I think most people who are into wildlife and nature have a favourite bird, but one that keeps appearing on every social media feed annually, without fail – and for good reason – is the Atlantic Puffin. For me, my favourite place to photograph puffins is Skomer Island off the Pembrokeshire coast in Wales.
This little 3km squared island is home to over 40,000 of these “clowns of the sea,” making it one of the UK’s strongholds for the species, with most of the other colonies declining rapidly.
This is mainly due to the fishing practices and overfishing for sandeels (the preferred food for puffins and many seabirds that breed around the coast of the UK), especially in the northern colonies.
Having had the privilege of staying on Skomer Island a few times, I have been able to spend a considerable amount of time with these birds and the wildlife of Skomer Island in general. Being able to spend time on a British seabird colony with just 14 other people is something I will always treasure. The feeling of remoteness is brilliant for an island so close to the mainland, and being able to lie down at The Wick (the largest colony on the island) in the middle of a ~10,000 strong colony of puffins with the sun rising or setting and orange hues spreading across the vista is definitely a pinch-yourself moment.
The island is visited by approximately 250 fellow puffin fanatics during the day, but if you are able to stay in the hostel on the island, you will have the island completely to yourself other than the wardens who are working 9 months of the year to count the birds and seals that breed on the island.
Not only is the island home to the Atlantic puffin, but it also holds significant populations of guillemots, razorbills, kittiwakes, Manx shearwater, great and lesser black-backed gulls, herring gulls, choughs, ravens, peregrine falcons, short-eared owls, and the last breeding pairs of curlew in Pembrokeshire, along with many others. It truly is a haven for wildlife. You may also be lucky enough to spot the island’s only mammal (not including the feral rabbits that were once farmed here), the Skomer vole. This surprisingly large rodent is a sub-species of the more widely recognized bank vole, although I have never been lucky enough to spot one myself.
There are many places around the UK where you can see Atlantic puffins during the breeding season, but for me, Skomer Island is one of the best. Proving that with fishing restrictions and great management of the habitat, these birds can thrive and be seen in their tens of thousands as they should be. It breaks my heart to see stories of them and other breeding seabirds declining in their respective colonies due to the effect that us humans have on the sea and its wildlife. The good news is that populations of guillemots, razorbills, and puffins are stable on Skomer Island. I hope that we see this trend continue for the future because spending time in a seabird colony is a gift I want as many people as possible to experience.
To see more of Ben’s work, visit his website: www.bensutcliffephoto.com – and keep up to date with Ben over on Instagram
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