A Hexham polar explorer has won a major international photography award for a powerful portfolio documenting the threats facing Hen Harriers and the conservation work being carried out to protect them.
Conrad Dickinson, a photographer and conservationist from Hexham, received the Conservation Award at the 2026 Bird Photographer of the Year competition, described as the world’s largest bird photography competition. His winning entry comprises six photographs and documentary storytelling focused on the UK’s most persecuted bird of prey.
The competition attracted more than 24,000 bird photographs. Dickinson’s portfolio was taken in Cumbria and Northumberland under strict licence conditions, and follows work including the monitoring of young birds, fitting satellite tags and recording Hen Harriers in the wild.
Portfolio highlights conservation work
The images also show the continuing threats faced by the species. Satellite tagging can help conservationists track the movements of young Hen Harriers and investigate when birds disappear. Other conservation measures include diversionary feeding, which gives nesting birds an alternative food source intended to reduce predation on grouse chicks.
Hen Harriers are legally protected, but the source material says they continue to be illegally killed in connection with land managed for driven grouse shooting. The birds and red grouse share the same habitat, while Hen Harriers can sometimes feed on red grouse chicks.
Photographs in the portfolio show conservationists monitoring nests, fitting satellite tags, measuring chicks, taking DNA samples and preparing young birds to leave the nest. The chicks are fitted with unique leg rings and tags, while DNA samples can help record their breeding lineage and support forensic work if persecution occurs later.
In a statement supplied with the award announcement, Dickinson said: “I wanted to turn my lens on the plight of one of England’s most persecuted birds.” He said he had loved birds since he was ten and remembered seeing a Hen Harrier at RSPB Geltsdale.
He added: “I’m delighted about the award but what’s even more important to me is the bird. It’s not about me the photographer, I’m pleased for the bird, that it’s getting the recognition and attention it deserves.”
From polar expeditions to Northumberland wildlife
The award adds to Dickinson’s achievements as a polar explorer. He is described as the only Briton to have completed the ‘Polar Grand Slam’, through unsupported expeditions to Greenland, Antarctica and the Geographic North Pole.
A former British Army Arctic Warfare officer, Dickinson has also guided major expeditions, including Prince Harry’s Walking with the Wounded South Pole Challenge in 2013. After retiring from polar exploration, he returned to Northumberland, where he manages land near Hexham for birds and other wildlife and has focused increasingly on conservation and photography.
He is also President of Northumberland Wildlife Trust. Dickinson said that, during his expeditions, he always carried a camera and that telling the story of threatened wildlife had become his focus after leaving work as a polar guide.
He has pledged to give his £500 prize to the RSPB to support its Hen Harrier conservation work.
Conservationists call for stronger protection
Mark Thomas, head of investigations at the RSPB, said Dickinson’s images highlighted both the beauty of Hen Harriers and the illegal persecution they continue to face. He said satellite tagging and monitoring provided important information about where birds travelled, thrived and disappeared.
Thomas also called for tighter controls in England, pointing to a licensing system already introduced in Scotland and used across much of Europe. The RSPB says stronger regulation would help protect vulnerable species while supporting shoots operating within the law.
There has been some cautious optimism elsewhere in the region. At RSPB Geltsdale in Cumbria, 13 Hen Harrier chicks fledged from three nests this year, the highest number recorded at the reserve in a single breeding season for at least a century. Reserve staff and volunteers worked to protect the nesting birds and support the adults raising their young.
Ian Ryding, senior reserve manager at RSPB Geltsdale, said: “Thirteen young Hen Harriers taking to the skies above Geltsdale is a reason to celebrate. The challenge is ensuring they survive long enough to return and raise families of their own.”
The 2026 competition also donated more than £5,000 to Birds on the Brink, which funds grassroots bird conservation projects around the world.