Archive News and Pictures - Uskmouth, Pembrokeshire islands cruise & Skokholm - to 16th June 2008
8th June. With a sunny morning in prospect, I couldn't work out where to go so decided to fall back on a trip to the good old Gwent Levels reserve at Uskmouth hoping to find some Bearded Tits. I only managed to hear a few and had a couple of long range glimpses of them but did manage to get some nice pictures of Sedge Warbler and Reed Warbler that were busily feeding young in the nest. Also a pair of Whitethroat showed nicely along the coastal path. A family party of Long Tailed Tits nipped in and out of the Hawthorns on Saltmarsh road where I managed to quickly grab a picture of an obliging juvenile. On the way back to the car I listened and watched a shy male Lesser Whitethroat who was happily singing away marking his territory near the visitor centre but always just behind those annoying branches!
14th June. The following Saturday was my first trip to Pembrokeshire of the year to go on the Pembrokeshire island cruise from Milford Haven aboard the Balmoral. It was a lovely sunny day but with a cold Northerly wind it forced me to keep all my layers on, gloves included, over the 6 hours on deck. As usual wonderful views of the islands of Skokholm, Skomer, Grassholm and Ramsey and the wildlife was excellent too. A few Manx Shearwater could be seen around Skokholm along with Fulmar skimming the wave tops. Of course, plenty of Razorbill, Guillemot and Puffin were seen throughout the cruise along with many good views of Kittiwake, Herring Gull, Lesser Black-Backed Gull and Great Black-Backed Gull. At Grassholm obviously the Gannets were the stars with birds everywhere but unfortunately not putting on a display and diving for fish. A single Shag flying to the island was a nice surprise. With the calm seas many Porpoise were seen cresting the waves although I was too busy pointing them out to other passengers to get the camera on them in time!. 6 hours later and with me having acquired a newly sunburned nose and ears, the boat returned to Milford Haven. We did see a lovely Red Kite floating over the road on the way back too. Nice bonus bird!
16th June. Two days later and it was a really early start to head back to Pembrokeshire and my first trip to finally land on Skokholm. The Skokholm Founders Day visit left Martins Haven at 9am and we stopped off at North Haven, Skomer to pick up a few more people before crossing between Skomer and Middle Holm on our way to Skokholm. There were some wonderful views of Grey Seals in the Haven while the boatman positioned the boat to unload us all. The landing there was difficult, even with the calm sea conditions in South Haven and we all disembarked with the help of a step ladder and then proceeded onto the island, passing the perfect pair of cooing Fulmar on their nest. A short walk uphill to the Wheelhouse and inside to see the figurehead of the Alice Williams and Ronald Lockleys cottage realised a promise from my father to finally get me on Skokholm after reading some of Lockleys beautifully worded books about the island!
After a cup of tea, the party split into two groups for a guided tour of the island. The red sandstone was very much in evidence, very different from the granite of Skomer. The birds weren't as spectacular as they are on the bigger island but still lovely views of Shelduck chicks diving on the North Pond, Chough flying overhead and also a pair of Peregrine Falcons terrorising the Puffins at Crab Bay. Once we'd done the guided walk, we headed back to the Wheelhouse for a spot of lunch, entertained by the Swallows nesting in the digger shed, a busy pair of Pied Wagtails and a Wren bombing in and out of its nest by the kitchen. Then my Father and I headed off to enjoy the island for ourselves for the afternoon getting great views of Fulmar enjoying the updraught at North Gully, Razorbill at Twinlet Bay and Oystercatcher both at the lighthouse and on the Neck. A single Dunlin looked very lost as it alighted on top of a bluff near Mad Bay Point. There seemed to be many more Great Black-Backed Gulls on Skokholm compared to Skomer, most with one or two chicks with their fluffy spotty heads; deceptively cute for such a predator to be. After over 7 hours on the island and with our 5 o'clock departure looming we did a quick lap of the Neck and saw several Grey Seals lazing vertically in the waters of East Bay and got the obligatory "Yawning" picture of Puffins as they did their social networking overlooking North Bay. Once back at the landing and waiting for the boat to arrive, more Grey Seals were lazing around in the waters mixing with the Auks. Two Herring Gull chicks called constantly for feeding. Once back on the boat, we again headed back to Skomer to drop off the assistant wardens and I managed to get a few nice pictures of the Puffins and Guillemots massing on the waters in the late afternoon light at North Haven.
