A visit to the holey island

Skomer Island just off the  coast of south Pembrokeshire is like a lump of old Swiss cheese, riddled and rotten with burrows and bolt holes. Step off the paths and you risk turning your ankle or, even worse, causing harm to a baby bird lying low underground.

Most of the holes were originally made by rabbits (introduced by the Normans in the 13th century and going strong ever since) but many have been repurposed by ground nesting birds: puffins (nearly 39,000 individuals) and Manx shearwaters (around 350,000).

A short boat ride from the mainland takes you to the rocky landing place and as you climb up you become aware of hundreds of small birds sitting,  grooming, flapping,  taking off, landing - often with a beakful of sand eels for the single youngster (puffling) which remains below ground. Like miniature penguins they all seem to know which is their own burrow (or so we imagine). Hundreds more are in the air or bobbing on the water below. They show no fear of the visitors with their clicking cameras and outstretched phones.

The shearwaters* are not present during the day, all far out at sea fishing for their young which remain hidden in their subterranean nests. The parents return to make a noisy mass landfall at dusk. The only shearwaters we saw were the withered carcases of those that fall victim to black-backed gulls, sometimes on the very threshold of their burrows. 

 
We spent 5 hours on the island walking around the designated paths  that take you to the varied places of interest, including the old farmhouse (fortess-like against the weather),  prehistoric standing stones, a ruined lime kiln, Bull Cove where seals basked in the calm water, the Neck leading to The Wick, a promontary where no humans go - just birds. We failed to see a puffling (baby puffin!) or one of Skomer's black rabbits or a short-eared owl but many other birds were in evidence. The flora was remarkable too; the famous bluebell show was over but there was red campion, white sea campion, bright yellow tormentil and more scarlet pimpernel than I have ever imagined to exist.



*Although they don't have such a compelling public image as puffins the Manx Shearwater is a extraordinary and intriguing bird and Skomer is home to over half the world's population.  You can read something about them here.