For more than 60 years Sir David Attenborough has travelled the world witnessing and sharing amazing wildlife spectacles, but he was first inspired nearer to home, by animals in the UK. From water voles plopping into streams to white-tailed sea eagles soaring over the Highlands, UK habitats support varied populations of birds, mammals, amphibians, fish and reptiles.

Visiting wildlife reserves is a great way to witness nature, and if you combine that with photography the trip can be even more enjoyable. Anyone can take photos of British wildlife; you just need to know where to go and when. You don’t need to stalk or have specialist fieldcraft skills – although those can help – as most reserves and wildlife hotspots have hides and paths where you can view wild creatures. Wherever you are in the UK, wild creatures are never far away.

For the last three years I have had the privilege to explore the best places for nature photography in the UK. Here are 10 locations that have become important to me.

SCOTLAND

Isle of Mull

Mull, off the west coast of Scotland, is home to otters, the recently reintroduced white-tailed eagle, hen harriers and marine mammals such as orca (killer whales) and dolphins – and so is a one of the UK’s best wildlife destinations. Much of the wildlife is found near the sea lochs, with roads offering easy access. It is best to approach by bicycle or walking and the quieter you are and the more time you spend by the water the better your chances of seeing something; bring binoculars. Anytime is a good time to be on Mull but try to avoid the main holiday times when noise and dog walkers reduce your photography opportunities.
Tip When photographing otters remain still and quiet on the shore. It’s always better to let the animal come to you than to try and sneak up on it. The animal’s welfare is always paramount in wildlife photography.

Chanonry Point, the Black Isle

Close to Inverness, by the village of Fortrose, the river Ness meets the sea at Chanonry Point. Here bottlenose dolphins offer a spectacular wildlife encounter as they hunt for salmon running up-river. The bottlenose dolphin is a surprisingly large sea mammal, especially to see at such close quarters. At Chanonry Point the waters run deep very close to the shore, deep enough for these large animals to come within a few metres of it. Present all year round, they are best spotted in midsummer when they are on the hunt for the salmon. This is also a great show for non-photographers and a good one for children looking for a special wildlife event.
Tip Have patience. The dolphins at Chanonry Point are sometimes active and sometimes not but when you see them hunting salmon at close quarters it is an incredible experience – and worth the wait.

Abernethy Forest, the Highlands

A prime location for photographing red squirrels is the Abernethy Forest, a remnant of the Caledonian Forest in Strathspey, close to Loch Garten Osprey Centre. However, in order to more or less guarantee seeing the species and to save a lot of hours setting up your own red squirrel jumping shots, the hide at Northshots is the place to go. To book a hide day call 01540 651352 or visit northshots.com. Red Squirrels are far less common than their introduced grey cousins and are limited to a few isolated locations in the UK. Other places to see them include the Lake District, Formby in Merseyside, the Isle of Wight and Brownsea Island in Dorset, with many locations having hides set up.
Tip Red squirrels are curious and will often approach if you sit still and quiet for long enough.

ENGLAND

Farne Islands, Northumberland

Four miles off the Northumberland coast, the Farne Islands is a superb wildlife destination, described by David Attenborough as his favourite in the UK. The thousands of sea birds found here range from the large and impressive shag to the small, comical and colourful puffin. The birds are wonderfully unafraid of humans and the islands offer great close-up views. It is necessary to book a boat trip from the port of Seahouses to visit this group of more than 15 islands. There are several operators, but book well in advance. May and June are best for spotting nesting birds, especially the Arctic terns on Inner Farne – and on outlying rocks there is a grey seal colony.
Tip Get down low. Being at eye level with your subject makes for more dramatic images.

Peak District

One of the UK’s first national parks, this mix of limestone dales and upland moorland is rich with wildlife, from red deer on Big Moor and at Chatsworth House to the flighty red grouse on the gritstone moorland. One special resident of the moors are mountain hare; their coat is beautifully thick and a light grey in summer when it blends perfectly with the moorland vegetation. In winter, usually around November, the coat turns a pure white and provides excellent camouflage against snow-covered ground. While the Peak District’s high ground does get snow in the winter, often the land is snow-free making the hares easy to spot against the black peat, subtle green mosses and buff-coloured grasses. Hares, unlike rabbits, do not make burrows and instead use the moorland groughs or water channels as hiding places.
Tip This is a good example of where binoculars are important. Scan the moors for white specks on the horizon and pay special attention to the groughs.

