At first glance, you can only see the eye of a seagull surrounded by gray pen and ink in this photo. But on closer inspection, the gray spots turn out to be lice – they are parasites brought along by the seagull.
Every year the British Ecological Society selects the photos in a photo competition that capture various aspects of ecology particularly beautifully and aptly. In addition to the overall winners, photos will be awarded that show ecology in action, that depict individual animals or populations, or that reflect the relationship between humans and nature. “This year’s photos are of an extremely high standard and it has been a pleasure to look through,” said Jane Memmott, president of the British Ecological Society. “The images capture a wide range of biodiversity – from tiny mosses to giant bears.
The winning picture for 2021 can be seen above. It shows a close-up of the head of a kumlien arctic gull, a species of seagull found in northeast Canada. The special thing about this picture, made by the biologist and photographer Rebecca Nason, is, besides its visual quality, what you only recognize at second glance. At first, however, Nason didn’t notice anything unusual either. “When the Kumlien arctic gull got quite a bit closer, I began to photograph details of the eye area,” she reports.
At first glance, the white feathers around the eye sometimes seemed to have gray spots – a normal pen drawing, the biologist also thought. “It wasn’t until I was back home that I realized that these spot patterns were actually lice sitting on the feathers – this seagull didn’t travel alone!” Nason was named the overall winner of the photo competition for this unusual snapshot. “It’s a beautifully composed shot of a seagull’s eye – visually captivating, pin-sharp and very beautiful,” says
Memmott. “Despite or because of the lice as stowaways!”