A barnacle-covered football and a tightrope walking fox: British Wildlife Photography Award winners
Check out the beautiful and poignant winners of the British Wildlife Photography Awards.
ADVERTISEMENTA photo of a barnacle-covered football has snatched the top prize in this year’s British Wildlife Photography Awards.
Photographer Ryan Stalker found the ball washed up on the Isle of Portland, Dorset, off England’s south coast. As goose barnacles are not native to the UK, he believes it had made an epic journey across the Atlantic Ocean, spurred on by powerful storms.
Above the water, it just looks like a regular football. But just below the surface, a colony of goose barnacles clings to its underside - a poignant reminder of the impact of human-caused pollution on the ocean’s delicate ecosystems.
“This waste can also bring creatures that may survive in UK waters and could become invasive species,” says Ryan, who was awarded British Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2024 and winner of the Coast and Marine category for the image, titled ‘Ocean Drifter’. “More human waste in the sea could increase the risk of more creatures making it to our shores.”
His was one of more than 14,000 entries to the annual competition, earning a £5,000 (€5,850) grand prize and featuring in a coffee-table book.
From shy trees to a balancing fox, here are the winners of some of the other categories of the British Wildlife Photography Awards 2024.
Animal Portraits winner: A starling frozen in mid-flight
Photographer Mark Williams sought to “freeze the bird in mid-flight” with his ‘Starling at Night’ entry.
“I had been observing the birds in my garden as they fed on sunflower seeds and peanuts from the feeder for some time,” says Mark.
“I aimed to capture the sense of movement and flight patterns in my images while still preserving the fine details of the birds.”
Habitat winner: A tightrope-walking fox
‘The Tightrope Walker’ by Daniel Valverde Fernandez captures a red fox skilfully making its way along a tree branch, subtly highlighted by the sun’s rays.
Hidden Britain winner: Social blue butterflies at sunset
On a summer’s evening, three blue butterflies (Polyommatus icarus) perch in a meadow in this image titled ‘Three’s a Crowd’.
“They are such beautiful little insects and they enhance any wildflower meadow or garden they inhabit,” says photographer Ross Hoddinott. “Blues are quite social insects, and they can often be found roosting quite close together - or even on the same grass or flower.”
Wild Woods winner: Beech trees show their ‘canopy shyness’
Bare beech trees show their “canopy shyness” - where the crowns of mature trees do not touch - in this shot titled ‘Beech for the Sky’ by Graham Niven.
“Besides the wondrous vision you are afforded, it’s also just a great excuse to lie down in the forest,” says Graham of the image captured in a grove in Dunbar in East Lothian, Scotland.
RSPB Young British Wildlife Photographer of the Year: : A fleeing coot
Encouraging young people to get involved with nature, the RSPB’s Young British Wildlife Photographer of the Year award went to Max Wood for ‘Running on the Water’.
“I woke up at 4.45am with the hope of capturing backlit waterfowl images at Frensham Pond in Surrey,” says Max. “As the morning progressed, rays of sunlight began to shine through trees along the edge of the pond, creating spotlights in the morning mist.”
Check out the other winners and runners up in our photo gallery here.
What is the British Wildlife Photography Awards?
The British Wildlife Photography Awards (BWPA) is a respected showcase of nature photography in the UK. It serves as a crucial reminder of the value of our woodlands, wetlands and other ecosystems.
ADVERTISEMENTThe 2025 competition is now open for entries at bwpawards.org. Photographers of all experience levels can submit their photos.
