A picture-perfect prize

It was back in late 2019 when Living Uplands with Durham Wildlife Trust held a photographic competition with two categories, Landscape and Wildlife, for pictures of Weardale. The prize would be a morning in a hide at a magnificently large Black Grouse lek in Weardale.

Covid put plans on hold for our prize winners to visit in spring 2020. Finally, at the end of April, our two winners, Ian Turner (below left) and Hamish Paterson (right), had an early morning on the Weardale moor.

Ian and Hamish on a visit to black grouse lek — Ian Turner (left) and Hamish Paterson (right)

The two were in the hide by 4.30am, and collected at 7pm. From arrival to departure Black Grouse were lekking. While still dark at the beginning the morning opened up to bright sunshine, with wonderful light.

Ian captured these fabulous photographs from the visit;