Best Wildlife Pictures: British Nature Winners 2012

"Hidden Britain" Winner

Photograph by Dale Sutton, BWP Awards

A bush cricket appears frozen in mid-leap in British photographer Dale Sutton's winning picture, "Leap for Freedom."

Sutton, who specializes in high-speed photography, described his motivation for the photograph in a statement: "I wanted to show people a bush cricket in mid-leap. We all see grasshoppers and crickets sitting on grass stems but never after they have just taken off. This had to be done in a controlled environment, using a special high-speed flash and an array of equipment. I think I caught the essence of the subject well."

(Related: "Cricket Has World's Biggest Testicles [But Puny Output].")

Published September 12, 2012

"British Seasons" Winner

Photograph by Jules Cox, BWP Awards

A hare tucks back its ears and huddles against the cold, in a picture by Jules Cox. Cox captured the scene in Scotland's Cairngorms National Park, said to be home to the largest swath of mountainous Arctic acres in the British Isles.

(Pictures: Best Wild Animal Photos of 2011 Announced.)

Published September 12, 2012

"Backyard Wildlife" Winner

Photograph by David Thomas Handley, BWP Awards

A wasp prepares to take out the trash—fuzz pressed between mandibles—from a nest in a cavity wall in Tan-y-fron, Wales. Photographer David Thomas Handley had to use a stepladder to get the shot, which was taken above a garbage can in his backyard.

"As it was the weekend and there was nobody available to come and deal with the wasp's nest, I thought I may as well try and get some photos," Handley said in a statement.

(Related: "Bizarre 'King of Wasps' Found in Indonesia.")

Published September 12, 2012

"Animal Behavior" Winner

Photograph by Amanda Hayes, BWP Awards

Photographer Amanda Hayes tried for more than a week to photograph herring gulls trying to steal puffins' sand eel catches as the puffins landed, but the smaller birds kept outwitting the gulls.

But one day, "a puffin landed and a herring gull grabbed the back of the puffin's neck, lifting it high off the ground," Hayes said in a statement.

"Fortunately for the puffin, it wriggled free and escaped. I'm not sure whose heart was beating faster—the puffin's or mine!"

(Also see "Best Bird Pictures: Air, Sea, Ice Shots Win New Contest.")

Published September 12, 2012

"Habitat" Winner

Photograph by Alexander Mustard, BWP Awards

A young gray seal blends into surrounding rocks as it explores a cave in the English Channel. "I saw a seal swim through this colorful cave, and so I waited ... and waited," photographer Alexander Mustard said in a statement.

"About every 20 minutes a seal would come along and have a look, I suspect seeing if there were any fish sheltering here. This small cave was obviously an important hangout for seals." (Pictures: Baby Seals Rescued After European Storms.)

Published September 12, 2012

"Urban Wildlife" Winner

Photograph by Phil Jones, BWP Awards

Roosting starlings watch flying starlings in photographer Phil Jones's winning picture, taken in Aberystwyth, Wales. (Pictures: See starlings, and other animals, swarm in National Geographic magazine.)

"Starlings roost under the pier every autumn and winter and put on a great aerial display most nights," Jones said in a statement.

"I wanted something a little different, so concentrated on the perched birds looking out to sea with the movement of the flock beyond them. Given the poor weather, it took several visits to get the photograph I had in mind."

Published September 12, 2012

"Living Landscapes" Winner

Photograph by Stephen Powles, BWP Awards

Whizzing cars in Devon create glowing streamers of light—and a barrier for wildlife—on a road that cuts across one of Britain's largest expanses of Culm grassland, a type of wetland.

"Sadly, the North Devon link road was put through the middle of this ecosystem," photographer Stephen William Powles said in a statement. "Taken at night, the image shows even more dramatically how the road has cut through this habitat. The deer sign further emphasizes the conflict."

Published September 12, 2012

"Animal Portraits" Category

Photograph by Neil McIntyre, BWP Awards

A red deer stag peers between pine trees in Scotland's Cairngorms National Park. "Over the winter months some [properties] subsidize the feeding of the red deer to help them over the hard times," photographer Neil McIntyre explained in a statement.

"The estate where this shot was taken feed them in a pine wood, perfect for the shot I was after. After a few near misses, eventually one stag stood in the perfect position and I got the shot I wanted, with the out-of-focus tree trunks framing the stag."

Published September 12, 2012

"Wild Woods" Winner

Photograph by Jeremy Walker, BWP Awards

Photographer Jeremy Walker had to move quickly to capture sunlight streaming through Hampshire's New Forest—the shadowy pattern was constantly changing. But he called the work "an absolute joy."

It was a "classic autumnal afternoon: clear skies, a distinct nip in the air, and dappled light breaking through the golden canopy to play on the forest floor," Walker said in a statement. (See more pictures of fall foliage.)

Published September 12, 2012

Winner: Young People's Award

Photograph by Ashley Butterworth, BWP Awards

Arctic terns greet each other in mid-flight in a picture taken by Ashley Butterworth, 14, which won the British Photography Awards' WildPix Young People's Award in the 12-to-18 category.

(See more bird pictures.)

Published September 12, 2012

Winner: Young People's Award

Photograph by William Briggs, BWP Awards

A male chaffinch prepares to land in a picture taken by 8-year-old William Briggs, who won the 2012 contest's WildPix Young People's Award in the under-12 category. (See another chaffinch picture.)

An exhibition of 90 images from the British Wildlife Photography Awards will tour the U.K. through spring 2013.

Published September 12, 2012

More: See Last Year's Winners

Photograph courtesy Richard Shucksmith, BWPA

Published September 12, 2012