Hello everyone, Bore da! It’s Grace, the first long term volunteer of 2026 and I am so excited to be sharing my first impressions and experiences with you in my first Skomer blog. Coming to you from just outside of London in Hertfordshire, coastal life and environments is something quite out of my depth. Why am I here? Well, I am here looking to gain as much experience in the conservation sector as possible, particularly in coastal environments and learn about what goes into the makings of an island nature reserve as great as Skomer. Since arriving here about three weeks ago now, I have honestly had such amazing experiences so far that it is truly going to be difficult for me to narrow down and condense into this blog! So let's dive in!
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| Puffin flapping its wings on a cliff |
I will start off with my first impressions of the island, with this position being the first time I’d ever set foot on Skomer, leading me to think to myself, why on earth only now? What a gem. Immediately, what stands out to me the most, is how I felt seeing Skomer coming into view from the boat. As I looked around I stood in total awe and amazement at the sight before me and how lucky I was to be here. All around me the skies and sea was jam packed with Puffins, Guillemots and Razorbills coming and going about their daily business, completely undisturbed. The best way I can describe it was like entering a Jurassic park for birds, never had I experienced a place so alive with bird activity before. The community of birds felt immense, as if this was their island and I was a visitor they so graciously invited. This was only the beginning. As I looked out to North Haven beach and into the waters below, I was simply speechless at the number of grey seals around, never had I seen a wild seal before. They too were as inquisitive as I was, looking up at me as I boarded on to the island, perhaps wondering who I was and what was my purpose for coming here.
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| Grey Seals at North Heaven Beach |
I have had so many great experiences so far but I will try to not ramble too much and showcase my favourite ones!
I am a huge fan of swimming, and I was looking forward to going in lots in the summer months. Never did I think that actually in my first week, at the end of April, in the cold that I’d dare to set foot in the sea. But here I am! I was persuaded by those around me to go in, and although it was freezing and numbingly cold at first, I never looked back after that. Coming out of the sea feeling so rejuvenated after a long work day was a glorious feeling. While we dried off and looked out to sea, we often saw seals popping up in the water where we had just come up from. On another occasion, the sea was packed with feeding Puffins, and we swam out to them, getting so close, making us feel as though we were one of them. I think even the Puffins thought we were one of them! Although the sea feels like a huge unfamiliar and foreboding body of water at times, being in the water metres away from seals and puffins reminds me of how close and connected we all are in this world.
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| Swimming in the sea with puffins |
Three weeks in and I am already starting to feel my confidence soar and my independence grow! When I think back to my first boat welcome talk, I remember how nervous I was about it, never before spoken to a crowd of 50 people at a time before. Looking back I am amazed by how far I’ve come, already feeling massively more confident in this area and I am already so proud of my progress. Of course, I wouldn’t have done this without the amazing team here, who have hyped me up and shown a great degree of trust in me, getting me involved in things from the get go, enabling me to challenge myself and grow in my abilities as a result.
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| Using a pickaxe to remove stones and rocks from path |
A huge chunk of my experience so far has been getting involved in surveying and monitoring around the island. I have been involved in cetacean, reptile, breeding bird surveys as well as moth trapping. I am delighted to have got the chance to see harbour purposes, having seen about seven in total since I arrived! With my binocular skills, I didn’t imagine I’d even catch a chance of seeing them. I can’t forget seeing my first Skomer vole during a reptile survey and how still and small it was. As the days and weeks progress, I am becoming more confident in my ID skills and if I compare what I know now to when I first started it is honestly remarkable. For my first breeding bird survey, I was shocked how one of my colleagues was able to pick up on some many bird noises and calls. A few weeks later, I am able to recognise so many more bird calls, feeling more alert and inquisitive to the noises and sights around me. Noises that I may have overlooked before, I am beginning to show greater curiosity of and awareness of. I have also realised that there is no bird called a ‘seagull’ and that there are actually four species of gulls on Skomer. There is the the Great Black Backed Gull, the Lesser Black back Gull, the Herring Gull and my favourite: Kittiwake.
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| Lychnis moth sitting on finger |
Another aspect of island life I have really enjoyed is learning to drive the gator. It has been a lot of fun and although challenging at first, has massively boosted my confidence and will definitely be useful for my driving in the future! Especially getting to practice my reversing! We have also learnt to strap loads down on the back of the gator and the correct ropes and knots to use.
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| Driving up the hill on the gator |
It has been great to be able to see what goes into the behind the scenes of a nature reserve on an Island and to get involved in a variety of tasks. One in particular I have enjoyed is getting to do biosecurity checks, (basically an excuse to have a nosy around the island and see what's about). Biosecurity checks involve laying bait such as chocolate wax and peanut butter on top of an ink pad in boxes all over the island (as seen in this photo). Then a week later we checked them for rat activity (which we always hope there is none of).
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As well as this, I have been involved in a variety of practical conservation tasks, from staining hides, bramble removal, path drainage to processing wood. I have gotten to get my hands on tools I have and haven’t used before, increasing my competency which will only grow with experience. It has been very enjoyable to meet with a new group of weekly volunteers every week, hearing their stories and getting busy with them on practical tasks. |
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| Preparing to stain a hide! It has been amazing to get the opportunity to be involved in so much already and feeling like I am part of the team and trusted to get on with things. I am excited to see what the next few months bring and what is on the horizon. Till then farewell, ffarwel! Grace Collett (Long term volunteer 2026) |
