Mateusz Piesiak's Image

Mateusz wrapped his camera in a waterproof sack and began to crawl along the wet sand, aiming to get close to a group of American oystercatchers on a beach on Long Island, New York. The birds were so absorbed in foraging that they ignored him, sometimes scuttling within arm's length in their search for shellfish. One young oystercatcher kept trying to find its own food. 'When it saw an adult with a morsel,' says Mateusz, 'it would run over with loud queep queep cries and try to snatch it. Sometimes the adult would give in. At other times, there would be a noisy quarrel.'

Mateusz spent so long watching this pester power, he didn't notice the tide coming in until a big wave washed over him. 'I managed to hold my camera up high,' he says. 'I was cold and wet, with sand in my ears, but I had my shot.