Pembrokeshire - Part 3

It would be fair to say that the boat over to Skomer on a rough sea would be one of the more terrifying experiences I may have encounter, luckily the waves were pretty small so the 15 min crossing from Martin's Haven jammed in like a can of sardines wasn't to bad. On entering the North Haven you are instantly transported to a place where birds rule the roost, the shear numbers of Razorbills, Guillemots & Puffins heading out to fish is staggering. A quick briefing from the Wardens and we were off, deciding on the opposite direction than the Puffins which most of the boats passengers seemed to head for. We instantly picked up a Short-eared Owl being harassed by a Gull as it glided low over top of the island. The one thing that strikes you immediately other than the large quantities of Rabbits and Gulls is the colourful carpet of Campion and Bluebells which seems to cover the entire surface of this treeless island. Quite the sight to behold.

Lesser Black backed Gull in amongst the Campion

Flowers as far as the eye can see

As mentioned before the amount of Rabbits on the island is gargantuan with no natural predator they've been left to thrive and its hard to tell whats a Rabbit, Puffin or Manx Shearwater burrow. Amongst the local population were quite a few pure black colour variants.

Black Rabbit

Perched on the various scrubby bushes throughout the island were a lot of smaller birds, Linnet, Whitethroat, Meadow Pipit and Sedge Warbler all picked up within minutes, one particular Sedge Warbler happily singing away in its territory near the middle of the island, and pausing in the open enough for me to grab a few shots.

Campion Sedge Warbler

Sedge Warbler

Other than the song of the Warblers on the Island, there is one call that resonates throughout, with Footpaths crisscrossing the land at various points, the best spots to nest seem to be fairly close by, and with a fair amount of traffic walking past the resident Oystercatchers kick up quite a din. But also means they're quite photogenic.

Oystercatcher

Part 4 Coming Tomorrow

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Pembrokeshire - Part 2

So determined to make it out too Skomer on Friday, before the weekend hoards arrived we packed up all the gear on Thursday evening and were up and out of the Boathouse by 7.50am joining the already 20 strong queue down at Martin's Haven for the first boat to Skomer which departed at 10am. Within minutes the first 50 places on the boat were taken and 30 or so cars joined ours in the car park. So with an hour and a bit to kill, I thought I'd have a wander up and around the Deer Park in the early morning gloom, the fog from the previous day still hanging in the air, although visibility was a lot better. Loads of small birds perched and singing from the tops of the gorse bushes, with Whitethroat, Linnet, Chaffinch, Sedge Warbler, Meadow Pipit and Stonechat all seen. I walked out to the furthest point, and was rewarded by a fly by of about 15 or so Chough all calling as they dived and weaved their ways along the cliff edge.

Whitethroat

As the clock neared 10 we headed down the very steep road towards the embarkation point, whilst Nat used the public conveniences I was distracted by the close proximity of the Swallows visiting their nests on the Toilet building, eager to try and get a closish shot I soon got the lens cap off but the morning gloom left me disappointed, however some chirping behind me caused me to turn around and see a Swallow perched no more than 15 feet away preening and stretching its wings. Not all that often you see them perched on anything other than a Telephone wire so I was quite pleased to see one on an isolated bramble. Even better with a Green backdrop.

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