The British Birds Bird Photograph of the Year competition continues to attract the very best examples of work from both professional and amateur photographers and this is reflected in this year's top entries. Many birdwatchers now carry some sort of camera, and it seems that bird photography in all its various guises has never been more popular - the prolifera- tion of websites and blogs is testament to that. It is also apparent in the popularity of this competition, which continues to attract increasing numbers of entries, many of which are from photographers entering for the first time. This is particularly encouraging and bodes well for the future.