A shot of an insect face has been crowned the winner of a wildlife photography contest.

The extreme close-up of a white-legged damselfly by Harry Berks, 24, from Sibford Gower near Banbury, won first prize in the Berkshire, Buckinghamshire & Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust (BBOWT) 2023 Photography Competition.

Other winners included the deadly tentacles of a carnivorous plant and the broad smile of a bathing frog.

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Mr Berks said: "I am thrilled and surprised to have won this competition.

"I consider myself very lucky to be able to visit the amazing BBOWT nature reserves and find such wonderful wildlife.

"Photographing animals can be extremely difficult at times but the occasions when they let you into their world for even just a moment are extremely special and I never forget them."

Mr Berks outlined how he had taken the shot on a summer's day at his local nature reserve, Lamb's Pool, which is near the village of Sibford Ferris in Oxfordshire.

"Dozens of damselflies were mating around the pool, and young buzzards were scrapping of a mouse," he added.

As overall winner, Mr Berks received a top-of-the-range Nikon digital camera and wildlife photography masterclass as well as a printed canvas of his picture which also appeared in BBOWT's 2024 calendar.

The winner of this year's Children's category was nine-year-old Fern Gregory from Oxfordshire, with a 'pin-sharp' picture of a yellow-and-black hoverfly drinking nectar from a pink scabious flower.

She said: "I like to use the camera to take photos of animals.

"First of all I was taking bird photos, but I had to zoom in so much.

"The birds kept on flying away or hopping into the leaves and bushes, so I started to take photos of bugs because they don’t move as fast and I could get close to them.

"I took the photo in my back garden next to the steps where I sit to watch the bees and hoverflies on the pretty scabious flowers.

"Unexpectedly, I saw a hoverfly drinking nectar with its tongue and I quickly snapped it.

"I am very happy to be a winner and share my photo with everyone.

"I hope that I helped to raise awareness for nature, even the tiny things we might not give much thought to like the hoverfly."

Fern won a wildlife photography masterclass, a certificate, and will have her photo feature in BBOWT's 2024 calendar.

A total of 146 people submitted 454 photographs for this year's competition.

Competition judge Ben Vanheems said: "It's been such a joy judging the contest and the entrants gave us a really hard job - thank you to everyone who sent their photos in."

This year's winning photos can be viewed on the BBOWT website.