BWPA 2024 Winners
Overall Winner
“Ocean Drifter” by Ryan Stalker
Goose barnacles. Dorset, England.
Ocean Drifter is a photo of a football that is covered in goose barnacles below the waterline. Above the water is just a football. But below the waterline is a colony of creatures. The football was washed up in Dorset after making a huge ocean journey across the Atlantic and then returned to the sea for the photo to be taken.
Goose barnacles are not native to the UK but can wash up on our shores during powerful Atlantic storms. Although the ball is waste and should not be in the sea, I do wonder about the journey the ball has been on. From initially being lost, then spending time in the tropics where the barnacles are native and perhaps years in the open ocean before arriving in Dorset. However, this waste can also bring creatures that may survive in UK waters and could become invasive species. More human waste in the sea could increase the risk of more creatures making it to our shores.
Collection 12
See the best images from the 2024 competition in this beautiful coffee-table book.
Animal Behaviour
Category Winner
“Three Frogs in Amplexus” by Ian Mason
Common frog. Perthshire, Scotland.
Runner-up
“Dancing in the Dark” by Matthew Glover
Great crested grebe. Killingworth, North Tyneside, England.
Highly Commended
"Affection" by Lawrie Brailey
"The Great Leap" by Alastair Marsh
"Houseproud" by" Takaki Nemoto
"Hobby About to Strike a Mayfly" by Richard Sheldrake
Animal Portraits
Category Winner
“Starling at Night” by Mark Williams
Common starling. Solihull, West Midlands, England.
Runner-up
“Sunrise Hare” by Spencer Burrows
Brown hare. Nottinghamshire, England.
Highly Commended
"Mountain Hare" by Danny Green
"A Precarious Pose" by Alastair Marsh
"Last Light" by Andy Parkinson
"Angel Wings" by Lee O’Dwyer
Botanical Britain
Category Winner
“Tiny Forest Balloons” by Jason McCombe
Slime mould. Essex, England.
Runner-up
“Rainbow at Dawn” by Martin Stevens
Rainbow wrack. Falmouth, Cornwall, England.
Highly Commended
"Plant Scars" by Tracy Calder
"Blue Forest" by Ian Wade
"Treebeard" by David Pressland
"Single Snowdrop" by Ross Hoddinott
Black & White
Category Winner
“Raven Above Arran” Robin Dodd
Raven. Isle of Arran, Scotland.
Runner-up
“Squirrel Silhouette” by Rosamund Mcfarlane
Red squirrel. Cumbria, England.
Highly Commended
"Defiance" by Robin Goodlad
"Black and Blue" by Kirsty Andrews
"Abyss" by Gina Goodman
"Clearing Storm on the Cuillin" by Jeremy Walker
"Through the Bubbles" by Henley Spiers
Coast & Marine
Category Winner
“Ocean Drifter” by Ryan Stalker
Goose barnacles. Portland, Dorset, England.
Runner-up
“Fireworks in the Night” by Dan Bolt
Fireworks anemone. Loch Fyne, Scotland.
Highly Commended
"Galactic Gooseberries" by Billy Arthur
"Hyperspace" by Grace Bailey
"Pipefish Camouflage" by Shannon Moran
"Time and Tide" by Jeremy Walker
Habitat
Category Winner
“The Tightrope Walker” by Daniel Valverde Fernandez
Red fox. Sherwood Pines Forest Park, Nottinghamshire, England.
Runner-up
“The Crop Thief” by Steven Allcock
Nantwich, Cheshire, England.
Highly Commended
"All at Sea" by Robin Morrison
"Stag Portrait" by Graham Niven
"Smoothly Does It" by Angus Andrew
"Toughing It Out" by Simon Withyman
Hidden Britain
Category Winner
“Three’s a Crowd” by Ross Hoddinott
Common blue butterfly. Vealand Farm, Devon, England.
Runner-up
“Daisy Danger” by Lucien Harris
Flower crab spider and Honey bee. Lee Mill, Devon, England.
Highly Commended
"Cuckoo Wasp Sleeping" by Andy Sands
"Reflection" by Clive Burns
"An Evening Meal" by Geraint Radford
"Diamonds and Gold" by William Harvey
Urban Wildlife
Category Winner
“Day Walker” by Simon Withyman
Red fox. Bristol, England.
Runner-up
“What’s All the Fuss About?” by Will Palmer
Walrus. Scarborough, North Yorkshire, England.
Highly Commended
"Strutting His Stuff" by Simon Withyman
"No Access" by Ian Wood
"Urban Oasis" by Oscar Lindsey
"Industrial Home" by Ben Andrew
Wild Woods
Category Winner
“Beech for the Sky” by Graham Niven
Beech. East Lothian, Scotland.
Runner-up
“Into the Mist” by Philip Selby
Beech. Badbury Hill, Oxfordshire, England.
Highly Commended
"Pine Marten on the Prowl" by James Roddie
"Windswept Downy Birch" by Michael Johnston
"Pied Flycatcher" by Danny Green
British Seasons
Category Winner
“The King’s Quarters” by Warren Price
Common kingfisher. Bedfordshire, England.
Documentary Series
Category Winner
“The Shame of Britain” by Neil Aldridge
Red fox. England.
Video Award
Bitterling - Jack Perks
Category Winner
RSPB Young British Wildlife Photographer of the Year
“Running on Water ” by Max Wood
Coot. Frensham Little Pond, Surrey, England.
I woke up at 4:45 am with the hope of capturing backlit waterfowl images at Frensham Pond in Surrey. I lay down at the edge of the pond and waited for the birds to become active. As the morning progressed, rays of sunlight began to shine through trees along the edge of the pond, creating spotlights in the morning mist. This created a beautiful atmosphere, which I aimed to capture in my images. This coot was fleeing a fight, running across the water to take flight through the mist and rays of light.
RSPB 15-17 Years
Category Winner
“Running on Water” by Max Wood
Coot. Frensham Little Pond, Surrey, England.
Runner-up
“Death Stare” by James Pearson
Peregrine falcon. East Sussex, England.
Highly Commended
"Predator Meets Prey" by Max Wood
RSPB 12-14 Years
Category Winner
“Mother and Fawn” by Felix Walker-Nix
Roe deer. Sherfield on Loddon, England
Runner-up
“Long-tailed Tit” by Kiran Simpson
Long-tailed tit. Loch Leven, Scotland.
Highly Commended
"Male Banded Demoiselle" by William Lambourne
RSPB 11 and Under
Category Winner
“Spring’s Treasures” by Jamie Smart
Pheasant. Mid Wales.
Runner-up
“Palmate Newt” by Wilbur King
Palmate newt. Devon, England.
Highly Commended
"Shear De-light" by Jamie Smart