The 2021 Bird Photographer of the Year is Alejandro Prieto, whose photo “Blocked” was both the overall winner and the Gold Award winner in the Birds in the Environment category. The image of a tiny roadrunner dwarfed by the US-Mexico border wall is both a political and an environmental statement.
I confess this is far from my favorite among the many award-winning photographs posted on the contest’s website. (Don’t ask me to choose a favorite.) If you love birds and/or great photography, you owe it to yourself to fly over there and take a look. Scroll down through such categories as Young Bird Photographer of the Year, Best Portfolio, Best Portrait, and Attention to Detail. Some of the best are at the bottom in the Highly Commended group. So ignore the ads and keep scrolling. It’s worth it.
Good thing the vast majority of birds can fly over the wall!
Fortunately there are many wildlife rehabilitation programs that are coming up with ways to help migrating species which face other environmental challenges besides the wall. Even the good intentions of solar and wind farms can harm wildlife. There are no easy answers!
I do worry about the wall blocking migrating wildlife and/or limiting their natural range. And I haven’t read much about that having been a consideration. Sad.
I had no idea that razor wire had been deployed in such quantities! If Trump had his way, imagine 1,000 miles of this stuff! Imagine the expense!
Based on pictures I’ve seen over the years, it seems different sections of the wall are designed differently. Here maybe the razor wire was added after the basic structure proved inadequate. Overall, miles and miles of physical barrier is a colossal expense. Here, for example, they won’t be dropping any more toddlers over this fence.
Honestly, I don’t see anything remarkable about this photo. I cannot see why they chose it as a winner.
I suspect there was some political thinking involved. There were many other photos more artistically and aesthetically pleasing.