We're spoilt for incredible wildlife spots here in South & West Wales, so it's no surprise that our very own Skokhom Island is one of BBC Wildlife Magazine's top 60 UK wildlife spots and is nominated for the title of the best wildlife spot in Wales!
Lisa Morgan, our Head of Islands and Living Seas, tells us about some of her favourite wildlife encounters on Skokholm Island!
This has to be my first encounter with the European Storm Petrels that breed in the 18th century herringbone walls and natural rock crevices on on Skokholm. I remember as a teenager, sitting quietly in the dark with just the moonlight catching their white rumps as they dashed past. The island warden was playing the recording of a storm petrel to draw birds close. One bird alighted on top of the huge tape recorder (showing my age!) and one landed almost unnoticed onto the top of my head where it sat for some time. I couldn’t see it but those around me could.
European storm-petrel in flight at sea. Chris Gomersall/2020VISION.
Puffins! Skokholm is a wonderful place to sit quietly and watch the behaviour of Atlantic Puffins; their bonding displays with each other and their interactions with other birds, like the gulls who attempt to steal their fish and animals like rabbits with whom they share their subterranean homes. The famous Puffin hide in Crab Bay has allowed many to get intimate with the Puffins here without disturbing them and the old hide has just been replaced with a state of the art structure, with built in Puffin burrows and one way glass which will allow staff, researchers and visitors a unique opportunity to follow the breeding behaviour of this birds underground.
Puffin. Charles Thody Photography
An Atlantic Grey Seal pup being born in to the mist and drizzle of a late September afternoon. Very few seal pups are born on Skokholm as the island’s coves are not suitable as rookeries and are easily washed out by a big tide or an autumn storm. Most are born on neighbouring Skomer, so this one in mid-September on Skokholm was special. It was the first pup I had ever seen born and it inspired my love and study of seals in Pembrokeshire for years to come.
Grey seal pup. Vicky Nall.
In May the Red Campion, Bluebells and the Wild Pansy make for a beautiful and heady carpet of purples, yellows and pinks on the sheltered east coast.
Wild pansies. Lizzie Wilberforce.
Moths! Some of the Skokholm’s moth records date back to 1910 but with a consistent effort from the resident wardens and volunteers the island continues to turn up species new for the Skokholm list each year. A recent highlight was the discovery of Lunar Hornet Moth breeding at the Well. These remarkable mimics are only seen here in even years, their lifecycle taking two years to complete.
Lunar Hornet Moth. Vaughn Matthews.
