Capercaillie
Male capercaillies perform spectacular communal displays in spring, gathering in woodland clearings to parade around, fanning their magnificent tail feathers and making strange gulping and…
Search
Chwilio
Ruff
The UK hosts a small, but important, breeding population of ruff. The ruff is a large sandpiper that is so-called due to the large ruff of feathers around the males' neck. This is used in a…
Together for dawn chorus
The alarm clock rings. It’s 430 am. Time to get up. The dog knows it’s early and until I put on my walking boots he doesn’t stir.
Common gorse
Windy, open moors covered in bright yellow, spiky common gorse bushes and purple heathers are synonymous with what we call 'wild' landscapes, but it can be seen in many habitats, from…
My vocation
Always fascinated by wildlife, Sophie has pursued a career in nature conservation through formal education and traineeships.
She now works as an ecologist, working to conserve Herefordshire’…
Eider
The eider is a large seaduck, famed for its soft, downy feathers that are not only used by the bird to line and insulate its nest, but also by humans to stuff our quilts and pillows. It nests…
Rook
The all-black rook is a sociable bird, so can be spotted in flocks or nesting colonies, known as 'rookeries'. Unlike the similar carrion crow, it has a grey bill and 'baggy trouser…
Starling
The starling is a familiar garden visitor that has a beautiful purple-and-green sheen to its black feathers. It is famous for its wintry aerial displays - massive flocks can be seen wheeling over…
Autumn on Skomer Island
Emma Whatley is an undergraduate student studying Biology at Swansea University. She joined the Skomer team as part of her research year placement this September to assist with fieldwork during…
Skomer Island
With nearly 350,000 breeding pairs of Manx Shearwaters, over 40,000 Puffins, thousands of Guillemots, Razorbills and Kittiwakes and hundreds of Fulmars, Skomer is an internationally important seabird island.
It is located less than a mile off the beautiful Pembrokeshire coast making it a great place to visit for the day or stay overnight.
Please note, Puffins start arriving in mid-April. They are present from May-July. The first ones start leaving in mid-July and all Puffins are gone by the end of July. Please see our seasonal timeline below for what to see each month.
It is located less than a mile off the beautiful Pembrokeshire coast making it a great place to visit for the day or stay overnight.
Please note, Puffins start arriving in mid-April. They are present from May-July. The first ones start leaving in mid-July and all Puffins are gone by the end of July. Please see our seasonal timeline below for what to see each month.
Small-spotted catshark
Small-spotted catsharks used to be called lesser-spotted dogfish - which might be what you know them best as. It's the same shark, just a different name!
Lugworm
Have you ever seen those worm-like mounds on beaches? Those are a sign of lugworms! The worms themselves are very rarely seen except by fishermen who dig them up for bait.