Honey bee by Paul Jaskulski
Photography Competition 2025
Competition Winners
Thank you to everyone who entered this year's competition and congratulations to our fantastic winning photographers!
First place in the 2025 photography competition
Photographer: Peter Smith
Category: Mammals & other animals
Subject: Common frog
Location: Letcombe Valley, Oxfordshire
Common frog by Peter Smith
As the overall winner, Peter received a smart bird-feeder camera and bird-feeding goodies from our friends at Vine House Farm. Along with all other category winners, he also won a wildlife photography masterclass with Steve Gozdz of GG Wildlife Experiences. His fabulous frog photo is printed in BBOWT‘s 2026 calendar.
I knew that common frogs congregate every year to breed in a small pond at Letcombe, but no one knows exactly when they will do so, only that it is usually in February. So I kept an eye on the local nature reports for any hint of it starting, as well as visiting Letcombe several times until I finally got the right day. I managed to capture this individual in the late afternoon sun, with the reflections from the background foliage making the water appear golden.
People's Choice Award
The winner of this year's People's Choice Award appears on the front cover of our 2026 calendar. Voting was open to the public and attracted over 2,200 votes!
Congratulations to Thomas Roberts for his beautiful image of a great crested grebe with humbug chicks.
Great crested grebes by Thomas Roberts
Thomas, pictured holding the 2026 BBOWT Calendar.
“This was a really special moment for me and I’m so pleased to win this award. My love of wildlife started when I was young, going out birdwatching with my uncle, and recently I’ve re-found that love through wildlife photography. Capturing the image, I had to lay down on the ground and wait patiently. My patience capturing this beautiful moment finally paid off when the great crested grebe family swam past me allowing a window into their world.”
Category winners
Photographers could choose from eight categories. View the winning entries below.
7-spot ladybird by Ben Gray
Great crested grebes by Tom Eastwood
Honey bee by Paul Jaskulski
Dogwood by John Cawkwell
Autumn leaves by Paul Jaskulski
Common frog by Peter Smith
Winter waterfowl, Nature Discovery Centre by Craig Allen
Tufted duckling by Grace Miller
- Children & teenagers - 7-spot ladybird by Ben Gray
- Birds - Great crested grebes by Tom Eastwood
- Butterflies & other insects - Honey bee by Paul Jaskulski
- Flowers & fungi - Dogwood by John Cawkwell
- Landscapes & people - Autumn leaves by Paul Jaskulski
- Mammals & other animals - Common frog by Peter Smith
- Mobile phone photography - Winter waterfowl by Craig Allen
- Nature on your doorstep - Tufted duckling by Grace Miller
Runners-up & highly commended images
With so many high-quality entries, the following images were also rewarded.
Birch shieldbug by Everly Admans
Little egret by Tom Eastwood
Brimstone butterfly by Denis Kennedy
Green-winged orchid by Gladys Perrier
Autumn path, College Lake by Christian Kyriacou
Bank vole by Gladys Perrier
Bee and heather by Rebecca Cyriac
Green bottle fly by Jeremy Denton
Rabbit by Anton Poon
Cormorant by Tom Eastwood
Common blue butterflies by Philip Townsend
Grasshopper by Gareth Fish
Bracket fungus by Gareth Fish
Snelsmore Common by Leighton Brant
Mallard duck by Christopher Dunn
Runners-up
- Children & teenagers - Birch shieldbug by Everly Admans
- Birds - Little egret by Tom Eastwood
- Butterflies & other insects - Brimstone butterfly by Denis Kennedy
- Flowers & fungi - Green-winged orchid by Gladys Perrier
- Landscapes & people - Autumn path, College Lake by Christian Kyriacou
- Mammals & other animals - Bank vole by Gladys Perrier
- Mobile phone photography - Bee by Rebecca Cyriac
- Nature on your doorstep - Green bottle fly by Jeremy Denton
Highly commended
- Children & teenagers - Rabbit by Anton Poon
- Birds - Cormorant by Tom Eastwood
- Butterflies & other insects - Common blues by Philip Townsend
- Butterflies & other insects - Grasshopper by Gareth Fish
- Flowers & fungi - Bracket fungus by Gareth Fish
- Landscapes & people - Snelsmore Common by Leighton Brant
- Nature on your doorstep - Mallard duck by Christopher Dunn
We look forward to seeing even more remarkable moments captured in next year’s competition!
With thanks to our competition sponsor GG Wildlife Experiences
