The stunning picture of a pelican flying off from the frozen Kerkini Lake in Northern Greece warded Carol Steele as the Bird Photographer Of the Year 2019.
When Carol Steele, winner of Bird Photographer Of The Year 2019, arrived in Greece to take pictures of Dalmatian Pelicans in their breeding plumage, she discovered that Lake Kerkini, their favored haunt, had frozen for the first time in 16 years and all the pelicans had flown off, notes forbes.
“Fortunately, a few holes started to thaw in the lake and the birds slowly began to return,” explained the British photographer who won the top prize of £5,000 and the title “Bird Photographer of the Year 2019,” as well as the Gold Award for the Best Portrait category and the People’s Choice Award with the photo “Dancing On Ice – Dalmatian Pelican.”
“Unused to the slippery icy surface of the lake they regaled us with hilarious antics as they slid across the lake surface trying to retain control as they took off and landed.”
Lake Kerkini is one of, if not the, premier birding site in Greece. It is situated along the migratory flyway for migratory birds en route to the Aegean Sea, the Balkan region, the Black Sea, the Hungarian steppes and beyond it experiences an interesting migration.
The artificial reservoir that was created in 1932, and then redeveloped in 1980, on the site of what was previously an extremely extensive marshland. Before 1932, there were irregular marsh lakes on Strymon river.
