Young RSPCA

Photographer: Elise Thomas
Category: 12-15 - Winner 2021
Title: Golden glow
Description: The morning of the 23rd August was just magical, I woke up at 4am feeling motivated to go find some wildlife! Luckily I came across a beautiful spot on our farm in Sledmere that was lit up by the golden light. At this moment in time I wasn't fully expecting to see anything, but to my delight a female roe deer wandered out from the woods and stood in the perfect place, I love how atmospheric the light makes this image look. I'm very proud of this image and it just goes to show that hard work really does pay off!

Photographer: Brooke Haycock
Category: 12-15 - Runner-up 2021
Title: Reality of nature
Description: I spend a lot of time looking for Tawny owls in the surrounding woodland where I live. I became interested in these elusive and beautiful owls a couple of years ago when I found my first nesting site. Ever since that day I have been addicted to watching their behaviour, especially in the spring and summer when they are raising young. I have developed a skill for finding these secretive birds and I regularly come across them on my walks with my camera. They really are all around, well-hidden amongst the foliage of the trees, watching us. Since my first photograph of a Tawny owl, I have dreamt of achieving a shot of an owl with prey. This summer, I spent many hours at dusk to try to capture a food pass from parent to chick. On this particular evening I followed the call of an owlet and waited patiently behind a bush with my camera at the ready. After half an hour, when the light started to drop, the sound of alarming birds came closer and closer. It was then I realised that the adult Tawny was approaching the chick perched in front of me. In the corner of my eye I saw a quick flash of movement and quickly adjusted my hand on the shutter. To my amazement, the adult had delivered a frog to the noisily begging chick. There was a split-second when the owlet looked down my lens and then I knew I had got the dream shot that I had wanted for many years. I felt very privileged and exhilarated.

Photographer: Joshua Garbutt
Category: 12-15 - Commended 2021
Title: A caring mother
Description:I've been spending a lot of time watching the black necked grebes this year and was hoping I would be able to photograph there young this year and one morning I was lucky enough to have encountered this mother carrying her three chicks on her back.

Photographer: James Pearson
Category: 12-15 - Commended 2021
Title: Brood parasite
Description: This particular cuckoo is rather well known among bird watchers as being pretty reliable for excellent photography and viewing opportunities, so when I heard that he had completed his annual journey from central Africa to the British shores I simply had to chance a visit. I had never seen a cuckoo before so didn't really know what to expect, after waiting around for several hours I'm the typical miserable British weather to no avail, we decided to leave and hope for better luck next weekend. The following weekend we returned on higher spirits (although are expectations lowered rather substantially) and within the 10 minutes it took to get in a suitable photography position and the tripod up we first heard that iconic call of the British countryside and within no time flew down to greet us, clumsily landing for a short period of time on a beautifully scenic lichen covered branch allowing me to take a short burst of photos before flying back up and perching around 4 metres above our heads. A magical and unforgettable experience and safe to say our expectations were rightfully surpassed.

Photographer: Dan Hancock-Smith
Category: 12-15 - Commended 2021
Title: Waving seal
Description: I was able to go to Norfolk in seal pup season. There were many seal pups across the whole beach, but this one stood out to me. As it struck an unusual pose, I took this photo of it. The composition of this photo shows a symmetrical view of the head and body until the attention is on the flipper bringing the photo together more.