BRITISH WILDLIFE PHOTOGRAPHY AWARDS ... BRITISH WILDLIFE PHOTOGRAPHY AWARDS 2017 4 5 ANIMAL PORTRAITS

BRITISH WILDLIFE PHOTOGRAPHY AWARDS WINNERS 2017

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The 2017 British Wildlife Photography Awards produced some of the most amazing wildlife images taken in the previous year around the UK by people whose knowledge

of nature, patience and skill are much to be admired. I was one of judges, so I can testify to what a difficult job we had whittling down the many inspiring pictures entered by all age groups and levels of experience.

BBC Wildlife Magazine again sponsored the Animal Portraits category and the winner, as you will see overpage, chose to show a very unusual view of a bird you may familiar with but have never seen quite like this before. It’s what the competition does: shows us our nature in a way that opens our eyes to its beauty so we look at it in a different way when we see it in the wild.

I hope you enjoy this special supplement where we feature the category winners, and you look out for the travelling exhibition throughout 2018 where you will be able to see many of the shortlisted images as well.

SHEENA HARVEY Editor, BBC Wildlife Magazine

URBAN WILDLIFE WINNER

DANIEL TRIM HEATHROW ROOSTINGS Pied wagtail, Motacilla alba Heathrow Terminal 5, London

In winter, pied wagtails roost communally in urban areas, both for protection and for the additional warmth given off by buildings and lights. This extra degree or two can make the difference in harsh weather. Here, a single individual out of hundreds is silhouetted by the lights of Terminal 5 at London Heathrow Airport.

Category sponsored by The Wildlife Trusts

FOREWORD

BRITISH WILDLIFE PHOTOGRAPHY AWARDS 2017

OVERALL WINNER

BRITISH WILDLIFE PHOTOGRAPHY AWARDS 2017

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ANIMAL PORTRAITS WINNER

MELVIN REDEKER NATURAL BEAUTY Atlantic gannet, Morus bassanus Isle of Noss, Shetland Islands

If the eyes are the windows to the soul, what do these eyes tell you? Looking for a different perspective for a gannet portrait, I positioned myself on top of the cliffs on the Isle of Noss. Looking straight down I had an intimate view of a group of gannets sitting on a higher ledge. I talked to them and one gannet looked up, revealing its rounded head, symmetry and beautiful blue eyes against its white feathers.

Category sponsored by BBC Wildlife Magazine

ANIMAL PORTRAITS WINNER

BRITISH WILDLIFE PHOTOGRAPHY AWARDS 2017

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ANIMAL BEHAVIOUR WINNER

ANDREW PARKINSON CREPUSCULAR CONTENTMENT Eurasian badger Meles meles Derbyshire, England

In 15 years of working with badgers I’ve never seen one sit out in the open to have a scratch. I was concealed behind a tree and downwind so it was especially nice that the mustelid had his back to me, demonstrating just how inconspicuous and inconsequential my presence was.

Category sponsored by Shetland Nature

ANIMAL BEHAVIOUR WINNER

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BRITISH NATURE IN BLACK AND WHITE WINNER

PAULA COOPER WEB OF LIFE Brown-lipped snail, Cepaea nemoralis Thetford Forest, Norfolk

I took this on a very misty day in Thetford Forest. It was too misty to photograph the trees so I tried looking for something closer up; I spotted this little snail making its way up a plant stem. At the moment I took this image the gastropod looked up towards the spider’s web.

BRITISH NATURE IN BLACK AND WHITE WINNER

BRITISH WILDLIFE PHOTOGRAPHY AWARDS 2017

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HABITAT WINNER

BEN HALL WREN ON FROST- ENCRUSTED FERN Wren, Troglodytidae Dunham Massey, Cheshire

Following a cold, clear night I visited a local woodland to photograph deer. The temperature had dropped well below freezing during the night and frost clung to the trees and foliage, completely transforming the landscape. A heavy mist hung in the air, making the deer difficult to spot. After some time I noticed a wren flitting around in the frost-encrusted ferns. I set up my tripod and waited, following it with my lens as it moved. Eventually, it alighted on the top of a fern close by and I inched my way back in an attempt to show the bird in its wintry environment.

