Are you hoping to fine-tune your wildlife photography skills in 2019? Maybe you’re aiming to snap something award worthy or to create a fantastic feature canvas print to take pride of price in your living room? If you’d like to photograph some extraordinary creatures, the truth is you needn’t travel too far. The UK and its hills, vales and shores boast truly beautiful inhabitants, so is it time you put their homelands on your photography holiday list?

Today we’re talking about just a few gorgeous UK residents you could aim to photograph along with where you might find them.

Puffins

Their distinctive colouring makes them one of the most instantly recognisable birds on our shorelines, but have you ever photographed a puffin? A rather unusual (and a teensy bit gory) photograph of a puffin meeting its end was one of the winners of the British Wildlife Photography Awards 2018. If you aspire to join the ranks or simply wish to spot one of these beautiful birds, you could plan yourself a trip to the North and visit the beautiful Farne Islands. The summertime during breeding season is a great time to go, and you should spot at host of other seabirds too.

Red Squirrels

The red squirrel is another quintessentially British sight and there were some stunning squirrel images among the British Wildlife Photography Awards winners last year with Neil Mcintyre winning the British Seasons category with his shots of Scottish red squirrels. If you’d like to photograph the creatures in their natural habitat, the Scottish Highlands is a great spot to do it in. You could also head to Brownsea Island, which is a National Trust site in Dorset.

Dolphins

If you’re a newcomer to an interest in wildlife, you may have presumed that you’d have to to travel to countries with warmer oceans to dabble in dolphin spotting. However, there have been some fantastic photographs of UK dolphins in recent years. For dolphin watching trips, again you could head to the Scottish Highlands and in particular to Moray Firth, though they’re regularly spotted on the North East coast at places like Berwick, Seahouses. There are also small resident dolphin populations in Cornwall and in Cardigan Bay in Wales.

Seals

As a group of islands, it’s no surprise some of our most famed and photographed animals come from the sea. We’re very lucky to have seals living on our shores. Though problems with rubbish and pollution have had a huge impact on the mammals in recent years.  Norfolk is known for its grey seal population, you can also seal watch on Orkney, in Lincolnshire and at the Farne Islands as well as in Cornwall. If you’d like to do your bit to protect this charismatic animal, it’s time to take a hard look at your plastic consumption. Those planning to photograph seals should be aware of government guidance on seal watching. And if you're heading to the coast, don't forget to check out our post on Amazing Cliffs to Capture in the UK.

Have you photographed one of these stunning creatures? Are they top of your UK wildlife photography wishlist or do you aspire to snap another example of our beautiful wildlife? We’d love to hear about your favourite wildlife photography moments and your favourite spots for nature photography – comment below.