincollig
Rossa Bracken, 3rd place in under 18 category, captivating close up of a Dipper on a river at Mountrath
Robbie O’Leary, 1st place, Stunning portrait of a Kingfisher on the River Dodder, Co. Dublin
Tommy Keogh, 2nd place, calming and charismatic photo of Clondalkin Park wetland, Co. Dublin.
Helen Lane, 3rd place, Beautiful panorama of Ballylongford Bay, Co. Kerry.
Helen Lane, 1st place, Atmospheric photo of intertidal habitats at Carrig Island, Ballylongford, Co. Kerry
Andrew Fingleton, 2nd place, Stunning close up of an Otter in the Dodder River, Co. Dublin
Diego Lopez, 3rd place, Charismatic photo of Mullaghmore Mountain and turlough in the Burren National Park, Co. Clare
James Mcgrath, 1st place, Children of Lir – Whooper Swans rise from Kilcolman Fen
Jason Maher, 2nd place, The wonder of moss on a damp woodland floor at Portlick, Athlone
Niall Dennigan, 3rd place, Cutover bog floods at Killashee
The World Wetlands Day 2021 Wetland Photo Competition has now drawn to a close. Thank you to the many wetland explorers who kindly submitted their photo via the Wetland Snapshot App. So many wonderful entries. Thanks to the National Biodiversity Data Centre for the super Swatch card prizes. All the winning photos are proudly presented on the Wetland Photo Competition page. We hope you enjoyed exploring Ireland’s wetland wealth!
