| Wandering Birder| Europe 2003 | Page 1/2 |
| Wales Wales Introduction Marloe Sands Boat Trip Around Skommer Island Skommer Island |
 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. The seats are shaped like horse 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, but 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 yells 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. |
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