Knut-Sverre Horn's Image

Knut-Sverre Horn (Norway) offers a glimpse of kittiwake chicks illuminated in an abandoned factory.

From his vantage point inside an abandoned fish processing factory, Knut-Sverre kept watch on the black-legged kittiwakes tending to their chicks on the windowsill. His view depended on the light. By day, the birds were visible only in vague outline. At night, it was determined by the weather and the angle of the lingering midnight Sun.

Many times, he was foiled by fog, clouds or the birds’ behaviour. ‘They tend to rest for long periods at night,’ Knut-Sverre explains. As midnight approached, the low summer Sun struck the north-facing window, sharpening the birds’ silhouettes and giving him the image that he wanted.

Kathy Moran, Editor and Chair of the Jury, notes ‘there is a sense of living in the shadows, adapting and thriving in a human landscape that made this photograph resonate with the jury. This is what urban wildlife is all about. The photograph is also beautiful, the interplay between light and silhouette, the interaction between the adult and chicks come together to capture a wonderful moment - nature persevering.’

Kittiwakes naturally nest on the narrow ledges of high, steep coastal cliffs. Recently, numbers have plummeted and some kittiwakes have headed for urban areas - their noise and mess often unwelcome.

It’s thought that a shortage of small fish and marine invertebrates due to a warming ocean, fisheries and pollution has forced them closer to towns and cities in search of food.