Amazing shot of angry birds wins Nature in Action photo competition

A photo competition organized by The Society of International Nature and Wildlife Photographers has today revealed its winning images and the results are nothing short of stunning. The Nature in Action photo contest challenged photographers to look for action shots in the natural world plus interesting animal behaviors.

Nikon shooter Cecilie Bergan Stuedal from Innlandet, Norway, was selected as the overall winner of the competition with her extraordinarily sharp image captured of a Eurasian Sparrowhawk and a Eurasian Jay fighting over a dead tree stump, with wings widespread and talons at the ready. 

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The winning image titled “Kick the can" was captured by Stuedal in Dalen, Telemark, Norway, using a Nikon D500 body, paired with a Nikkor 180-400mm lens, and using the following camera settings: ISO 1000, with an exposure of 1/2500sec at f/4. 

The winning photographer of The Nature in Action photo contest has been awarded £100 (approximately $120 / AU$177) in prize money as well as a 12-month membership to The Society of International Nature and Wildlife Photographers (SINWP) organization. 

The Societies Director, Colin Jones, has shared that: “This competition was popular with images coming in from all over the World, Cecilie’s battling birds’ image was chosen as the winning image as the action in mid-air captures the theme of the competition very well.”

Second place in the Nature in Action photo contest was awarded to John Cumber from Hertfordshire, England, for his perfectly-timed shot of a parrot and a rat climbing in opposite ways along a tree branch.

The image by John is tack-sharp with excellent balance and superb depth of field, lovely bokeh, and a deep green-colored background that beautifully matches and compliments that of the parrot subject on the left.

Another beautiful image to grace this competition was captured by third-place winner, Ann Aveyard from Hampshire, England, with a super-sharp shot of a stag that was captured at Bushy Park in the rutting season. Ann's image was captured using a Canon EOS R5 body, with a Canon RF 100-500mm f/4.5-7.1L IS lens. 

During what is known as the 'rut', the stags are said to adorn their antlers with foliage in an attempt to make themselves appear bigger and more powerful, both to deter rivals and also to attract females. 

There were an additional four highly commended images selected by the judges, which can be viewed via The Society of International Nature and Wildlife Photographers' website. 

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