Puffins on Skomer Island

[Josh Burrows]

Hi all,

in early June I am going to Pembrokeshire, Wales for a family holiday, and we are going to spend a day on Skomer Island. I was just wondering if anyone has been there and could answer a few questions about the puffins:
How close can you get to them?
Will a 55-200mm lens be ok? I may be able to hire out a lens but I would prefer to use my own.
What sort of behaviour do they show at this time of the year? Are they breeding?


Thanks,
JOSH

[John Chardine]

Hi Josh- I will try to find out some specific information about Skomer for you.

As for general information, yes they will be breeding. Puffins generally start egg-laying in May-June. At Skomer they may have chicks by June in which case you will see adults flying around the colony with fish in their bills (the fish are for the chicks). However, you may be a bit early for chicks. You will see a lot of activity outside the burrows with birds interacting, courting etc. Puffins mate on the water so you won't see that. Puffins maintain a schedule of periodic attendance at the colony and they are synchronous so that some days there will be lots of birds at the colony and at others there will be relatively few. If you are there for a few days you should see the whole cycle.

[John Chardine]

Hi again Josh- My friend Mick Brown knows Skomer very well and replied to your questions as follows:

"Regarding Skomer; depending on the early season conditions there should be chicks in the burrows and subsequently adult birds carrying food to the burrows. The Wick is the best area for close up Puffin shots (one meter or less!) so no need for long lenses. My advice is to get to the Skomer boat booking office by 08.30; Lockley Lodge, Martins Haven, and get on the first boat if possible. Tickets can only be purchased on the day. The best Auk (Razorbill and Common Guillemot) photo location is at the landing steps on Skomer, save that for just before boarding the boat for the return journey to the mainland."

[Josh Burrows]

Thank you very much for your feedback, it is much appreciated. Its great that you can get so close to them. I would like to get a photo of one with a fish in its beak, that is my goal. Sadly, as it is a family holiday I am restricted to only spending one day there, but hopefully I will get some good photos.

Again thanks for taking the time to find this out,

JOSH

[Mike Poole]

Josh,

I'm doing an overnight stay on Skomer early July. It's my first time there, but I have done a fair bit of research and spoken to a few people in anticiaption of what I'll need and what to expect.

The above post is (unsurprisingly) on the money. The birds should allow a very close interaction provided you show due respect. Opportunities should be there for the full range of shots - I plan to take a wide angle zoom for the scenics, a 70-200 for portraits and a 300/400mm for the flight shots.

Be sure to take everything you need for the day - food, clothing etc. There are no shops on the island.

Finally, maybe take a look at the website andydavies.info Andy spends a lot of time on the island and runs workshops there, so he should definitely be in the know!

Hope that helps a bit

Mike

[Josh Burrows]

Thank you for your help Mike, I will have a look on that website,

Josh