Over the Spurn Migration Festival ‘Migfest’ weekend held in September 2024, we challenged anyone 25 or under to ‘capture a moment’, to take a photograph using any camera to hand - an old mobile through to a fancy new SLR - and provide a sentence or two of context to outline why the image represented this annual birdwatching festival for them. The caption was as important as the image - and the participants thoroughly delivered on both fronts!
05 November 2024
Migfest is a celebration of birds, wildlife, and migration. An opportunity to enjoy the birdwatching on offer at Spurn Point, East Yorkshire, and join the many wildlife, art, and photography events on offer. From guided walks to talks, great food, and stalls to peruse, there are moments to capture all around.
The 2024 festival was fantastic for scarce migrant birds over the weekend-long event and this is reflected in the images submitted. It was a challenge to score both the image itself and then the caption to come up with an overall winner, but this year, the first place prize goes to Daniel Hague, aged 12, for his fantastic entry capturing an important moment in his life, delivered by Migfest!
The caption scored highly as the enthusiasm for Daniel's love of his hobby and enjoyment of Migfest shone through. The caption reads “I was excited to attend my first Migfest and was eager to see some new species. This photo I took on the first evening of a Spotted Flycatcher was one of my highlights from the weekend as it was my first ever sighting of one and I got a great view. This was the first of a number of new species for me during my time at Spurn.” As the competition winner, Daniel is now the proud owner of a pair of Zeiss binoculars and has this message “Winning the competition tops off an amazing weekend at Migfest and I can’t wait to return next year, thank you so much.”
THE WINNING IMAGE:
Second place goes to Theo Fairbrother, aged 13, who used his newfound skills following a photography workshop over the weekend to capture this beautifully framed Sanderling on the shoreline. The caption is equally as inspiring. Well done Theo!
“After going to the photography workshop with Martin Standley, I went for a walk along the beach towards the Warren. I spotted this Sanderling feeding in the shallow pools on the shore. It was too far for close-up photos so I decided to use the rule of thirds which Martin had taught me earlier, to frame the bird in one corner of the image creating this shot.”
And in third place, an image of three young birders enjoying what the festival had to offer. Maya Joly submitted this image and captured one of the main things the event organisers hope to facilitate. It reads “I took this photo because for me Spurn Migfest is about young birders coming together and birding.” Well done Maya, you captured the essence of Migfest and the photography competition perfectly.
It is fair to say that all of the standards were very high. Some images were print-perfect, others had captions that left the judges, all who are heavily involved in delivering Migfest, very moved. Together, they form a powerful combination and it was no easy task scoring the two in parallel. Below, are all of the 2024 entries, the accompanying captions and some comments from the judges; Andy Bunting, Jo Goodfellow, Viola Ross-Smith, Martin Sandley and Thomas Willoughby.
Thank you to our sponsors at Zeiss for the fantastic first-place prize and framed certificates featuring the images and captions will be sent to the first, second and third place winners. All those who submitted images will also receive free membership to Spurn Bird Observatory Trust and the BTO who host the event and this competition.
“When a rock isn't on offer, you can't be fussy” by Noah Bailey, age 14 Judges comments: “Love the connection between humans and nature”
“This fresh migrant from the continent waits patiently for an insect to snatch out of the sky. After all, it must feed up before its incredible journey south to Africa where it will spend the winter…” by Lucas Burfield, age 14 Judges comments: “Love the composition of this photograph, a lovely caption with interesting context about the birds' journey ahead”
“While I was on one of the many guided walks at Migfest we were lucky enough to have this amazing view of a Wheatear.” by Rowan Carr, age 12 Judges comments: “A beautiful capture”
“As I was waiting for the elusive Red-breasted Flycatcher I was distracted by a posing Spotted Flycatcher. Just as I pressed the shutter button a Blue Tit rudely photobombed the image.” by Rowan Carr, age 12 Judges comments: “Loved this, and the caption - the photobombing Blue Tit really made me giggle!”
