The Great Outdoors – Puffi ns on Skomer

Puffins on Skomer

WILDLIFE IN THE UK – GREG COYNE, WILDLIFE PHOTOGRAPHER

I recently enjoyed a week’s break in South Pembrokeshire with the family. I usually only travel that way when I am staying over on Skomer Island for a few days, photographing the puffins and other seabirds. On this occasion I only had one day to spare out of the family holiday, so I booked a one-day trip to the island. For anyone wanting to see puffins, Skomer is one of the best places as you can really get up close; they will literally run around your feet.

It’s easy to book a day trip to Skomer online. Just visit www.welshwildlife.org, pick a day and pay £40 per person which includes the boat to the island and the landing fee. It’s pot luck what weather you get and there is very little shelter on the island other than the old farm building in the centre, where there are also toilets. You do need to have reasonable mobility to get on and off the boat and you will need to climb over 80 steps up to the top of the cliff on Skomer. There is a handrail so if your fitness is not the best, just take your time. Once you are at the top, it’s all pretty flat with grass paths – but you must stay on the paths. The puffins are usually there from early April though to August so make sure you time your visit well.

It’s then a 30-minute walk to get to my favourite place on the island, The Wick, and it’s here that many of the puffins have their burrows which usually hold one young puffling. The parents fly out to sea collecting sand eels to feed the puffling and it’s an amazing sight as they return to the island, landing on the cliff just in front of you. They usually have a mouthful of food while they scurry and pace to find their own burrow and puffling. Sometimes it’s funny to watch as they seem to lose their sense of direction, forgetting which burrow is theirs, and they wander aimlessly with full beaks until they finally strike lucky and find the right one. Puffins have their own special call, which is a fantastic sound to hear, and you will quite often see the parents renewing their bond with beak touching and knocking. You can also see them repairing their burrows – maybe carrying sticks, flowers or literally anything that they can get down there to make their burrow ‘special’. I have also witnessed them clearing two-inch stones out of the burrow, carrying them over to the cliff edge and dropping them over the side – unfortunate for any puffin that may be nesting lower down.

All of the images shown here were taken in the first week of July when the cliff edges were strewn with daisies. There are many other seabirds to see if you have time and also short eared owls. But on a day trip you only get about four hours on the island, so you need to ensure you are back at the jetty for your designated boat to take you back to the mainland. It’s a great trip and, if you do get a chance to visit, you won’t be disappointed.

If you would like to see more of my images, simply log on to my Facebook page which is Greg Coyne Photography, where you will also find video clips.