Isles of Scilly 2016

​This year the Isles of Scilly was just as productive as any other in observing wildlife. One thing that I particularly noticed this year was the relative tameness of the animals on Scilly compared to the mainland where I live. Due to the high density of animal (mainly bird) species and the tiny size of the islands, the animals are almost always close to humans. This means that they become very used to people always being present when they are going about their day-to-day routine of survival, whether that be feeding, resting or looking after their young. For a photographer, this is ideal. It means you can always get in those extra few paces towards an individual when taking a photo, or in some cases, the animal may literally present itself at your doorstep (such as the comfortable Red-legged Partridge shown below). Scilly is unique in this sense to me, and it is the combination of this and the sheer broadness of species found there which makes it one of the most special places to see wildlife in the UK.