Photographer wins prize with hen harrier snaps

Warning this story contains some graphic images

A photographer has won a prestigious award for his six pictures of hen harriers.

Conrad Dickinson, from Hexham, Northumberland, won the conservation award at the 2026 Bird Photographer of the Year competition.

His images showed the birds thriving in the wild as well as the efforts of the RSPB to save the species by monitoring them and fitting satellite tags.

Dickinson said there was no better place to see hen harriers than in the wilds of Cumbria and Northumberland and he was "delighted" to win the award to shine a spotlight on them.

He said: "I wanted to turn my lens on the plight of one of England's most persecuted birds.

"I've had a love of birds since I was 10 years old and especially raptors, in fact one of the first birds I ever saw was a hen harrier at RSPB Geltsdale."

Dickinson said he was "delighted" to win the award but even happier to see the bird get the "recognition and attention it deserves".

Hen harriers are renowned for having spectacular aerial courtship displays, known as "sky-dancing".

RPSB Geltsdale celebrated 13 chicks being fledged from three nests this year, the highest number recorded at the reserve in a single breeding season for at least a century.

The RSPB, which has called for greater protection for the birds, said they continued to be "illegally killed" in connection with land managed for driven grouse shooting.

Head of investigations Mark Thomas said he was delighted Dickinson had chosen to focus on England's most threatened birds of prey.

"His striking images not only celebrate the beauty of hen harriers but expose the very real threat of illegal persecution they continue to face," he said.

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