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| Wandering Birder| Seabird Colonies of Ireland, Wales, Scotland| Wales | Comment |
| Wales
Seabird
Colonies of Ireland, Wales, Scotland |
 An Atlantic Puffin Stands in front of burrow . |
The first week of July found me in London where I toured such tradition sites as the British Museum, the National Gallery of Art, St Pauls and took a walking tour of London which featured places known to Dickens and Shakespear. On the Fourth of July ( not a holiday in England ), I took a bus to Heathrow Airport where I rented a car for 3 weeks and headed west toward Cardiff in Wales. In Cardiff I toured the art museum with an impressive collection of Impressionist paintings and lined up outside the city hall to see Prince Charles who was presenting a flag to a regiment for their service in Iraq.
Continuing west to Pembrokshire, I stopped at the National Wetlands Center of Wales between the towns of Llanelli and Swansea. The brochure said to follow the little duck signs which were abundant until I got very close to the center. It seems that some farmer stole the signs to but up around his duck pond. There were 3 possible ways to go so I had to do an exhaustive search ( try each road in succession ) until I finally got it right. The center cost 4.5 £ for adult admission. It is actually a zoo with captive birds, but there is a wetland area with a wonderful bird hide called the British Hide. July is not really a great time to visit, but the hide was filled with real birders. I saw: Mediterranean Gull, Black-tailed Godwits, Green Shank, Kingfisher, Ringed Plover, Lapwing, Little Egret, Moorhen, Long-tailed Tit, and Great Crested Grebe. Best of all I met some helpful birders who showered me with advise on where to go. They also let me know they were not enthusiastic about the Iraq war or the royal family.
I first stayed at the hostel in Broad Haven. It is a beautiful place right on the beach. I was the only person in a 4 bed dorm with a full bath. I learned that unfortunately I was too late to get a reservation to spend the night on Skommer Island. I will make a day visit and an evening boat trip around the island.
Marloe Sands Hostel
The best place to stay to visit Skommer Island is the Marloe Sands Hostel. Alternatively there are some small hotels in Martin Haven. The Marloe Sands hostel in a renovated farmstead doesn't look so great from the outside. My first take was that this was a mistake, but inside it was a pleasant surprise and one of my favorite hostels of the trip. The former piggery is now the kitchen and dining room. Male and female dorms are in the old stone chicken house. Single and double rooms are in the former farm house. The thick stone walls keep it cool in the daytime. The 6 bed female dorm is really very comfortable with 2 showers, 2 toilets and 3 sinks. The hostel is surrounded by fields of barley. A short walk takes you to the cliff overlooking the beach and to a bird hide on a small pond. One day I wandered on the cliffs where I had a flock of 7 Cliff Chough, 15 Oystercatchers, Gannets, Common Buzzard, Kestrel, Stonechat.
From the hide on the pond: Sedge Warbler, Coot, Little Grebe.
Evening Boat Trip Around Stockhom and Skommer Islands
Dale Sailing at Martin Haven offers an evening trip for 20£ around the islands. The trip leaves at 6 PM in an inflated boat designed for thrill seekers who want to bounce over the wave. The seats are shaped like horses and each passenger has a handle in front. You better hold on tight because this is a very rough ride. Once outside the harbor the boat bounces over the waves becoming airborne and then slams down on the water. I am sharing this adventure with one other woman who wants only to see Puffins. The driver really enjoys flying over the waves. I am very afraid that I am going to fracture my spine. The trick is to hold on tight to the seat with your knees so that you fly with the seat. If you don't when the boat becomes airborne you fly above the seat and crash back when the boat hits the water. To take this trip your camera should be in a plastic bag in your backpack and your binoculars tucked inside your waterproof jacket. Sit as far back in the boat as possible. Forget trying to see any birds until the boat stops as spray is constantly coming into your face.
And so we went out to the island with the driver making cowboy whoops and my fellow passenger and I holding on to the bucking bronco for dear life. But we are seeing birds. The driver recognizes Manx Shearwaters and actually stops to show me a few. I think on most trips he is only out for Puffins, but tonight he has got it that Manx Shearwaters are important.
We first go near Stockholm Island where we see plenty of Puffins, Guillemots (Common Murres), Razorbills on the water. There are a few Manx Shearwaters.
Leaving Stockhom we head toward Skommer Island and it is here that we encounter huge rafts of Manx Shearwaters. Tonight we stop and drift slowly. I think on most nights the boat would blow right past heading home. I got out my small point and shoot digital camera and took a few pictures. There are more Manx Shearwaters than I have ever seen before. They do not allow the boat to get too close before they take off and fly a short distance. This is typical shearwater behavior to raft up on the water off of the colony to wait for darkness before sneaking into the burrows.
