Rebecca On The Wing

Category: Wildlife

  • Around St Mary’s

    Around St Mary’s

    Today was slightly less eventful but still productive. I went for a walk to the Lower Moors of St Mary’s to find elm trees. Being so isolated, the elms on Scilly have successfully avoided Dutch elm disease, which has claimed all living elms on the British mainland. When I arrived at the spot on the…

  • A Day at Sea

    A Day at Sea

    Like almost every other visitor to the Isles of Scilly, I had my sights set on puffins during my stay, not to mention razorbill, guillemot and perhaps a seal or two. I’d planned on joining the afternoon Sea Safari around Annet, known as the bird sanctuary island, and the Western Rocks. I wandered down to…

  • Success!

    Success!

    I was back on Bryher today, having another go at finding the elusive dwarf pansy. As was becoming a daily ritual, I engaged in friendly conversation with my fellow passengers on the Seahorse as it made its leisurely way out of St Mary’s Quay. “That’s a fancy bit of kit you’ve got there,” one man…

  • The Spirit of St Agnes

    The Spirit of St Agnes

    As soon as we docked at St Agnes’ Quay I asked a nearby guide when it was safe to cross over to Gugh, the neighbouring island linked to St Agnes by a sand bridge that disappeared when the tide came in. Getting stranded on an island with two houses and no facilities would be less…

  • Exploring Bryher

    Exploring Bryher

    When I arrived on Bryher I was reminded of how scarcely populated the 1½-mile long island was. After an initial buzz of human activity at the quay, tourists and locals dispersed and I suddenly found myself completely alone, except for the ever-present wrens of course. One was perched high against the skyline only a few…

  • Arriving on Scilly

    Arriving on Scilly

    To truly comprehend how isolated and tucked away the Isles of Scilly are, you have to get there. My travelling began at 4:30am, and after using four modes of transport I arrived on St Mary’s at 1pm. It was a complicated and fiddly excursion but when I finally arrived, eating chips overlooking a vast expanse…

  • Minimalism in Photography

    Minimalism in Photography

    Recently I discovered a photographer called Petros Koublis during research for my photography project. In preparation for my upcoming trip to the Isles of Scilly, I was exploring the theme of isolation, as on Scilly geographical isolation has resulted in extraordinary diversity of both flora and fauna. So, I want my images to convey this seclusion…

  • The Avian Orchestra

    The Avian Orchestra

    There is an overwhelming quiet that comes with winter; a hush descends over the landscape that only adds to the bracing chill. As the season turns, the first few tentative voices break the spell of silence and before long there is an overpowering variety of diverse voices filling the air. While in the height of…

  • Living off the Scilly Land

    Living off the Scilly Land

    For my final major project at university, I am journeying to the Isles of Scilly for a photography project on this wildly diverse archipelago. My focus is currently the unique wildflowers of the islands, some of which are not found anywhere else in the UK such as the dwarf pansy. However, to broaden my understanding…

  • Is Giving Up On A Book Ever OK?

    Is Giving Up On A Book Ever OK?

    Here’s a question. When is it acceptable to give up on a book? Some may say it never is, but surely there are times when we are allowed to ditch a book halfway through. I’ve been struggling with this for some time now. I’ve meandered through the last four or five books with mild interest…