Burnley photographer's 'once in a lifetime' picture wins worldwide acclaim

Keith Bannister, of Brunshaw Road, photographed the two mismatched birds "squaring off" with each other in a stunning image which was chosen ahead of hundreds of other entries in the Society of International Nature and Wildlife Photographers' Living World competition.

Retired Michelin worker Keith (69) took the photograph last May from a hide near York in the early morning, having got up at 3-30am.

"I had gone to the hide with a photographer friend Mark Hughes from Leeds who advised we should get there early as this is when birds start getting busy," he explained.

"It was about 5am and all the action happened within minutes. The area near the hide is known for cuckoos and sure enough one arrived but I wasn't expecting a sedge warbler to turn up.

"Even though the cuckoo is a lot larger they immediately squared up so I just snapped away. It all happened so fast and was over in a matter of seconds, but when I looked at the pictures after I couldn't believe it. I could go back a thousand times and never get that shot again."

Keith's friend Mark was immediately impressed, and said "wow", while other photographer friends told him he'd got a winner and urged to enter the photograph in a competition.

Sure enough, Keith entered the Society of International Nature and Wildlife Photographers' Living World competition, which attracted 700 entries from around the world.

"I was blown away when my photograph was chosen as the winner. I knew it was a good one but didn't think it would win overall. I've always been interested in wildlife and took up photography around 15 years ago," Keith added.

"I joined Burnley Camera Club and learned a lot from them. When I retired it gave me a lot more time to spend on photography. The camera I used takes 11 frames a second so that helped capture this wonderful image."

Sadly, the coronavirus lockdown has prevented Keith from getting out to take more photographs, but he is hoping to do so when restrictions are lifted.

He added: "It's frustrating because this is the best time of year to capture birds as they are at their busiest, building nests or feeding their young. I take my daily exercise walk in Towneley Park but my equipment is too heavy to carry around. Hopefully, I'll be able to get out soon."