Location – Pembrokeshire, South Wales
Ideal dates – June/July (for puffins and shearwaters)
My trip – April and July
Everyone loves puffins, even if you don’t know you love them yet. I didn’t know but they are the stupidest dopiest creatures in the world. They flap, waddle and pose, even mid-air! Great for beginner bird photographers.
Skomer Island is a pretty remote little island off the coast of South Wales in Pembrokeshire. This Island is home to an incredible number of birds, including 6,000 mated pairs of Puffins that are there between April and September with the highest population in Jun/July.
Puffin Fact Sheet – from Skomer’s website
I have been to the island twice now and below are my collection of pics from just Skomer – though I have now been to three different puffin islands. Obsessed a little, I am not.
Travel tips – In April there are still several puffins and the island is covered in bluebells, lovely time of year. Baby puffins really don’t come out until July, they can come in June but you are guaranteed babies in early July.
Staying on the island is a little rustic, you must pack in and out your food and bedding BUT it is worth it to see and hear the shearwaters come in at night and see the amazing night sky. It is not easy to get a booking on the island, see the welshwildlife.org for more info.
Only the first 150 people in the cue in the mornings get onto the island. So get to the office right when it opens or a little before to guarantee your place. The boat sails at different times during the day depending on tides, they have some timetables here a twitter that does a great job keeping people up to date with wildlife.
“Where a potato goes, a potato goes.” – A Potato
