Skomer island advice

swanseamale47

swanseamale47

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wayne clarke
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I'm off to Skomer in June and never having been there before I wondered if anybody had any advice for shooting there, any good spots, things to avoid etc etc.
I'm ok on kit and I'm not planning on hanging off any cliffs or anything silly.
I'm told there puffins there (mid june?)
Any tips appreciated
 
It might be worth dropping 'lost' a pm. He's been. I'm off there in July. The puffins are still there in June until late July ish I believe. Oh...and be prepared for cardiac hill! :lol:
Have a lovely time!
 
Check out last years TP trip ..... Here

Might give you an idea or two ... :suspect:

If you are going on a day trip I would suggest heading to the Wick (check map)

Wish we were all going again this year but I was not willing to keep putting up with their constant price rises.
 
Take a hat and sun screen. There is little/no shelter on the island and the sun can be a killer.The light can be pretty harsh so you'll need to keep an eye on exposures. My most used lens was the 70-200, although a std zoom and a long telephoto have their uses too.
HTH

Edit: Useful link for prices etc.:
http://www.welshwildlife.org/visitingskomer_en.link

Dont think the prices have changed since last year, £18.00 for a day on a stunning island doesn't seem excessive to me:thinking:
 
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Thanks everybody, cardiac hill sounds fun :eek: I'll check out the map and take suncream, I'm not a big hat wearer but I'll make an exception here I think if it's a hot day.
It is a day trip.
 
Just to say I'm sure you'll have a great time and I wish you well. I'm very envious, but my legs aren't up to the hike yet (after ops). Next year.

Be sure to post some pics, love to see them. Good luck mate :)
 
HoppyUK said:
Just to say I'm sure you'll have a great time and I wish you well. I'm very envious, but my legs aren't up to the hike yet (after ops). Next year.

Be sure to post some pics, love to see them. Good luck mate :)
Click to expand...

I'm getting over a back injury myself so I'm wondering if I'll make it up the hill ok lol, I'm going to travel lighter than I normally would, so bare minimum of kit, just a light monopod etc.

Wayne
 
Last year I made the mistake of carrying almost all of my kit for a day trip. So unless you really want to take landscapes, focus on your wildlife kit. I took my monopod, but a tripod would have been better as you quite often have the time to set everything up.

Not sure what kit you have in your bag, but something under 70mm is handy, and you can often get quite close to the Puffins. A decent 70-200 plus a longer range telephoto should do you fine.

The year before we went to the Farne Islands which I actually prefer as a day trip, but Skomer offers the opportunity to stay overnight which people tell me is a great experience.

Steve
 
Jelster said:
but Skomer offers the opportunity to stay overnight which people tell me is a great experience.
Click to expand...

It definitely is! You get to take advantage of the early and late sunlight - when all the day visitors haven't arrived yet, or have gone back. You have time to explore the whole island - which isn't easy on a day trip. But best of all - you get to experience thousands of Manx Shearwaters flying in to their nesting burrows at night.
 
Thanks everybody, I'm going with a 10-20 17.55 and a 70-300 on a crop body to save weight. I'm tempted to take either a 400 or 600 but really don't want to push my luck with my back, am I lightly to need anything that long really?
Sadly I can't stay over as I have a booking the next day. I have sorted a map out.
Thanks again.
Wayne
 
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