“After hours of chasing Spotted Flycatchers, just as we were heading for dinner, defeated, we saw this flycatcher and I got one of my best photos of the trip.” by Theo Fairbrother age 13 Judges comments: “I love the caption and the photo - a relatively common bird being one of the highlights for this photographer and making the weekend more memorable.”
“Convolvulus in-off! Never thought we’d be watching a Convolvulus Hawk-moth fly in-off the sea at Spurn’s newest seawatching hide!” by Jonathan Dodds, age 24 Judges comments: “I love it because of what it captures.”
“Spot the Wryneck - bushes were dripping with drift migrants: Pied Flycatchers, Redstarts, Spotted Flycatchers, Whinchats, Willow Warblers, - oh, what’s that?! A Wryneck!” by Jonathan Dodds, age 24 Judges comments: “Definitely captures the Migfest 2024 vibes.”
“Red-breasted Flycatcher in the Crown & Anchor car park” - one moment you’re listening to a Greenish Warbler, the next you’re watching a Red-breasted Flycatcher in the canopy of a pub garden. Spurn magic!” by Jonathan Dodds, age 24 Judges comments: “The caption captures the weekend very well and of course, a sprinkle of Spurn magic.”
“Seawatching: One of the key objectives of Migfest is the migration watches, where volunteers man the hides on the coast to record all the birds sighted throughout daylight hours. So when I saw this wheatear on its vantage point surveying the sea towards the Humber Gateway wind farm it reminded me of this crucial aspect of Migfest and SBOT.” by Theo Fairbrother age 13 Judges comments: “Lovely composition. A future observatory warden in the making with an understanding of observatory work like that!”
“After going to the photography workshop with Martin Standley, I went for a walk along the beach towards the Warren. I spotted this sanderling feeding in the shallow pools on the shore. It was too far for close-up photos so I decided to use the rule of thirds which Martin had taught me earlier, to frame the bird in one corner of the image creating this shot.” by Theo Fairbrother, age 13 [second place] Judges comments: “I just love the composure of this shot as well as the caption!”
“It was an absolutely amazing experience trying to photograph this rare male Red-breasted Flycatcher, as there were about sixty people (mostly from Migfest) trying to spot one tiny bird. As soon as it was sighted on one side of the tree, everyone flocked over to that side. However, it would then move to the other side of the tree! So I was extremely lucky to get a photo of this incredible bird. It was a real highlight of the weekend.” by Theo Fairbrother age 13 Judges comments: “Stunning photograph - love the colours. Their willingness to move away from the crowds paid off!”
"Hide and Seek - The fun of spotting birds" by Daniel Hague, age 12 Judges comments: “Perfectly sums up the weekend”
“I was excited to attend my first Migfest and was eager to see some new species. This photo I took on the first evening of a Spotted Flycatcher was one of my highlights from the weekend as it was my first ever sighting of one and I got a great view. This was the first of a number of new species for me during my time at Spurn.” by Daniel Hague age 12 [first place] Judges comments: “Brilliant caption capturing the excitement of seeing new birds and a great shot as well.”
“I took this photo because for me Spurn Migfest is about young birders coming together and birding.” by Maya Joly, age 10 [third place] Judges comments: “Great sentiments, winning caption, captures the mood really nicely, epitomises Migfest brilliantly!”
"Migfest; bringing people to the birds. During the final day of Migfest, this Wryneck performed fantastically for crowds of people as it fed atop a wall. As they are such a cryptic and sometimes flighty species, I imagine it was many people's first clear view of a Wryneck!" by Matthew Livsey age 24 Judges comments: “I like the way it shows the location well and the people watching. Love the composition and the lovely caption!”
“Classic views of the Red-breasted Flycatcher over the weekend” by Sam O'Donnell, age 16. Judges comments: “Great skills to find the perfect angle to get the bird in focus.”
“Wood Warbler” by Sam O'Donnell, age 16. Judges comments: “This is an exceptional image. Perfectly framed.”
“A rare showy Wryneck!” by Sam O'Donnell, age 16 Judges comments: “An impactful photograph”