 Rafts of thousands of Manx Shearwaters gather on the water between Skommer and Stockhom Islands in the late evening. |
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Closer photograph of Manx Shearwater in the raft of birds on
the water off Skommer Island. Near Skommer Island we see Puffins, Guillemots, Razorbills and two dead Shearwaters floating on the water. The dead birds are evidence of the predation by Great Black-backed Gulls. We are back at the dock by 8:45 PM. My Goretex jacket and the rubber pants lent me by the driver have kept me dry and relatively warm. I suggest wearing sandals in the boat and just letting your feet get wet. |
| Skommer Island - Visit The easy on boat trip to the island takes 15 minutes. Drive from Marloe Sands hostel to the parking lot at the top of the cliff where you leave your car. Walk down the hill to the dock. If you are spending the night on the island you may drive down to unload and then go back up to park. The boat is very crowded and the short trip does not lend itself to birding. After arriving at the island you will climb up the stairs for a talk by the ranger and then can spend about 4 hours on the island on your own. |
 Skommer Island view from the Wick |
If you really want to experience the Manx Shearwaters at night, you need to make advanced reservation to spend the night. The sleeping facilities are rather primitive and you must bring your own sleeping bag and food. There are flush toilets and shower in a separate building. I am told that the reservations are filled by January.
Contacts:
Dr. Mere Snow
The Welsh Wildlife Centre
CZLgerron Cardigan
SA6T3 2 TB
Wales
Phone 01239621212
wildlife@wtww.co.uk
When you
arrive on the island you climb the stairs up the cliff to the starting point
where a ranger gives a short talk on the island. You can then wander on your
own until about 3 PM when you have to be back at the dock for the return trip
to the mainland.
Manx Shearwaters
About
100,000 pairs Manx Shearwater nest on the island in a vast honeycomb of
burrows. Only the damper areas do not host shearwater burrows. Along with the
45,000 pairs of Manx Shearwaters on Stockhom Island they represent about 50% of
the world's breeding population.
The Shearwaters and the small
population of British Storm-petrels (100 pairs) that nest in the coastal
boulders are not seen until well after dark. I was very disappointed not to be
able to spend the night on Skommer and plan to return some summer in order to
see the Shearwaters at night on land. The best nights are dark with no moon or
with heavy cloud cover.
My first destination was the farm house where
there are overnight accommodations and a small museum with a TV camera in a
Manx Shearwater burrow. You can hear the taped cry of the shearwaters and see a
bird with a baby in the burrow. on the TV monitor.
Behind the farmhouse
is an area with many Manx Shearwater burrows. There are no birds in sight and I
heard nothing in the way of calls. These were active shearwater burrows because
they had that unmistakable smell familiar to anyone who has visited a penguin
colony. There are many dead shearwaters to be seen and photographed. According
to the rangers most shearwaters are taken by Black-backed Gulls outside the
burrows.
 Remains of two Manx Shearwaters caught outside the burrow by Great Black-backed Gulls. |
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Fresh water ponds on Skommer attract gulls who cannot drink salt water. The most numerous gull species on the island is the Lesser Black-backed Gull. While most of these gulls seem to be Herring Gulls there were plenty of Black-backed Gulls on the island. According to the rangers it is the Black-backed Gull which accounts for most of the predation on the Manx Shearwater. The gulls are also credited with controlling the rabbit population on the island. I saw several rabbits while walking the trails. |
Puffins At The Wick
Most day trippers head immediately for the cliff known as the Wick. where there are enough Puffins to keep any non-birding spouse happy. Bird survey from Skommer show: Puffins (6,000 pairs), 13,900 Guillemots (Common Murres), 3,000 Razorbills, 2,000 pairs of Kittiwakes and 700 pairs of Northern Fulmars.
| On the path along the top of the Wick, Puffins and people can
get very close. All photographs taken by the author with a Cannon PowerShot G3 Digital Camera. |
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Resting Puffins at edge of the Wick. Many of these birds may
be non-breeding adults. Notice the burrows to the left of the birds. Puffins
may use old rabbit burrows or dig their own. One reason for not controlling the gull population is that the gulls also help control the rabbits. |
| The Puffin on the left is obviously a working bird. He or she
has just returned with a full mouth of sand eels. It is most important to stay
clear of birds with food in their bills so as not to impede their progress into
the burrow. The bird on the right is most probably not the mate of the one on the left. At this time of the year both mates should be out fishing for the young still in the burrow. Great Black-backed Gulls also prey on Puffins. |
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A proud Atlantic Puffin peeks at the photographer from inside
the burrow. Skommer Island presents one of the best opportunities for photography of Atlantic Puffins I have experienced anywhere. |
| These Razorbills were close to the landing dock. Other birds you can see on Skommer are: Peregrin Falcon, Short-eared Owl, Pheasants, Blackbirds, Dunnocks, Winter Wren, Wood Pigeons, Magpies, Carrion Crows, Pied Wagtails, Sedge Warblers, Whitethroats, Moorhens, Mallards |  |
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