[Photo credit: © Edmund Telford]

Edmund, a past president of Ayr Photographic Society, beat more than 140 entries with an image captured as he was trying out a new Tamron lens.

The contest was open to both amateurs and professionals.

‘The image was taken on Sunday 26 July in the Midlands on a dull, wet day, as can be seen from the motion in the falling rain,’ said Edmund, who won a year’s membership of the Society of International Nature and Wildlife Photographers.

‘I had just purchased a new Tamron 150-600mm telephoto lens and took this image at 600mm – from a hide, resting on a bean bag.

Edmund, who is retired, added: ‘The light was not particularly kind on this occasion and I had to crank up the ISO on my Nikon D610 to ISO 3200, in order to achieve an exposure of f/8 at a 1/320sec.’

Runners-up were named as Christopher Algar and Cathy Withers-Clarke, who each won a six-month membership of the Society of International Nature and Wildlife Photographers.

Competition organisers sought images depicting ‘all kinds of wildlife, from tiny pond life to herds of animals in their natural environment’.

There were also 14 highly commended entries in the Amazing Creatures Photography Competition.