Responding to this year’s theme Nature from every angle, we received a diverse and colourful array of images from across our three counties. 

As usual, the standard of these was extremely high, presenting difficult decisions for all three judges: Owen Howell, proprietor of Campkins Cameras; Chris Galvin of Opticron; and Sarah Lambert, Ecological Consultant. They all praised the quality and breadth of images submitted, commenting on how tough it was to decide with so many great shots to choose from. 

However, they whittled down the anonymous selection of images to the final 24 that will feature in our Wildlife Trust BCN 2023 calendar, topped by three winning images, which bag wonderful prizes generously supplied by sponsors Canon UK in association with Campkins Cameras and supporters Opticron. 

First place

In first place, congratulations to David Harris for  his ‘first and only’ shot of a mating pair of banded demoiselle damselflies, which he has been searching for since 2008 and finally captured at our Summer Leys reserve, Northants. David wins a Canon EOS 850D camera with EF-s 18-135mm f3.5-5.6 IS USM Lens. 

Second place

Second place goes to Peter Swan’s stunning rosemary beetle spotted at Wimpole Hall, Cambridgeshire, a species originally native to the Mediterranean region but which can now be found throughout England. Peter wins a Canon PowerShot ZOOM monocular camera and £200 worth of optical equipment from Opticron. 

Third place

Carl Everitt wins third place with his starling blend shot, a combination of multiple images to show the flight path of the starling murmuration at Summer Leys. Carl wins £200 worth of optical equipment from Opticron. 

We also congratulate the other finalists:

Magdalena Toruj, Dovydas Vicius, Louis Vicary, David Woodcock, David jackson, Simon Stirrup, Adrian Leybourne, Glynn Preston, Martin Abbess, Richard Howell, Mark Tyrrell, Janice Elliott, Victor Brown, kevin Pigney, Gary Dean, Luke Witcher and Stef Goff.

From great crested grebe chicks feasting on a fish breakfast to a resplendent emperor moth perched on a stem, the winning photos capture dramatic scenes of wildlife in our three counties. All of the photos demonstrate the excellent photographic skills of the 20 finalists, all of whom employed impressive techniques to achieve unique shots.

The awards ceremony to celebrate the finalists and launch our 2023 calendar will take place in autumn, with the calendar going on sale in Winter.

Note: The winning line-up has changed since it was first announced due to an entrant withdrawing their photos from the competition.