Wildlife Watching

Pembrokeshire, being the only coastal national park in the UK has some fantastic and unusual wildlife to observe in some truly memorable surroundings. Whether it is the Puffins on Skomer, the Gannets on Grassholm or the Atlantic grey seals dotted around the coastline, you are able to get up close and personal with these amazing creatures.  Information courtesy of Visit Pembrokeshire

Skomer Island

Skomer Island
Skomer is a magical place to visit, not just for the large array of bird life but also for the amazing carpet of wild flowers (bluebells and pink campion) which covers the island in Spring.

Puffins, guillemots, razorbills, Manx shearwaters are all regularly seen, as are dolphins and porpoises in the waters surrounding the island.


Boat trips depart Martin's Haven daily at 10am, 11am and 12 noon  (1st April - 30th September)

Ramsey island

Ramsey Island
A RSPB reserve, Ramsey is just off the end of the St Davids peninsula.There's a 3½ mile trail round the island, which can be rugged in places but it’s the best way to see the island.

The steep Western cliffs are home to ravens, peregrines and buzzards. In spring, guillemots, razorbills, fulmars, kittiwakes and shags come to nest too. Choughs also breed on these cliffs, seeking out deep fissures and caves in which to build their nests.

Boats leave from St Justinians for the short crossing to Ramsey at 10 am and 12 pm, returning at 4 pm (between 1st April or Easter, whichever is earlier, to 31st October

Grassholm Island

Grassholm Island
Grassholm Island is a tiny white speck of land, 11 miles from the coast. As you approach the island, you begin to understand why it's white. It's home to 39,000 pairs of breeding gannets, the only gannet colony in Wales and third largest in the UK.

The island comes alive in early spring, with gannets returning to the island from late February onwards. The air is filled with males returning with nesting materials keen to establish territory ready to attract a female.

Grassholm is a RSPB reserve with a strict 'no landing' policy, but several boat operators offer trips out to island to experience the sights and smells first hand.

Strumble Head

Strumble Head
A prominent rocky outcrop close to Fishguard, it is a favourite spot to watch seals and other birdlife. 
There are regular sightings of great and Arctic skuas, dainty storm and Leach's petrels, several species of tern, Sabine's gulls, great and sooty shearwaters, soft-plumage petrel, little shearwater and Wilson's petrel.

Strumble Head is not just about seabirds. Wildfowl, especially that dark sea duck the common scoter and waders like oystercatchers and curlew also pass.

Dolphin & porpoise watching is also popular here. A local group called Sea Trust hold several surveys here every year.

Skokholm Island

Skokholm Island
Skokholm has been owned by The Wildlife Trust of South and West Wales since 2006 and lies just south of Skomer. The island is roughly a mile in length and half a mile across at its widest point.

It is home to an exciting diversity of flora, fauna and spectacular scenery. Set in a Marine Nature Reserve this island is part of a wildlife spectacle.

Surrounded by reefs and rich seas the island supports an incredible diversity of wildlife, including thousands of puffins and manx shearwaters, a large population of storm petrels, plus there are often some fascinating migrants passing through, as well as being covered in a stunning array of wild flowers and lichens.

Dale Princess

Bluebells on Skomer

Puffins on Skomer