Donna Nook, Lincolnshire

On the Lincolnshire coast between Grimsby and Mablethorpe is the nature reserve of Donna Nook, which is a sanctuary for grey seals. The seals are resident here and especially in evidence from late October through to the end of December, when they haul out from the sea to give birth to their white pups often in freezing conditions. The UK is home to some 40% of the world’s grey seals. This makes Donna Nook, together with other hotspots, such as Norfolk’s Blakeney Point, critical to their survival as a species. To reduce disturbance to the seals, the mud flats at Donna Nook are fenced off, meaning access is restricted to a limited footpath. This still allows for some close up views of the extraordinary sights and sounds of this active colony.
Tip Seals tend to be very anthropomorphic, watch them carefully to predict behaviour so you are ready when they throw a pose.

Snettisham, Norfolk

RSPB Snettisham on the Norfolk coast is home to two of the UK’s great wildlife spectacles. On high tides, thousands of wading birds are displaced from their feeding grounds by the rising tide and on to the banks and islands in front of the RSPB hides. At dawn and dusk in midwinter, thousands of pink-footed geese fly in V-formation between their inland feeding grounds and their night time roost on the mud flats. Large flocks of golden plover and knot gather to feed on the exposed mud flats of the estuary. At high tide the flocks are sometimes forced up over the shingle beach to small lagoons where they roost and await the retreat of the tide. The hides here overlook the roost site and are a great place to photograph roosting waders close up.
Tip For the wader spectacle it is best to be here 30-90 minutes before high tide between August and January. Pink-footed geese fly over an hour or so after dawn from mid-November to late January.

Lackford Lakes, Suffolk

The Suffolk Wildlife Trust reserve at Lackford Lakes, six miles north-west of Bury St Edmunds, is a wonderful little reserve that is best known for its kingfishers. The lakes also attract summer hobbies (small falcons), early morning stoats and occasional daylight glimpses of barn owls. The iridescent kingfisher is a huge draw for the wildlife photographer and this is one of the best places in the country for the chance of a sighting. The hides have some well-placed perches at fairly close range. Kingfishers are difficult to photograph well and you will need good camera equipment. To freeze them in flight you need a fast shutter speed, with a minimum of 1/1600th recommended. Great patience may be required as the birds’ visits to the fishing perches can be infrequent.
Tip Photographers and other visitors do not always have the same agenda and it can occasionally be frustratingly noisy here. It’s best to go early or late midweek and avoid weekends when this location may be busy.

Minsmere, Suffolk

On the east coast of Suffolk, 30 miles north of Ipswich, this reserve pretty much has it all for the wildlife photographer. Habitats include reedbeds, freshwater and saltwater lagoons, a strip of beach, as well as foreshore, heath and woodland. This has been a base for the BBC’s Springwatch programme and boasts species as diverse as red deer, adders, stoats, bitterns, marsh harriers and bearded tit. Minsmere is an all-year-round location and has a visitor centre and several well-positioned hides. Early mornings and late evenings are best, having fewer people and more wildlife. Spring is good for emerging adders and activity from breeding birds such as the avocets and bearded tits. Summer is best for harriers hunting the reed beds and juvenile birds increasing the numbers of subjects. Rutting red deer are evident in autumn and bearded tits can become more visible then.
Tip Know your subject; bitterns are likely to be more visible in winter when numbers of migrant birds increase the resident population.

WALES

Skomer Island, Pembrokeshire

With fabulous wildlife, especially puffins, guillemots and razorbills, this beautiful little island is a superb location for shooting extremely close encounters. This is a great place to bring the family or friends as the wildlife here is accustomed to the limited human presence. It does require an early start and good luck to get a ticket when queueing for the boat at Martin’s Haven – it isn’t possible to book in advance. With ticket in hand the boat trip takes about 15 minutes. Once on the island you will see puffins almost immediately and this first section at the top of the boat landing steps is a good place to see them flying out to sea. A great spot to head for if puffins are your priority is The Wick, where they fly in from the sea, hopefully with beaks full of sand eels.
Tip Timing is everything: puffins are only on the island for a few months in summer. July is a good time to see them carrying in sand eels to their young pufflings hidden deep in burrows on the clifftops.

YOUR LOCAL PATCH

Gardens

The locations described above involve, travel, time and money. Many people, however, will have a garden or know someone whose patch they can use to photograph wildlife. A garden is the best place to start as a wildlife photography beginner. Make your garden wildlife-friendly to attract birds, insects, frogs and the increasingly rare hedgehog.

Parks

Local parks are a haven for wildlife, especially birds and waterfowl: ducks, geese, and swans, which are used to humans and allow you to get close – where even smartphone cameras can yield great results. Bigger parks, and the grounds of stately homes, often have herds of deer; London’s Richmond Park is famous for its rutting red deer in autumn and Regent’s Park has over 144 species of wild birds and its famous heronry.

Photographing Wildlife in the UK by Andrew Marshall is published by fotoVUE (£24.95). To order a copy for £20 including UK p&p visit bookshop.theguardian.com or call 0330 333 6846