Photography Competition

Overall Winner of the Essex Wildlife Trust Photography Competition 2021

Category winner Nigel Harris Category Captivating Colours Title Collecting Pollen Location Billericay

bee-autiful Our

winner has captured the county’s heart!

The Essex Wildlife Trust Photography Competition has become a staple entry in the diaries of wildlife enthusiasts across the county, and last year’s competition was no exception! We were delighted to receive so many extraordinary entries, and we are sure you will agree the standard has once again exceeded all expectations. So, how do these talented photographers manage to capture such magical wildlife moments? We explore the story behind each category-winning image.

Collecting Pollen by Nigel Harris

This year’s overall winner, Nigel Harris, captured the county’s heart with his stunning shot of a bee collecting pollen. The image manages to showcase the beauty of nature’s colours in incredible detail and portrays a delicate moment between bee and flower. Before being voted as our winner in the public vote, Nigel’s image was chosen as our ‘Captivating Colours’ category favourite and we are sure you will agree it is a perfect example of just how captivating the natural world can be.

“I am lucky to have Lake Meadows close to my home in Billericay and I often go there with my camera to connect with nature and try to capture some images of the wildlife that I encounter on my walks. The park offers something different throughout the seasons and the colourful flower meadow is always beautiful in summertime. I like to stop there awhile and look for insect life to photograph against the bright colours and that's how I came to take the 'Collecting Pollen' image.

I am absolutely thrilled and delighted to have won and consider it a huge honour, especially in view of the extremely high standard of entries this year from so many talented photographers. I would like to thank everyone who voted and of course the judges for choosing my photo as one of the category winners.”

Juvenile Female Sparrowhawk by Karl Price

The mirror image of a juvenile female sparrowhawk at the water’s edge was chosen as our ‘Wilder Essex’ category winner. This was a moment in time captured perfectly at Rainham Marshes; Karl tells us the story behind this oncein-a-lifetime shot. “I had seen images of a gorgeous juvenile female Sparrowhawk at Rainham Marshes photography hide and booked myself a slot. Within a few hours the hawk arrived and proceeded to bathe right in front of the hide. It was an amazing experience and just goes to show how wildlife of all species benefit from a bit of wilding right on the doorstep of London.” It also goes to show what can be discovered at bird hides, and why they are worth a visit!

Red Mason Bee in Nest Tunnel by Neil Phillips

After noticing a resident at his garden bee hotel, Neil managed to capture the astonishing close-up image of a red mason bee that was selected as our ‘Gardener’s World’ category winner. “One evening I noticed some of the red mason bees in my bee hotel were sat in their bamboo tunnels for the night, so I set up my tripod and LED light and used the focus bracketing mode on my camera and stacked the images together.” One of the many benefits to helping wildlife in your garden is getting to witness their fascinating behaviours. Category winner Karl Price Category Wilder Essex Title Juvenile Female Sparrowhawk Location Rainham Marshes

Category winner Neil Schofield Category A Wildlife Motion Picture Title Barn Owl with Prey Location Kirby Brook

Category Winner Neil Phillips Category Gardener’s World Title Red Mason Bee in Nest Tunnel Location Essex garden

Category winner Ben Rumsby Category Young Blood Title Spotted Flycatcher Location Chafford Gorges

Category Runner up Chris Larkin Category Pattern and Texture Species Dandelion Location Manningtree

Category winner Jennifer Spittle Category Pattern and Texture Title Loveheart Ladybird Location Essex garden “The barn owl was hunting along Kirby Brook between Holland-on-Sea and Frinton, and unusually it came away from the kill with the prey in its beak.” Neil recalls his first encounter with the enchanting barn owl that helped him become winner of our ‘A Wildlife Motion Picture’ category. “I believe this was done to land on a post in the nearby reeds and consume the vole itself, which it duly did. It’s not something I have seen done before, and so for me was unusual and a pleasure to see.” Neil’s image truly encapsulates the power and beauty of this bird of prey and offers a unique insight into its hunting techniques.

Loveheart Ladybird by Jennifer Spittle

You would be forgiven for not spotting the signature feature of our ‘Pattern and Texture’ category winner straight away, distracted by the exquisite patterns and kaleidoscope of colours. “I took this photo on my Nikon Z6 with my Nikon 105 macro lens,” Jennifer explains “I love macro photography and close-up detail. It had been raining and the ladybird has small droplets of water on still… then I noticed the loveheart on its back.” We love how Jennifer’s image portrays the complex patterns and textures found in nature, and the way macro photography can transport you into another wildlife world.

Spotted Flycatcher by Ben Rumsby

Our ‘Young Blood’ category celebrates the talent of Essex’s young wildlife photographers, and Ben’s shot of a spotted flycatcher is the perfect example! A tricky species to photograph, Ben’s patience paid off and he was chosen as the category winner. “I was checking birds in my local patch hoping to find a migrant. I was really pleased to find the spotted flycatcher as it was the first time that I had ever found and seen one at the Gorge. It was my target species and I found it by following a tit flock. It was flying in and around some trees when I managed to get a couple of photos, but it took about an hour for me to get this photo. I was really pleased it was in focus with my Canon SX70.”

We would like to thank everyone who submitted an entry, and we hope you continue to celebrate wildlife with your photography! If you are inspired to follow in our photographer’s footsteps, why not grab your camera and see what you can capture today?

