Romanian photographer Daniel Dencescu spent hours following starlings around the city and suburbs of Rome, Italy before he got the shot he wanted.
Finally, on the cloudless winter’s day, the murmuration, swirled into the shape of a giant bird.
He submitted his photo ‘Starling Murmuration’ to the Wildlife Photo awards and was one of four photographers who was ‘highly commended.’
The winner was an image of a young polar bear drifting to sleep on an iceberg taken by British amateur photographer Nima Sarikhani. He won the Wildlife Photographer of the Year People’s Choice Award.
„Sarikhani’s breathtaking and poignant image allows us to see the beauty and fragility of our planet,” Natural History Museum director Dr Douglas Gurr said.
Sarikhani made the image after three days searching for polar bears through thick fog off Norway’s Svalbard archipelago.
Wildlife photography and nature fans from around the world were invited to vote from a short list of 25 images.
