A 'stunning' shot of a buzzard in flight has won top prize in a local wildlife photography competition.

A pin-sharp picture of a tiny shield bug emerging from a garden flower and a portrait of a pensive kingfisher are also among the winners.

The prize pictures, which were all taken at local nature reserves or green spaces, have taken the pole positions in the Berkshire, Buckinghamshire & Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust (BBOWT) 2022 Photography Competition.

Roy McDonald took first place with his crystal clear shot of a buzzard in mid-air at the Trust's College Lake reserve near Tring.

The 45-year-old former courier driver from Berkhamstead revealed after winning the contest that he has struggled with his mental health for some years, and that wildlife photography had helped.

Mr McDonald said:"Nature helps me so much, it's honest and calming and it doesn't judge you, and just sometimes, if you are calm and patient, it will allow you to get up close into their world. I always take great pleasure when a creature trusts you enough to not scurry or fly away - but you don't have to take photos: just being in nature and observing it can give you something to focus on."

Speaking about his winning shot he said: "I had my encounter with a majestic buzzard on a cold and beautiful winter day. I had seconds to react once I spotted it, and just as my focus locked on, it spotted me and flew directly across my path - so close to me. I chose the first image of the sequence because it had the most amount of action and sense of place: it is by far and away the best shot of a buzzard I have ever managed. They have eluded me for years. I'm quite stunned and delighted to have won."

As overall winner, Mr McDonald won a top-of-the-range Panasonic Lumix digital camera and a wildlife photography masterclass, as well as receiving a printed canvas of his picture and having it appear in BBOWT's 2023 calendar.

The winner of this year's children's category was eight-year-old Roly Lewis from Oxford.

The North Hinksey Primary School pupil took his fantastic photo of a shield bug poking its head out of a flower in his own front garden.

Roly said:
"I wanted to enter the competition so I took lots of wildlife pictures all spring and summer. I thought this photo was my best one because the blossom was a nice background and the shield bug had an amazing colour and pattern. This made me look closely at shield bugs which are really amazing.

"My mum told me I had won when I came out of school and I was so excited I jumped up and down. I really wanted to win but I thought there would be so many good photos that I wouldn't."

The Wildlife Trust restarted its popular photo competition this summer after a three-year break because of the pandemic.

The charity, which manages more than 80 nature reserves across Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire, challenged everyone aged six and over to take fantastic photos of plants, animals and fungi at its sites, or to capture action for wildlife in their local area.

This year's contest had six new categories: flora and fauna; nature reserve landscapes; people in nature; children's category (ages 6-12), teenagers (ages 13-19) and Team Wilder, for shots of action for nature in the community.

Helen Touchard-Paxton, a mum who lives near Winslow in Buckinghamshire, won the Team Wilder category with a snap of a frog in a garden pond that she and her family dug during the coronavirus lockdown.

She said:
"I believe this photo shows that you don't need acres of land to create a successful wildlife area: if you are interested - no matter how small your space - just have a go and see what works.

"I don't have high end expensive equipment, and I have no idea how to use photo editing software - the photo is very much 'as taken'. I was absolutely amazed to have won the Team Wilder category."

The Trust received hundreds of entries, creating an extremely difficult job for this year's judges - BBOWT communications officer Kate Titford, Trust magazine editor Ben Vanheems and professional photographer Steve Gozdz, who runs local nature safaris in Berkshire through his business GG Wildlife Experiences.

Mr Vanheems said:
"It's been a really laborious process with lots of debate going on because we want to get it right, but the competition entrants haven't exactly made it easy for us."

Mr Gozdz added:
"What I was looking for was composition, good use of light - an action shot would have been fantastic. What we've found is something quite stunning - a real in-the-moment shot with perfect angles and perfect light, and actually something I would have been very happy to have taken myself. In fact, when I first saw it I was quite jealous."

The winners

A total of six winners have been chosen, one in each category, alongside a runner-up in each category.

All winners will have their photographs printed in the 2023 BBOWT calendar, which is being printed by competition sponsor Chroma Group, of Reading.

Flora and fauna (and overall winner) - Ray McDonald (buzzard in flight) taken at College Lake

Runner Up - Adrianna Bielobradek (Poppy seedhead) taken at Buckleberry Common

People in Nature - Petra Mohr (girl on decking) taken at Weston Turville Reservoir

Runner Up - Lorraine Clarke (man in hide) taken at College Lake

Team Wilder - Helen Touchard-Paxton (frog)

Runner Up – Peter Massam (bug hotel)

Landscape – Charlotte Day (sunrise landscape) taken at Cholsey Marsh

Runner Up - John Kearns (Warburg trees) taken at Warburg

Teenagers – Zachery Osbourne (14) (Kingfisher)

Runner Up – Lucy Colston (17) (marbled white on scabious)

Children – Roly Lewis (8) (Shieldbug)

Runner up – Hayden Denham (7) (Hummingbird Hawkmoth)

The Trust is extremely grateful to GG Wildlife Experiences, Panasonic and Chroma for sponsoring this year's competition.