Finding the WOW factor

The Essex Wildlife Trust Photography Competition 2021 is kindly sponsored by High Chelmer, and we were delighted to have Natalie Rodrigues from High Chelmer join our judging panel in December. With so many astounding entries to review, the judging process was no easy feat.

Natalie tells us more: "Being part of the judging panel of this year's photography competition was brilliant, the talent in every category was extraordinary and it really was very difficult to choose a favourite. The variety of entries in this year’s competition shows a breadth of creativity in Essex, as well as the diversity of wildlife right on our doorstep. We can't wait to showcase some of the outstanding entries at High Chelmer."

Eco-friendly pieces for your home

Liga ice grey cork placemats and coasters (Set of 4) Liga ice grey cork placemat and coaster

We can make a big difference with small choices every day. Taking a little extra time to find sustainably sourced products not only means you are supporting the environment but allows for considered purchases to become extra special additions to your home. Essex Wildlife Trust is delighted to partner with new stockist Liga at our Nature Discovery Centres. Liga are working to recycle wasted materials collected during beach cleans and transform them into beautiful eco-friendly homeware pieces you can be proud to own.

Homeware brand Liga (pronounced Leega) produce clean, contemporary eco-friendly pieces that evoke the spirit of coastal and country living to bring a natural sense of balance into the home.

Cork is one of Liga's key materials. The eco-friendly process of cork harvesting enables the products to be made without the need for felling trees and without interfering with the delicate ecosystems of the cork forests, ensuring safety for wildlife inhabitants. Cork forests also play a vital role in combatting the climate crisis, by absorbing a huge 32 million tons of CO2 each year.

Cork is a remarkable natural and sustainable material, with excellent thermal properties, is impermeable to liquids, super resilient, lightweight and hypoallergenic. Liga also has a Beach Clean collection which is made from a rainbow of recycled ocean plastics. Liga’s ethos is to make sustainable materials affordable and useable for everyday products.

Visit your local Essex Wildlife Trust Nature Discovery Centre to explore the new range and variety of eco-friendly gifts available. www.essexwt.org.uk/visit/centres

Liga beach clean notebook

Sophie Pavelle

@sophiepavs

Seas of surprise

As I write, it’s a moody, overcast Tuesday afternoon. Desk days like these make me crave the sea. I want to be fully in it, head and all, with (ideally) the sun streaking through. I’m lucky enough to have boomeranged home to Devon after university, and the southwest coast has lodged itself deep in my heart. I think of the sea daily, envisaging myself on, in or indeed under it… if possible.

One of my favourite things about British coastlines is that they are never the same. The rhythm of the tide brings new sights, smells, colours and characters to our shorelines four times a day. Give me a spare spring hour and you may find me walking barefoot along the local beach, looking for snakelocks anemones at low tide. Aside from their striking green and purple colour, I love how it takes barely any water for them to sway their thick tentacles like hula skirts, dancing in their rockpools like a couple of TikTokers.

On this same beach, a colony of breeding kittiwakes nest on the sandstone cliff face, coming home after a challenging winter in the Atlantic. As one of our most endangered seabirds, seeing them so free as they wheel with abandon about the clifftops, diving for food to feed their growing chicks, is a sight to raise even the gloomiest spirits.

But for me, nothing quite compares to the sighting of a fellow mammal in the water. Last summer, I had a particularly memorable encounter with a grey seal— the larger of our two native species. I was paddleboarding on a calm April afternoon, when the water had this glassy appeal. Paddling in random circles and enjoying the rare absence of swell on this particular stretch of coast, I adopted a downwards gaze, unsure what I was really looking for. But then, there he was. About 10 feet away from me — an enormous bull grey seal. He was bottling as seals do, with only his (gigantic!) head above the water. Whiskers twitching, eyes watching. I stopped breathing, just in case. And then as quickly as he had surfaced, he disappeared below the waves. Off on some covert assignment, no doubt.

Rather incredibly, the UK is home to 40 per cent of the world population of grey seals. Perhaps they enjoy the variety of the coast as much as I do? I think of that moment often and look forward to being surprised yet again by the beauty of the British seas this spring.

Find inspiration to get outdoors and discover your own spring surprises with our selection of seasonal spectacles!

wildlifetrusts.org/spring-wildlife OCEAN UPDATES

Discover more about our seas by signing up for our marine mailing! You’ll get an exclusive monthly newsletter packed with marine conservation news from around the world, exciting wildlife sightings from our amazing UK seas, and updates on the latest developments in protecting our oceans. wildlifetrusts.org/ marine-mailing

Sophie Pavelle is a science communicator and Ambassador for The Wildlife Trusts. Her first book Forget Me Not, Finding the Forgotten Species of Climate Change Britain is published 9 June 2022 (Bloomsbury)

Happy, healthy and hungry to learn.

Welcome to the Nature Nursery. We offer quality childcare for 2-5 year-olds based on learning through nature.

Set in the grounds of Abbotts Hall Nature Discovery Park near Colchester, where children can enjoy both freedom and security, our outdoor nursery is run by early learning experts at Essex Wildlife Trust, the most experienced provider of outdoor education in the county.

Find out more:

www.naturenursery.org.uk

Nature Nursery is part of: