Emma Sharples
May is the month when our nature reserves truly burst into life. The dawn chorus reaches its crescendo, rows of fluffy chicks can be seen following their parents around our wetlands, colourful insects are taking wing, and shy roe deer fawns can be seen taking their first wobbly steps.
Thank you to everyone who took part this month - we really loved seeing your interpretations of the theme.
This month's winner, chosen via public vote, is... Emma Sharples. Congratulations!
Emma's winning photo, 'Caught looking back', can be seen below.
Emma Sharples
Emma captured this wonderful image of a curious roe buck at Brockholes, with his antlers covered in their velvety coating ready to be shed for the rutting season ahead.
Emma said: 'I took many photos of this beautiful young roe buck but eventually just put my camera down and just watched in awe of such a fantastic natural visual encounter. A sighting like this really makes your day!'
One voter said that they 'love the angle, composition and clarity of the photo'. Voters described the deer as looking 'cheeky' and 'seems like it's posing for the camera'.
This month's runner up is Joe Bennett with the photo 'Grebe mother with humbugs'.
Great crested grebe chicks are one of the cutest springtime sights on our reserves, often seen with their striking zebra-like markings hitching a ride on their mother's back.
Voters described this photo as 'lovely', saying 'it's really clear and sums up spring'. One voter commented: 'Such a sign of May with young birds showing across the reserve.' Congratulations Joe!
Joe Bennett
A huge thank you to everyone who sent in their images this month; your photos really captured the beauty of spring's new beginnings! The winner will be contacted via email.
June's theme is 'It's a Bug's Life'. On your next visit to our reserves, be on the look out for vibrant butterflies and dragonflies, bees busily searching for nectar, jewel-like beetles, and all other manner of fascinating insects. We can't wait to see your entries!
The deadline for submissions is 11:59pm on the 16th June 2026.
For further information and our full terms and conditions, please read here.
Let us know what you think about the voters' selections via our Facebook page, and keep an eye out for next month's crop of entries which will be shared on our social media pages, ready for you to vote for your favourite.
