Subtropical Henderson Island is one of the Pitcairn Islands in the central South Pacific. Although over 600 years of Polynesian occupation have left an ecological mark, not least the continuing presence of Polynesian Rats Rattus exuluns, the 37-kmi island is the Pacific’s best example of an ecologically intact raised coral island. For this reason it was designated a World Heritage Site in l988. Four landbirds occur; all endemic to the island, of which the most distinctive is the flightless Henderson Crake Porzuna atra. The others are a Iorikeet, a fruit dove and a warbler Seabirds abound.These comprise a mix of widespread tropical species such as boobies and noddies, and species with more restricted Pacific distributions, notably Pterodroma petrels. For one of these, the Henderson Petrel R atrata, Henderson is the only known nesting station. However, fieldwork has established that the rats are devastating predators of petrel chicks.To benefit petrels and to achieve wider ecosystem restoration, rat eradication is now being actively planned. lf successful, it would be easily the largest rat eradication achieved on British territory. 

The Henderson Fruit Dove Ptilimopus insularis, Michael Brooke

We were delighted by the response we received to the 2010 BB Bird Photograph of the Year competition. The quality of the entries remains at the very highest level and we were particularly pleased by the number of photographers entering the competition for the first time. The judging process followed a tried and tested format. Each image was viewed twice, which enabled the judges to agree on an initial shortlist of over 60 entries. After that, each image was examined in detail for sharpness and clarity, as well as any indication of excessive digital manipulation such as over sharpening. 

BPY 2010 Winner Short-eared Owl Asio flammeus, Strathspey, Highland Ocrober 2009, Mark Hamblin.