Jotakin kilpailun huomion mittasuhteista kertoo kävijöiden määrä kilpailun näyttelyssä. Vaikka näyttely on maksullinen Lontoon luonnonhistoriallisessa museossa, edellisvuoden näyttelyn oli nähnyt yli 300 000 kävijää. Bristolin museon johtaja kertoi siellä kävijöiden määräksi noin 70 000. Näyttely kiertää ympäri maailmaa Euroopan suurista keskuksista Etelä-Afrikkaan, Australiaan, Kauko-Aasiaan ja Pohjois-Amerikkaan ja sen näkee kaikkiaan yli miljoona katsojaa (vai oliko se miljoonia?)

Pari huomiota näyttelystä, jotka kumoavat täälläkin kuva-arvosteluissa monesti esillä olleita väittämiä. Ensinnäkin valkea/vaalea tausta kuvassa ei ole mikään haitta vaan päin vastoin se katsottiin positiiviseksi piirteeksi. Toiseksi hyvin monessa kuvassa pääkohde nakotti keskellä kuva-alaa, kuten on tässäkin kuvassa.

Kirjoittelin kotimatkalla koneessa vähän enemmän tarinaa kuvan ympäriltä englanniksi .

Alla lisää kuvia tapahtumista kanahaukkojen kanssa.

My target is always to publish a "real" week's picture under the heading, picture taking during the actual week. This time it was not possible. Nevertheless the week's picture to me is for sure this one that got awarded at WPY competition.

Winter 2005/2006 was a beautiful one with many good targets around my local patch. Still every Saturday I spent the opening hours (9am to 14 pm) at the Rubbish Tip waiting for Goshawks. Again I saw quite many good actions, but never did get any good pictures; targets were out of focus, too far away, behind something; or like one time: straps of the camera equipments were stacked with something inside my car, when an adult male got a Jackdaw on a surface of glinting pure white snow and - when I still fight to get my camera equipments out from the car - followed by a female Goshawk that took the prey from male: never again situation!

That winter was followed by no-proper winters, with rain, cloudy, no snow etc. So no conditions to get any action pictures. Or for short periods of proper light, I had something else under project. Still I spent some hours at the dump every Saturday, if there was light enough.

Winter 2009/2010 was just perfect! Lot of snow, really cold, many sunny days with as much light as a short winter days can offer. Then I took the Goshawk hunting pictures as a number one project. A very good thing was that I got permissions to stay inside fences of the Rubbish tip area out of opening hours.

It was hard winter for Goshawks because a compination of cold, snow and low numbers of their main prey, Grouses. Maybe that's why there were at least 6 Goshawks hunting more or less regulary for Gulls, Crows, Jackdaws and even Ravens at the Rubbish Tip.

There were good hunters and bad ones amongst of Goshawks. A young male was one of good ones, for example ones he got a juvenile Great Black-backed Gull: clearly bigger prey that he is and a powerful raptor also himself. Also there was a juvenile female; whos hunting method was not so effective. Often she sits openly next the dump area where all the Crows, Ravens and Jackdaws (at that time all the Gulls had gone) was feeding. Time to time she tried to make attacks from there - no success and all the birds got back immediately while Ravens chases the Hawk away. Howcome the birds knew that the female was not so dangerous?

The winter for the female did not end well. Just some days before, more easy food, Gulls arrived at March I collected the female by hands. It had lost more than half of her weight and did not survive even that she got good care by experience people.

Sixth of January the Rubbish Tip was closed but I was in. And it was a very good day. First a Juvenile male took an adult Herring Gull. I had my changes, but the camera did not focus properly to the targets and also - as always - difficulties to keep targets in frame during quick swerves. Shortly after the Hawk landed with his prey, an adult male tried to take the prey, but did not manage to. Second situation was with an adult female took a Hooded Crow: again the focusing did not work. Then one more chaos on the Rubbish Tip area, but I did not see any Hawk before Crows strated to make dives above something: it was and adult male with a Crow in her nails.

So I had high expectations when I drew ahead the Rubbish Tip on morning of 9th January. Temperature got down to almost -30 degrees Celsius on valleys, at Rubbish Tip it was some edges warmer. But still it was cold to sit in a car with open windows and without engine running (no heating on). After all it was very nice with snow like frosting sugar all over trees and all the landscape pure white lighted with yellowish light of the Sun rising to its low and short curve. Crow birds were already feeding at dawn and shortly after small flocks of Herring and Great Black-backed Gulls started to arrive. After all numbers of Gulls had started to get low, meaning more thought time for hunting Hawks.

There was some tries already during the morning. One of them ended up quite near to my position on snow but behind view barrier. A juvenile female took a Hooded Crow with a sudden attack that surprise all the birds feeding at the dump - not to mention me.

More was to come. A pale second year male, I knew very well, arrived with quite a good speed and flew direct line over the dump. It looked downwards as they often do to check, if there are still some too late ones - and there was a juvenile Herring Gull left too late from ground. The Hawk turned to the attack like a Stuka. At the point when first try of the Hawk missed, I lost the target out of the frame but the hawk made a second try and at that point I got it! And my brand new Canon Mark IV managed to focus to the target perfectly! Now the hawk and the Gull dropped down on the field with only light snow cover! At that time hawk changed its claws from wing on back so the Gull could not hit back anymore.

Now was time to look backside of the camera what I had got. I could not resist yelling loudly: "Yes, now I have it, at last"! The situation was just what I had looked for and the Hawk in the picture was needle sharp! Yes. Good done my new body!

I have published the third best picture of the series as weeks 1/2010 picture, but I decided to hide the best of those for to use in WPY competition. Here is the picture won the Wildlife Photographer of the Year series Behaviour Birds.

Below you can see more pictures to give some impression about what kind of situations is possible to catch with Goshawks