British Waterways is calling on all keen photographers to get outside and capture an original image of a busy bumblebee by a canal or river.

The winning entry to the 2009 wildlife photo competition will win a massive £100 cash prize.

Children are also invited to enter a special competition open to under 14s. £50 worth of vouchers is on offer for the best photo and the best drawing of any wildlife spotted by the canals.

But time is running out to stake your claim for these prizes as the competition closes on Saturday 24 October.

The photo competitions are running alongside British Waterways' annual wildlife survey, which encourages members of the public to record sightings of various species along UK canals and rivers. This year the survey is focusing on the endangered bumblebee, with ecologists keen to see which area of the UK receives the most sightings.

Although the bumblebee is the undisputed star of the survey, British Waterways is also very keen to hear about sightings of more common residents of the riverbank, such as ducks, swans, voles, moorhens and coots. So how about an afternoon of wildlife spotting this weekend? Don't forget to take your camera and you could be in with a chance to win some money!

For any photographers who caught a bumblebee on camera earlier in the summer should also send their photos to editor@waterscape.com. The wildlife competition is open to photos taken from April 2009.

At last year's event, both the survey and the photo competition focused on the dragonfly, with a stunning winning image sent in by Charlie McCartney from Glenrothes, Fife. A fine photo of a toad won the children's competition.

How to enter

Adult entrants must be able to supply the following information:

-          The date the photo was taken

-           The location of where the photo was taken (including waterway name)

-          Name, telephone number and email address

Child entrants must be able to supply the following information:

-          The date the photo was taken

-          The location of where the photo was taken (including waterway name)

-          The age of the entrant

-          Name, telephone number and email address (or telephone number and email address of parent/guardian/teacher)

All photos must be emailed to editor@waterscape.com. Please put wonderfully wild competition as the subjec of the email.

Please post your drawings to:
Wonderfully wild competition
waterscape.com
British Waterways
64 Clarendon Road
Watford
WD17 1DA