Nick Upton has worked as a research biologist, a wildlife filmmaker for the BBC, many other major broadcasters and the RSPB Film Unit, and as a wildlife and conservation stills and video photographer. He photographs a wide variety of wildlife subjects, many of them rare British species, and his documentary coverage includes the reintroduction of Cranes, Beavers and White Storks to the UK, plus Pine Marten, Seal, Bat, Hedgehog and Swift conservation, combining shots of wildlife and animal/people interactions. He’s much published in major books and national newspapers, his work has illustrated many features in BBC Wildlife magazine and has appeared in National Geographic magazine. Among other awards, he’s twice won the Documentary Series category of the British Wildlife Photography Awards and won the Conservation Documentary category of the Bird Photographer of the Year in 2020.
Nick Upton / Siberian flying squirrel (Pteromys volans) peering out of nest hole in old Aspen (Populus tremula) tree. Mature mixed forest, near Lisaku, Estonia. April.
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Nick Upton / European badger (Meles meles) walking down garden steps at night, with house in background, Wiltshire, UK, June.
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Nick Upton / Harvest mouse (Micromys minutus) cleaning its nose on Common hogweed (Heracleum sphondylium) flowerhead after release, Moulton, Northampton, UK, June.
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Nick Upton / Bewick's swan (Cygnus columbianus bewickii) trio flying to roost at dusk against a sunset sky, Gloucestershire, UK, November.
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Nick Upton / White-lipped snail (Cepaea hortensis) crawling over an oak sleeper retaining a garden lawn with a greenhouse in the background, Wiltshire, UK, April.
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Nick Upton / Hedgehog (Erinaceus europaeus) foraging on a lawn in a suburban garden at night, Chippenham, Wiltshire, UK, September. Taken with a remote camera. Property released.
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Nick Upton / Heath sand wasp (Ammophila pubescens) excavating a nest burrow in a bare sandy patch of heathland, carrying a ball of sand between its mandibles and its raised front legs, Dorset, UK, June.
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Nick Upton / Two-coloured mason bee (Osmia bicolor) flying in with a long, dried plant stem to add to a growing pile of vegetation camouflaging her nest in a Brown-lipped snail (Cepaeae nemoralis) shell on a chalk...
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Nick Upton / Common swifts (Apus apus) flying overhead, Wiltshire, UK, June. Digital composite image.
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Nick Upton / Marsh harrier (Circus aeruginosus) female hunting among a panicked flock of Common teal (Anas crecca) in flight over marshland, RSPB Greylake Nature Reserve, Somerset, UK, December.
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Nick Upton / Reeve's muntjac deer / Barking deer (Muntiacus reevesi) doe crossing a garden lawn at night close to a house, Wiltshire, UK, March. Taken by a remote DSLR camera trap.
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Nick Upton / Marsh fritillary butterfly (Euphydryas aurinia) nectaring on a Meadow buttercup (Ranunculus acris) flower in a chalk grassland meadow, Wiltshire, UK, June.