Sensational Seabirds – September 2025

The group sea watching

We again feel so honoured to be able to contribute a blog about our recent visit to Skomer in mid-September.

We arrived on the 14^th, with - it felt like too much food/ luggage, as by the time I reached the top of the steps I was exhausted. Maybe there’s more steps……… or just maybe I’m not as young as I was.

But here to greet us were the most amazing, friendly, incredible people you could ever meet!

After a touch and go few days regarding the boat running, we made the weather window and we were on the island, just in front of a rapidly approaching deep depression and storm (originally labelled as Storm Amy).

We planned to spend as much time as we could seawatching over the coming days, as well as helping out with ‘jobs’ and any other birding we could squeeze in.

The storm coming looked pretty intense and surely some good seabirds were coming our way too, but nothing could have prepared us for the next few days – it was mind-blowing !!

We rapidly unpacked, stocked up with food and got ourselves to the public hide as the storm unleashed torrential rain and really strong winds.

Our plan – sit it out in the hide and wait for the waders to drop into North pond.

Well, not too much happened for a long while, then a Ringed Plover flew over, and then just as the rain eased a bit, waders ! And a big flock of them. Panic ensued in the hide as cameras and binoculars flew around in case they didn’t land- but luckily they did, 16 in total, 15 Black-tailed Godwit and a single Bar-tailed.

Godwits arriving in the rain - Mike

Godwits on North Pond - Ted.

The rain stopped, we walked West looking for grounded American waders - none, but we did see a nice Pied Flycatcher.

After doing some work it was an evening seawatch at the Garland Stone on the agenda  – the sea was wild, really wild ! And there were birds, lots of birds, with flying white blobs all over St Brides Bay.

Highlights for what was quite a short seawatch were –

1 Juv Sabines Gull

1 Balearic Shearwater

1 Little Tern

5 Black Tern

2 Arctic Skua

31 Common Scoter

A juvenile Sabines Gull - Ted

 

The following day looked like – THE DAY – for seabirds, we got to bed early, everyone was planning and excited for the next day, we couldn’t wait to wake up 😊 

September 15^th

WOW ! What a day.

Storm force winds, force 10, due West, with the weather Buoy at St Ann’s Head recording 11 metre waves.

Many of us settled in behind rocks near Pigstone Bay for a long seawatch and after a short break for lunch we went back and did the same in the afternoon/ evening.

There were so many birds in St Brides Bay, with easily 500 terns on show at the same time. Birds filtered out of the bay, around the headland and out into the Irish Sea. Within minutes the first adult Sabines Gull passed, then Skuas, then terns, it was crazy stuff and at times difficult to keep up.

The sea was huge, we were getting whacked by the wind, even behind our rock, but my goodness were we happy, smiles all round, and the birds just kept coming, all day!

All four Skuas in a day, masses of terns and 19 Sabines Gulls during the morning watch, the seawatching of dreams 😊

Sabines and seabirds - Ted

Totals for the day came to –

C2000 Commic Terns

33 Arctic Skuas

2 Long-tailed Skuas

1 Pomarine Skua

6 Great Skuas

20, yes 20 Sabines Gulls

31 Black Terns

5 Balearic Shearwaters

 

The 16^th September was much of the same, I think we all felt like we had been staring at the sea too much by the days end, but again it was so worth it!

Highlights were –

16 Arctic Skuas

1 Pomarine Skua

2 Great Skua

14 Black Tern

11 Sandwich Tern

11 Sabines Gulls

 

An Arctic Skua - Ted

17th September

Four of us braved the conditions at Skomer Head as the wind had shifted to the WSW. The weather was pretty awful as we got covered in sea spray and drizzle as well as being battered even more by the wind.

Then somehow Ted found not one, not two, but three Grey Phalarope on the sea really close in by the cliffs.

I simply can’t adequately describe how tiny these birds were compared to the enormous seas driving them into Skomer’s coast. They were so close in, but unless they flapped their wings it was virtually impossible to see them, even with a scope, due to the weather and the waves.

Ceris ran from the farm, and she made it 😊 In time to see a Skomer Grey Phalarope, it seems that Ceris enjoys running for seabirds (she did the same in Sept 24 for a Great Shearwater).

Little did we know that during the afternoon/ evening seawatch at the Garland Stone that Ceris would find her own one - just how cool is that.

Highlights for the day –

4 Grey Phalarope

4 Sabines Gulls

10 Black Tern

56 Common Scoter

21 Common Tern 

Seabirds kept coming - Ted

The 18^th was to be our last day, and it looked like there was one boat, in the morning, but as a number of us seawatched at the Garland Stone we received the joyous news that the boat was delayed until lunchtime – whoop, whoop !

So we settled in and got focussed, Will had to go and look at Seals, soon it was just Ceris and the two of us, but the birds continued to thrill and amaze us with Sabine’s Gulls right in by the Garland Stone and Skuas chasing Kittiwakes all over the place in front of us. 

An Arctic Skua chases Kittiwakes - Mike

Incredibly we then saw a Tuna leap out – a sign of things to come as our seas warm and these huge fish move further north.

Highlights for the morning were –

4 Sabines Gulls

5 Arctic Skuas

83 Arctic Tern

21 Black-headed Gulls

1 Balearic Shearwater

1 Tuna

 

Then it was time to go.

Never before have we paid so little attention to Skomer’s bushes.

Never before have we stared so hard at crazy, awesome seas.

 

Bearing in mind that in 40 years I’ve only ever seen 1 Sabine’s Gull (2024), no Black Tern, no Grey Phalarope, and probably about 25 Skuas…………

Selected totals for the 4 incredible days 

45 Sabine’s Gulls

77 Black Tern

80 Skuas

5 Grey Phalaropes

 

We were sorry to go, to leave this magical place, the ridiculous numbers of seabirds, the breathtaking seas, the most beautiful place on Planet Earth.

But like anywhere else in the world, it’s the people that make it – whilst Rob was off island, could you honestly find anyone more genuine and wonderful than Leighton and Sarah, Ceris and Will, and Anna who had to watch us eat mountains of food – Thank you all, you are amazing 😊

Ted sea watching - Mike

 

Until May 2026…………

Mike + Ted Wallen