This month's highlights starts in the north with Pal Hermansen's imaginative Scandinavian imagery and Tony Wu's appealing flying squirrels. Then we head to Antarctica for a bold set of emperor penguin images from Stefan Christmann's new book. But there is also a summery feel with Lorraine Bennery's colourful portfolio on European orchids and some unusual insect coverage, including scientists studying the catastrophic decline in insect populations. And you will also find desert landscapes and burrowing owls from Jack Dykinga and Bryan Alexander's portraits from his Changing Face of the Arctic project.
Jack Dykinga / Burrowing owl (Athene cunicularia) chick in its second week out of the burrow, testing its wings, Sonoran Desert, Arizona, USA . May.
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Pal Hermansen / Bearded seal (Erignathus barbatus) resting, portrait. Svalbard, Norway. July.
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Tony Wu / Japanese dwarf flying squirrel (Pteromys volans orii) male sitting in tree, portrait. Hokkaido, Japan. March
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Pal Hermansen / Bearded seal (Erignathus barbatus) hauled out on ice, reflected in water. Svalbard, Norway. May.
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Pal Hermansen / Roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) female and twin fawns walking one behind the other through snow, in forest. Buskerud, Viken, Norway. March.
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Pal Hermansen / Wild reindeer (Rangifer tarandus) male silhouetted at dawn. Forollhogna National Park, Innlandet, Norway.
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Pal Hermansen / RF - Wild reindeer (Rangifer tarandus) herd on cloudy morning. Forollhogna National Park, Innlandet, Norway. (This image may be licensed either as rights managed or royalty free.)
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Pal Hermansen / Brown bear (Ursus arctos) silhouetted in forest at night. Finland. August.
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Tony Wu / Japanese dwarf flying squirrel (Pteromys volans orii) sitting on branch. Hokkaido, Japan. March.
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Tony Wu / Japanese dwarf flying squirrel (Pteromys volans orii) on tree trunk beside nest hole. Hokkaido, Japan. March.
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Tony Wu / Japanese dwarf flying squirrel (Pteromys volans orii) pair on tree trunk, female in oestrus in nest hole, male sitting on guard above to fend off approaching males. Hokkaido, Japan. March.
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Tony Wu / Japanese dwarf flying squirrel (Pteromys volans orii) grasping onto branch at dusk. Hokkaido, Japan. March.
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Tony Wu / Japanese dwarf flying squirrel (Pteromys volans orii) sitting on tree trunk outside nest hole at dusk. Hokkaido, Japan. March.
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Pal Hermansen / Moose (Alces alces) walking through snow covered forest in morning light. Osterdalen Valley, Innlandet, Norway. January 2017.
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Pal Hermansen / Squirrel (Sciurus vulgaris) in forest, view from below, remote camera shot. Akershus, VIken, Norway. February.
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Pal Hermansen / Wild boar (Sus scrofa) sow with piglet, silhouetted in rain at night. South Sweden. May.
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Ole Jorgen Liodden / Polar bear (Ursus maritimus) on drifting ice floe. Svalbard, Norway.
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Edwin Giesbers / Moths (Lepidoptera) swarming with flight trails, attracted by light during insect trapping and identification session. Long-term monitoring in De Kaaistoep Nature Reserve, Tilburg, The Netherlands. Ju...
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Edwin Giesbers / Silver-studded blue butterfly (Plebejus argus), two resting amongst grasses, in morning. The Netherlands. July.
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Andy Rouse / Painted lady butterfly (Vanessa cardui) feeding on sedum (Hylotelephium) in a garden. Wales, UK. Summer.
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Michael Hutchinson / Goldenrod crab spider (Misumena vatia) yellow female on Honesty flower, Bristol, UK, April
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Edwin Giesbers / Orange tip butterfly (Anthocharis cardamines) two females on Cuckooflower (Cardamine pratensis). The Netherlands. March.
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Edwin Giesbers / RF - White-legged damselfly (Platycnemis pennipes) peering over Oxeye daisy (Leucanthemum vulgare) flower. The Netherlands. August. (This image may be licensed either as rights managed or royalty free...
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Ripan Biswas / Ant-mimicking crab spider (Amyciaea lineatipes) predating a weaver ant (Oecophylla smaragdina) . Ant-mimicking crab spiders live around ant colonies. Buxa tiger reserve, India. Winning Portfolio of th...
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Edwin Giesbers / Cockchafer beetle (Melolontha melolontha) on lichen encrusted twig. France. May.
Lorraine Bennery / Ladies slipper orchid (Cypripedium calceolus) , Chichilianne , Verdon Regional Natural Park, France, June.
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Stefan Christmann / Emperor penguins (Aptenodytes fosteri) pair silhouetted, Antarctica.
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Stefan Christmann / Emperor penguins (Aptenodytes fosteri) huddling in a storm, Antarctica.
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Stefan Christmann / Emperor penguins (Aptenodytes fosteri) colony at night with Aurora Australis, Antarctica.
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Stefan Christmann / Emperor penguin (Aptenodytes fosteri) standing on ice, its breath condensing in the cold air as it calls in search of its mate, Atka Bay, Antarctica. August. Bookplate.
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Stefan Christmann / Emperor penguins (Aptenodytes fosteri) colony with chicks, age 9-12 weeks, Antarctica. Bookplate.
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Stefan Christmann / Emperor penguin (Aptenodytes fosteri) fledglings, some moulting, aged 20-24 weeks, on the edge of an ice shelf, waiting to jump into the sea, polar summer, Atka Bay, Antarctica. January. Bookplate.
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Stefan Christmann / Emperor penguins (Aptenodytes fosteri) parents with chick, Antarctica.
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Stefan Christmann / Emperor penguin (Aptenodytes fosteri) adults with their chick in front of the colony, Atka Bay, Antarctica. December. Bookplate.
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Stefan Christmann / Emperor penguins (Aptenodytes fosteri) in courtship, Antarctica. Bookplate.
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Stefan Christmann / Emperor penguin (Aptenodytes fosteri) chick age 18-20 weeks, Antarctica.