Research Trip to Skomer Island: Puffins August 11, 2022

Skomer Island is a national nature reserve off the coast of Pembrokeshire, renowned for its birdlife, and ancient settlement remains. It is a Site of Special Scientific Interest and a Special Protection Area.  I’ve wanted to visit it for a long time as there is so much to see in this special place. For a tiny island – at only 1.5 x 2 miles – it packs a big punch!

Half the world’s population of Manx shearwaters nest on Skomer and of course it is famous for its Atlantic puffin colony. There are razorbills, gannets and fulmars as well. There was also the possibility of seeing dolphins, harbour porpoises and Atlantic grey seals and I was keeping my fingers crossed for the Skomer Vole – unique to the island.

Skomer is a place of great archaeological significance too and much of the island has been designated an ancient monument because of its stone circles, standing stones and the remains of prehistoric dwellings.

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So we were excited to visit! On the only overcast day on our week’s holiday in Pembrokeshire, we took a boat to Skomer Island. The boat was called Dale Princess, and we set out from Martin’s Haven for a five hour trip, equipped with everything we would need for the day.

The island is 720 acres in total and it takes about 2.5 hours to walk around. We had lots of time for bird-watching, photo-taking and picnicking along the way.

We were lucky enough to see common shags, guillemots, grey seals, a few rabbits and plenty and plenty of Atlantic puffins which were the highlight of the trip! Such a wonderful sight to see so many flying and walking around, in and out of their burrows, busily getting on with life.

It was a great day trip that I would highly recommend.

Check out my videos at the bottom of the page!

Puffins on Skomer Island 1

Puffins on Skomer Island 2

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