elsier

Placed 18^th in the challenge. Getting focus with all those snowflakes in the way wasn't easy -- but fun! About 2 minutes after taking this shot of a White-tailed Fish-eagle about to land, I took a very nasty slip on the ice... In Hokkaido, Japan

What an image!

Superb Starling (Lamprotornis superbus) :-)

It's an Osprey (Pandion haliaetus),not a Bald Eagle!

Placed 15^th in the challenge. The breast is, well, lilac, the cheeks are pink, the abdomen and the midpart of the wings are turquoise, the shoulder and wing edges are dark purple... Can you tell?! Ah, and the gecko in its beak is orange-brown!

Placed 18^th in the challenge. A Blakiston'as Fish Owl in the middle of a snowstorm, Hokkaido, Japan

Placed 55^th in the challenge. I found this make Violet-capped Woodnymph on the floor and in a poor state -- it had probably flown into a glass window. I sprinkled cool water on its head and it slowly came to. I then offered it sugar water; it drank, became more animated and eventually flew off. Phew!

Placed 44^th in the challenge. Flying over Svalbard, Norway, the clouds' shadows play on the water

Placed 26^th in the challenge. We spotted these three bats from our vehicle during a safari in Tanzania, and stopped to photograph them. Just a few shots later, one of them flew off

Placed 7^th in the challenge. An Atlantic Spotted Dolphin silently slices through perfectly still waters, a rare day off the coast of southeastern Brazil

Placed 160^th in the challenge. Night was falling and I was heading for the airport in Hokkaido, Japan, when I spotted this young Japanese Crane in a snowy field. Its parents were foraging for food while this bird was playing and dancing with a dry leaf! It leapt and turned and dropped the leaf and picked it up again... Simply sublime

This is odd. Contrary to what the review states, I bought a Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 in Brazil and it does offer 3G (it is a cellphone and a tablet and a lot of other things I have barely scratched...

Placed 58^th in the challenge. A cruise icebreaker breaking ice in the Canadian Arctic, 2004. I fear an icebreaker isn't even necessary up there any longer, just a few years later...

Placed 18^th in the challenge. There were six young ones on the plain, lazing around. Then they started to get up, and these two just sat and stared at us. Then they just turned and walked away. Kenya, 2011

Placed 9^th in the challenge. As scary as it looks, this cheetah probably had its tummy full: it was just lying on a little hill and didn't budge when our vehicle approached. It just stretched, raised its head and gave a huge yawn. Kenya, 2011

Placed 43^rd in the challenge. Scarlet Macaw, a mostly Amazonic bird, in the Iguazu Falls, Brazil, aviary. Just preening and quite unconcerned with human proximity

Placed 26^th in the challenge. Black-fronted Piping-Guan photographed in the Iguazu Falls aviary, Brazil. Unfortunately it was a very overcast day, but hand-held 1/40 worked!

Placed 54^th in the challenge. In a small plane, flying from the British mainland to the Shetland Islands. An overcast, rainy day, I was sitting right beside the prop and thought the effect was cool -- so I photographed it!

Placed 55^th in the challenge. Hyacinth Macaws took this tree by storm early in the morning. Around twenty flew in and started feeding on the flowers, making it tough to choose which ones to focus on. It was a real privilege to see these endangered birds in nature. Photographed in the Pantanal, Brazil