LAUNCESTON’S Geoff Trevarthen has won best ‘Urban Wildlife’ picture at the British Wildlife Photography Awards for his picture ‘Supermarket Starling’.

A member of the Cornwall Wildlife’s Trust photographic group for many years, Geoff was delighted with his incredible achievement.

Geoff said: “My wife and I had been walking on the beach at Bude (with my camera of course!), and we decided to walk into the town for a while. As we walked along the pavement outside a supermarket (Sainsbury’s), I heard a bird singing loudly.

“I found that the beautiful singing was coming from a starling, which was standing on the handle of a supermarket trolley. I started taking photographs, slowly getting closer each time, and altering my position so that the bird was against a plain piece of the orange background.

“I took several shots until I captured the image with the starling’s beak open, so that you can see that it’s singing! The bird then flew off, so I felt grateful that I had taken the opportunity it had presented me with.”

Being a member of the Wildlife Group though has plenty of advantages, as he explains.

Geoff continued: “In the summer months there are field trips, usually to one of the trust’s nature reserves, or sometimes to the coast or other outdoor venues where fascinating plants, birds, and animals can be photographed – and there’s always someone on hand to help with the photography aspects, or to help with species identification, etc.

“I have learned an enormous amount from being a member of the group, and it’s always a lot of fun!

“A little while ago, I was asked to give a short presentation to the group at one of our meetings. This allowed me to show other members some favourite close-up and macro images of spiders and insects I’d taken, since that’s my particular interest and photographic passion. I will take photographs of anything that interests me though, and that’s how I came to get the image of the ‘Supermarket Starling’!

While the group is great for developing your own personal photography skills, there is a really good social aspect to it too.

Geoff added: “The photographic group is always friendly and enjoyable, you learn from the other members, and you also see some amazing wildlife photos. Cornwall is a wonderful place for seeing wildlife and photographing it, and I find I’m never stuck for suitable subjects, since interesting wildlife is all around us if we just look and listen for it!”

The Cornwall Wildlife Trust Photographic Group meet regularly at the Trust’s headquarters at Five Acres Nature Reserve in Allet, just outside Truro.

Run by renowned Cornish wildlife photographers David Chapman and Adrian Langdon, it provides a great opportunity for keen nature photographers to hone their skills and share their work.

To find out more about the photo group contact the trust via their website www.cornwallwildlifetrust.org.uk