Oliver Wright / Marbled white butterfly (Melanargia galathea) photographed in early morning light. Ledston, Yorkshire, June. Focus stacked image.

George Sanker / American red squirrel (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus) on tree trunk drinking in a beaver pond early in the morning. Acadia National Park, Maine, USA. May.

Ross Hoddinott / Wren (Troglodytes troglodytes) singing, early morning in spring, Broxwater, Cornwall, UK. April.

Ross Hoddinott / Common blue damselfly (Enallagma cyathigerum) portrait, early morning light, Broxwater, Cornwall, UK. June 2018.

Erlend Haarberg / Black grouse (Lyrurus tetrix), male calling early in the morning, Norway. May.

Guy Edwardes / Corfe Castle in early morning mist, Dorset, England, UK, October 2018.

Guy Edwardes / Glastonbury Tor at sunrise surrounded by early morning mist. View from Walton Hill, Somerset, England, UK. June 2019.

Oliver Wright / Four-spotted chaser (Libellula quadrimaculata) resting on stem, covered in early morning dew. Skipwith Common National Nature Reserve, North Yorkshire, England, UK. May. Focus stacked image.

Tony Wu / Humphead parrotfish (Bolbometopon muricatum) shoal spawning in early morning, part of mass aggregation of thousands of fish. Caroline Islands, Palau.

David Woodfall / Sequence of strips of cultivated Machair with early shoots of Black oats (Avena strigosa) pushing through the sand. North Uist, Scotland, UK, June.

John Shaw / Roseate spoonbill (Platalea ajaja) at its nesting colony site, in early morning light. St. Johns Management Area, Florida, USA, April.

Ross Hoddinott / RF - Marbled white butterfly (Melanargia galathea) resting among tall grasses and bathed in warm, early morning sunlight, Volehouse Moor, Devon, UK. July. (This image may be licensed either as rights...

Ross Hoddinott / Marbled white butterfly (Melanargia galathea) resting among tall grasses and bathed in warm, early morning sunlight, Volehouse Moor, Devon, UK. July.

Ross Hoddinott / Marbled white butterfly (Melanargia galathea) roosting among tall grasses at sunrise and bathed in warm, early morning sunlight, Volehouse Moor, Devon, UK. July.

Marie Read / Canada geese (Branta canadensis) two during territorial fight in early spring, Ithaca. New York, USA

Marie Read / Common loons (Gavia immer), two adults and chick swimming on a misty lake in early morning, Michigan, USA. June.

Tony Wu / Sardines (Clupeidae) fleeing from predators in the early morning. They were being herded and chased by Trevallies and Blacktip reef sharks in the water, and picked off by brown boobies and terns from...

Neil Aldridge / Black rhinoceros (Diceros bicornis) stands in evening light on Chief's Island in Okavango Delta, Botswana,. This rhino was released in the Okavango Delta as part of efforts to rebuild the rhino popula...

Sven Zacek / Honey bee (Apis mellifera), two frozen on pond ice after flying out too early. Valgamaa, Southern Estonia. March.

Doug Gimesy / Platypus (Ornithorhynchus anatinus) in early morning light on Lake Elizabeth, Great Otway National Park, near Forrest, Victoria, Australia, July 2017.

Ross Hoddinott / Common blue damselfly (Enallagma cyathigerum) portrait, early morning light, Broxwater, Cornwall, UK. June.

Ross Hoddinott / Buachaille Etive Beag reflected in Lochan na Fola after snowfall, early morning light, Glencoe, Scotland, UK. February 2017.

Theo Bosboom / Small red damselfly (Ceriagrion tenellum), warming up in the early morning, De Hatertse Vennen Nature Reserve, near Nijmegen, the Netherlands, July

Theo Bosboom / Small red damselfly (Ceriagrion tenellum) close up portrait, warming up in the early morning. De Hatertse Vennen Nature Reserve, near Nijmegen, the Netherlands, July.

Theo Bosboom / Emerald damselfly (Lestes sponsa) in habitat in early morning twilight, Hondenven, Tubbergen, the Netherlands, August.

Ross Hoddinott / Buachaille Etive Beag reflected in Lochan na Fola after snowfall, early morning light, Glencoe, Scotland, UK. March 2017.

Ross Hoddinott / Buachaille Etive Beag reflected in little lochen, early morning light and mist, Glencoe, Scotland, UK. December 2016.

Ross Hoddinott / Kilchurn Castle, sunrise, early morning mist and light, a ruin on a rocky peninsula, the northeastern end of Loch Awe, in Argyll and Bute, Scotland, UK. March 2017.

Ross Hoddinott / Early-purple orchids (Orchis mascula), Broxwater, Cornwall, UK. April 2017.

Ross Hoddinott / Catbells and the edge of Derwentwater bathed in early morning light and autumnal colours, Latrigg, Keswick, The Lake District, Cumbria, UK. November 2016.

SCOTLAND: The Big Picture / Red squirrel (Sciurus vulgaris) in winter in early morning light. Cairngorms National Park, Highlands, Scotland, UK

Philippe Clement / Panning shot of silhouetted pine trees and early morning mist rising from a lake, Loch Garten, Strathspey, Scotland, UK, September.

Klein & Hubert / Wood warbler (Phylloscopus sibilatrix) displaying in flowering blackthorn bush in early spring, Alsace, France, April.

Neil Aldridge / Lioness (Panthera leo) yawning in early morning light on Kariega Game Reserve, South Africa.

Neil Aldridge / Cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus) standing in early morning light, Save Valley Conservancy, Zimbabwe, Vulnerable.

Neil Aldridge / Black rhinoceros (Diceros bicornis) feeding in early morning light, Kariega Game Reserve. South Africa.

Tony Wu / Twinspot snapper (Lutjanus bohar) engaged in a mass spawning aggregation early in the morning. Caroline Islands, Palau. April.

Ross Hoddinott / Corfe Castle, early morning llight and mist, Corfe Castle, Dorset, UK. September 2014.

Mark MacEwen / Northern royal albatross (Diomedea sanfordi), early pairing behaviour, Taiaroa Head, Otago Peninsula, New Zealand. Endangered.

Alex Hyde / Peacock butterfly (Inachis io) feeding on Goat Willow catkins (Salix caprea), an important food source for pollinators in early spring. Peak District National Park, UK. April.

David Pattyn / Black necked grebe (Podiceps nigricollis) adult in breeding plumage in the first golden light of the early morning. The Netherlands. May 2014

David Pattyn / Black necked grebe (Podiceps nigricollis) pair performing their courtship dance in the mating season. This early in the breeding season, one of the birds is still in its winter plumage. The Netherland...

David Pattyn / Black necked grebe (Podiceps nigricollis) pair performing their courtship ritual. This early in the breeding season one of the grebes is still in its winter plumage. The Netherlands.April 2014

David Pattyn / Black necked grebe (Podiceps nigricollis) pair running over the water surface together as a part of their courtship ritual. This early in the breeding season, one of the birds is still in its winter p...

David Pattyn / Black necked grebe (Podiceps nigricollis) adult bird spreading its wings and waiting for the submerged partner to appear in front and perform the courtship dance. This is early in the breeding season,...

Wild Wonders of Europe / Bartocha / Early purple orchid (Orchis mascula) on the Forca Canapine, Monti Sibillini National Park, Italy, May.

Andy Trowbridge / Arctic Fox (Alopex / Vulpes lagopus) portrait in early morning light, during moult from grey summer fur to winter white. Dovrefjell National Park, Norway, September.

Sven Zacek / Rays of sunshine behind pine trees, Southern Estonia, May early morning.