A roadrunner 'blocked' by the wall with the US gives a Mexican the award for Bird Photographer 2021

Photograph 'Blocked' taken on April 28, 2019, a few steps from the border line between the United States and Mexico, in Naco County, Arizona.

A roadrunner detained in front of the wall between Mexico and the United States is the image with which the Mexican Alejandro Prieto (Guadalajara, 1976) has triumphed as Best Bird Photographer of 2021. Selected from more than 22,000 photos,

tells “an important story of habitat fragmentation and how structures such as the border wall can prevent wildlife from migrating and moving to other areas ”, highlighted the organizers of the main bird photography contest in the world. "The fence dominates the image, with the seemingly helpless and small roadrunner in the frame", they have highlighted.

The photograph taken two years ago near the town of Naco, in Arizona, represents, according to its author, "the fragility and innocence of wildlife in the face of the dark side of human beings."

To capture the image, Prieto spent almost 16 months observing the interaction of nature with the wall.

"It was a fleeting moment but full of emotions," he recalled.

“I was driving along the border on the US side when suddenly a roadrunner appeared, crossed to the middle of the road, stopped for a moment, just long enough to be able to take some pictures, looking at the wall with wires, and then he returned by the same place from where it had appeared ”, has described.

More information

• The United States cancels the projects related to the construction of the wall with Mexico

• The winning images of the World Press Photo 2021

Prieto has reported that the idea of ​​photographing wildlife on the border arose due to the lack of attention to the problems that the border wall has caused to the animals that live in the area. "This place is home to more than 1,500 species of animals and plants, and the fact of building a wall over 2,000 miles seemed crazy to me, I felt that I needed to give a voice to all these creatures," he said. However, working for more than a year in this area was dangerous and difficult. "I had some difficult encounters with drug traffickers, faced harassment from the border patrol, camera theft and extreme weather conditions," he said.

The title

corresponds to the reality that species live, many of them in danger of extinction, such as the bighorn sheep, the pronghorn and the jaguar. "These animals need to move freely from one place to another to find food, water, a mate or better weather conditions," the wildlife photographer has warned for 20 years. With the same image, Prieto also won gold in the Birds in the Environment category, as well as a $ 6.8,000 prize.

"My goal in life is to spread a message of conservation of nature", has shared the also second place winner of the World Press Photo 2020, in the Nature category.

"I am very happy to be able to send this message to many people, thanks to these types of platforms my work can be seen all over the world," he added.

The goal of the popular international photo contest is to celebrate the life of birds around the world and promote their conservation.

BIRD PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR & Birds in the Environment Category GOLD AWARD WINNER 🥇 BLOCKED

by Alejandro Prieto, Mexico

"In this photograph, a Greater Roadrunner approaches the border wall at Naco, Arizona ..."

Visit https://t.co/ DeZS3XPbHf for more!

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- Bird POTY (@BirdPOTY) September 1, 2021

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