Youth category

In May, I was searching for Western yellow wagtails (Motacilla flava) in the rapeseed fields. After checking dozens of fields on my bike, I found nothing. The last hope was the field closest to my house, and there they were. I found a pair of these beautiful birds, and managed to photograph one of them. Although the light was still pretty harsh, the photo turned out well-balanced.

During my visit to Robben Island to photograph African Penguins (Spheniscus demersus) I was also able to enjoy this magnificent bird, the African Oystercatcher (Haematopus moquini) which was hunting on the rocks along the beach while the waves were crashing.

I was shocked by this scene in Morocco where white storks (Ciconia ciconia) were just waiting for our leftovers, instead of hunting down their food. We have imported our plastic products into Africa but without any instruction manual on how to live with these new inventions. The local people don't have the education and means, and I cannot even blame them. And in the meantime, nature is suffering...

Little owl (Athene noctua) photographed from the car window at dusk. The small bird of prey was using the tallest sunflowers (Helianthus annuus) to spot the large green locust.

I captured it from our small garden. The Lesser banded hornet (Vespa affinis), build their nest in our garden and they have been doing this for the last 3 years. That time they become a nightmare to us because of their poisonous sting. But I like the beautiful design of their nest and always love watching, capturing the colourful shades and the complex design after returning from my school.

Corals of the same species (Anthozoa) but of different colonies are competing with each other. Due to the environment with limited space, the winner will be able to expand surface area and increase their ability for foraging and photosynthesis, as well as catching plankton and reproduction. It is this competition that drives the evolution within species.