Skomer Island Puffins
I recently visited Skomer Island for the very first time. This Island is located just a mile off the coast of Pembrokeshire in southwestern Wales, and is well renowned for its Manx Shearwater (Puffinus puffinus) and the characterful Puffins (Fratercula arctica) who nest in the burrows that honeycome the island.
The Puffins are viewable during the day whereas you will need to stay in the accomodation on the island for the opportunity to see the Manx Shearwater as they are come ashore during the night.
According to the South and West Wales wildlife trust information guide the island hosts over 10,000 breeding Puffins between April and the end of July, and are particularly abundant between mid-June and mid-July.
On the day both the Puffins and the weather proved very obliging. The sun came out and the Puffins welcomed us both from the water and the land adjoing the landing place at North Haven.
The characterful Puffins at North Haven included the watcher
The Swimmer
The Worried Puffin
and the Hider
The other great place to see the Puffins, and perhaps the best, is at part of the Island know as The Wick. Here they are particularly fearless, even walking across the paths to get to and from the burrows.
The Wick provided ample and varied photo opportunities.
The group shot.
Close up’s
This one stood right beside me on the path.
and with the pretty flowering surroundings
The highlight for me of the day was getting a photo of Puffins with sandeels in their beaks.
I also used the video mode on my Olympus EM5 MKII camera and created this short video in PowerDirector 14.
The next post about Skomer Island will include a few more Puffin photo’s plus the other birds sighted and several of the islands landscape features.
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