Topic: The seabirds of Pembrokeshire

[kentish cob]

Revisiting old negs... these are from a "whistle-stop" trip I made to Pembrokeshire in South Wales in July 2001.
Two nights camping, one day taking in just a small part of this beautiful region, and one full day on the Island of Skomer to be enchanted by the resident puffins.

If I remember correctly, I would have been using a Nikon F301 at the time, probably with a Tokina 70-210 zoom. Film was 100ASA Fujicolour.

So, without further ado... from the top:
Fulmar, Greater Black-backed Gull, and 3 shots of guillemot colony.

[kentish cob]

The clowns of the sea... the comical looking puffins sporting their tuxedo plumage.
These all taken during the day-long visit to Skomer.

[kentish cob]

And finally, some views of Skomer Island.

As always, your comments and critiques will be most welcome...

[Indofunk]

Brilliant colors, especially on that last set! I didn't realize the UK had puffins. I'd love to see one in the wild. Also didn't realize the UK got any sunshine at all

[Domingo A. Siliceo]

I'm more of landscapes than of birds, so I like more the coast shots -especially the last image, which is highly impressive.

[kentish cob]

Thank you for your kind comments gents.
My dear Indofunk... you and your trumpet obviously spent too much time in the cold grey north on your last visit... you should have ventured south to the riviera
We have all the sunshine we need, thank you..! I recall we had a glorious summer last year... 2 days in July, and another 3 in August..!

[ManuelL]

Love the Puffins and the last set of landscapes!
The colours are really brilliant.

[KevinAllan]

Thank you for your kind comments gents.
My dear Indofunk... you and your trumpet obviously spent too much time in the cold grey north on your last visit... you should have ventured south to the riviera

Actually there are quite a lot of puffins in the most northern county of England - the Farne Islands off the coast of Northumberland have large numbers of them.

[kentish cob]

You're right, of course, Kevin... In fact, I believe the UK's northern puffin populations are significantly healthier in number than those further south... Then of course there's the wonderful gannet colonies too.

My poorly phrased tongue-in-cheek comment was in response to Satish's mention of "UK sunshine" (or lack thereof), but yes, I admit, it's thinly veiled jealousy of the wonderful coast, wilderness and wildlife "oop north".

[Late Developer]

Love all of those photos - wildlife and scenery.  In these days of austerity and staycations there's a lot of the UK I'm planning to see - and Pembrokeshire is looking like one destination to move towards the top of the list.

Having spent 7 years in Newcastle Upon Tyne (well, nearer Whitley Bay, if I'm being picky) I can definitely recommend Northumberland and its wonderful coastline.  There are a few touristy hotspots but there are miles and miles of unspoilt beaches and dunes to lose yourself in for a day....