Skomer Island is a National Nature Reserve, a site of Special Scientific Interest and hosts the world’s largest colony of Manx shearwaters, which travel from Argentina non-stop to raise a chick on this island.
But arguably the biggest draw is the opportunity to walk amongst the 41,000 Atlantic puffins (give or take a few!) which make this special place their home each spring.
As a wildlife photographer I stepped outside my comfort zone and organised my first ever leader trip to witness this avian feast.
A four-hour journey from Devon brings you to the stunning Pembrokeshire National Park. The schedule was tight so booking in advance is paramount. I had organised a cruise around the island. I/we were so lucky as a cancellation meant we could land on the island instead.
The crossing is relatively short, but sea conditions can fluctuate and affect landing. Fortunately, the light was good for photography and no sooner had we visited Maximus, a bull Atlantic grey seal who has made a moored RIB his home, we were heading for the island. We were also accompanied by a 20-year-old herring gull called Tonto, which sat on the boat and had a penchant for also sitting on the heads of passengers, to everyone’s amusement.
After a brief introduction talk by a ranger, we headed straight for the Wick. This is a great spot to film puffins, which seem to enjoy the company of humans. When the puffins land with their catch, they are often mobbed by seagulls, so the presence of humans may deter this to some degree; either way, the puffins have no concerns with humans and will even walk on top of you. The brilliant colouration lends itself to photography and now they are about to leave the island given courtship, mating and puffling rearing has occurred, the puffin has no need for such a colourful beak prop as it no longer has to feed other hungry mouths only its own. So, the bright coloured beak is discarded in favour of a more toned-down version. The difference in colouration is stark and it was once believed that a winter plumaged puffin was in fact a different bird species.
Skomer is a notable wildlife success and whereas seabirds are on the decline in most places, the puffin population on Skomer is increasing year on year. All those involved, from the boat crew to the rangers, take pride in these positive statistics. The whole area recognises the value and importance of nature.
Many hundreds of shots later, our next stop was an evening cruise. This was to see the vast rafts of Manx shearwaters waiting to land on the island at night to avoid the predatory gulls. We even had glimpses of a few common dolphin.
Weather prevented us landing on Ramsey Island the following day, so we improvised by spending time on the rugged sea cliffs where we experienced a whole host of other species, including Atlantic grey seal, fulmar, kestrel, buzzard, the rare chough and small avians such as meadow pipit, linnet, stonechat, swallow and skylarks, notwithstanding the stunning scenery.
Mark Taylor Hutchinson is a wildlife photographer and artist specialising in sharks and marine life, with an added penchant for raptors and seabirds.
Mark has a background in photojournalism and was the previous editor of Scuba World Magazine.
Although Mark travels extensively to undertake underwater photography, he is also keen to promote the fantastic wildlife locations in the UK.
Mark gives talks about his sharks and wildlife adventures and runs the occasional tour.
For more information visit: www.wildinspiration.co.uk
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