Oh good, the competition lives on. I'll get my thinking cap on.

It is a cormorant.

Thank you Neil for putting my thoughts far more eloquently than I could

I was looking at fnac.be not .com.

images-photo.com livre les colis partout en France métropolitaine ( dont Monaco et la Corse).

It would seem they don't send outside France. Though a bit further down the page they refer to tax- free for foreigners. so who knows.

Fnac belgium - €1099

Here you are Stefan.

Google is your friend

Many competitions, indeed most, and not only photographic ones, work by submitting an entry and never knowing what else was entered by other contestants, until you, maybe, see the results.

By not seeing the other entries it is possible for people to put their own interpretation on a subject, without feeling intimidated by a couple of fantastic entries, or discouraged when someone else beats them to the same idea.

But it is clear this is a minority view, and the competition is unpopular.
It was a worthwhile experiment though.

Back to my non-competitive hole now.

Where?
The cheapest I have seen is €833 (680 GBP) at Foka.

Edit: that includes postage, so €827 without.

Stocks are low at most internet shops here I see.

The lens and bag have just arrived, both in excellent condition. My daughter-in-law will be delighted I'm sure.

Thanks again Rob, ad good luck with the baby.