HABITAT WINNER

BRITISH WILDLIFE PHOTOGRAPHY AWARDS 2017

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BOTANICAL BRITAIN WINNER

STEVE PALMER REEDS Common reed, Phragmites australis Lindow Common, Wilmslow, Cheshire

I’d always been fascinated by the almost abstract patterns and reflections of these common reeds, but the photographic conditions had never been perfect, despite numerous visits. However, on this morning the water was still and the light was soft and I was able to capture the image I was after.

Category sponsored by Countryside Jobs Service

BOTANICAL BRITAIN WINNER

BRITISH WILDLIFE PHOTOGRAPHY AWARDS 2017

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COAST AND MARINE WINNER

CARON STEELE EMERGENCE Northern gannet, Morus bassanus Bempton Cliffs, Yorkshire

Having seen many diving gannet photographs I wanted to try and capture something a bit different. I watched the birds fishing and was fascinated by the way the gannets would emerge from nowhere to steal another bird’s prey. I was keen to photograph the moment just before they broke the surface, while they were still in ‘stealth mode’. A combination of bright sunshine and cloud made setting the exposure difficult, but the result shows some lovely patterns on the water.

Category sponsored by WWF

COAST AND MARINE WINNER

BRITISH WILDLIFE PHOTOGRAPHY AWARDS 2017

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WILDPIX UNDER 12 WINNER

WILDPIX UNDER 12 WINNER

OLIVER TEASDALE (AGE 10) PUFFIN IN A HOLE Atlantic puffin, Fratercula arctica Skokholm Island, Pembrokeshire

I took this photo while I was visiting Skokholm island with my dad. We were hoping to see and photograph puffins, and although there weren’t many, I was lucky enough to be sitting by a side window of one of the hides when this little individual poked its head out of a burrow. This is my favourite shot from the sequence as the seabird is well hidden by the sea campion growing at the entrance to the burrow.

WILDPIX 12-18 YEARS WINNER

MATTHEW ROSEVEARE (AGE 18) THE GOLDEN HOUR HUNT Short-eared owl, Asio flammeus Farlington, Hampshire

As the light began to fade a short-eared owl emerged to hunt for prey above the marshes at Farlington, Hampshire. Standing on the sea wall I was amazed when it began to fly towards me – it is a moment I will never forget!

WildPix categories sponsored by RSPB Wildlife Explorers

WILDPIX 12-18 YEARS WINNER

BRITISH WILDLIFE PHOTOGRAPHY AWARDS 2017

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CLOSE TO NATURE WINNER

ROSS HODDINOTT WING TIPS Emerald damselflies, Lestes sponsa Broxwater, Cornwall

I’m always looking to capture less conventional close-ups – maybe through creative lighting, use of depth of field or my choice of focus. With this image, I wanted to place the emphasis on the delicacy and design of the damselfly’s wings, so carefully placed my focus on the wing tips. This type of shot can divide opinion – you either love it or hate it!

Category sponsored by Wild Arena

CLOSE TO NATURE WINNER

BRITISH WILDLIFE PHOTOGRAPHY AWARDS 2017

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DOCUMENTARY SERIES WINNER

PETER CAIRNS TRANSLOCATION OF RED SQUIRRELS Red squirrel, Sciurus vulgaris Scottish Highlands

Scottish rewilding charity Trees for Life is pioneering the translocation of red squirrels to forests in the northwest Highlands, where they have been absent for decades. Red squirrels are unable to cross open ground and Scotland’s fragmented wild woodland means that recolonisation is unlikely to happen without help.

Category sponsored by Manfrotto

Far left: Trees for Life’s wildlife officer Becky Priestley baits a squirrel trap to get the squirrels used to entering the traps. Left: on moving day the traps are set and checked within hours. Here a squirrel is captured from a forest where they’re abundant. Below left: Each squirrel is given a health check before translocation. Below: squirrels are placed in a transit box containing food and water before being driven to their new home.

DOCUMENTARY SERIES WINNER

BRITISH WILDLIFE PHOTOGRAPHY AWARDS 2017

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Early the next morning, the urge to feed forces the squirrel out into its new woodland home in Shieldaig.

DOCUMENTARY SERIES WINNER

HIDDEN BRITAIN WINNER

ALEX HYDE GREEN HYDRAS Green hydras, Hydra viridissima Derbyshire, England

The diversity of life in my small garden pond never ceases to amaze me, but many of the most fascinating subjects require high magnification to be appreciated. Measuring only a few millimetres in length, these green hydras were dangling from the unders