Skomer Island Webcam – Puffin Colony Above North Haven

The Skomer Island Webcam looks down on the puffin colony on the clifftop above North Haven, a bay on the north side of Skomer, the island nature reserve off the Pembrokeshire coast in Wales. The Wildlife Trust of South and West Wales runs it. Short green turf pocked with burrow entrances fills the lower half of the frame, and below the cliff edge waves break on a pebble beach scattered with boulders. From mid-April to July puffins gather on this turf and sometimes come right up to the camera, and after dark in the breeding season Manx shearwaters return to their burrows. A second tab, the Puffin Bank Cam, looks along a steep grassy bank above the haven. The Trust notes that its webcams may not be live during the winter, so the player can be empty between seasons.

About Skomer Island

Skomer lies within 1 kilometer (0.62 miles) of the Pembrokeshire coast, a 20-minute boat ride from Martin’s Haven. The island covers 2.92 square kilometers (720 acres) and rises to 79 meters (259 feet) at Gorse Hill. Its Viking name, Skalmey, means “Cleft Island”, because the land is almost cut in two at a narrow strip called the Isthmus. In 1959 the Nature Conservancy bought the island with help from the West Wales Field Society, the charity that became the Wildlife Trust of South and West Wales, and it became one of the country’s first National Nature Reserves.

Skomer is one of the most important seabird sites in southern Britain. Nearly 350,000 pairs of Manx shearwaters breed here, the largest colony of the species in the world, and the Trust recorded 52,019 puffins in 2026. Guillemots and razorbills nest on the cliffs alongside thousands of kittiwakes. The island has no rats, which lets ground-nesting birds thrive, and it has a mammal found nowhere else, the Skomer vole. Each autumn the shearwaters leave to winter off the coast of South America, an Atlantic crossing traced on our bird migration map.

An Iron Age farming community of up to 200 people left huts, fields and cairns that the Trust counts among the most complete remains of the period in Europe, and farming on the island ended for good in 1950. Dragon Wifi installed the webcams and supplies their connection, and the microphones are switched off because the cameras sit close to staff accommodation.

Weather and Climate on Skomer Island

Skomer has a mild, wet Atlantic climate. The Met Office station at Milford Haven, on the mainland to the east, averages highs of 8.7°C (48°F) and lows of 4.4°C (40°F) in January, against 19.3°C (67°F) and 13.1°C (56°F) in July, with about 1,081 millimeters (42.6 inches) of rain a year. April highs reach around 12.6°C (55°F), and that is when the colony wakes up: the puffins start arriving in mid-April, and in May and June bluebells and red campion carpet the island.

Summer brings the busiest views, with puffins on the slopes until the first ones leave in mid-July. By the end of July they are all gone. After that, gray seals take over much of the action: they haul out on the rocks at low tide and breed on the island’s beaches in autumn, when the Trust records around 250 pups a year. November averages highs of 11.5°C (53°F), and the bracken on the slopes dies back to brown, as it had at the edge of the frame in early November.

Things to Do Near Skomer Island

Day trips run from April to August, Tuesday to Sunday, with a reduced timetable in September. Pembrokeshire Islands Boat Trips is the only boat operator that lands on Skomer, and boats leave Martin’s Haven every 30 minutes between 10:00 and 12:00, with return boats from 15:00. Visitors climb 87 steps from the landing, keep to the paths because of the burrows, and bring every bag sealed shut so that no rat can reach the island. The Trust also runs a hostel on Skomer for overnight stays.

On the mainland, the National Trust runs car parks at Martin’s Haven, a five-minute walk from the boats, and at Marloes Sands, 45 minutes away along the coast path. That walk gives views of Skomer and Skokholm offshore and passes the Marloes Mere reserve, a good spot for bird watching. Skokholm, Skomer’s sister island, holds around 40,000 pairs of Manx shearwaters of its own.

Liknande webbkameror som du kanske gillar

More seabird and Pembrokeshire cameras from around the site:

• Runde Webbkamera
• Llyn Brenig Nest Box Webcam
• Broad Haven Webbkamera
• Tenby hamnwebbkamera

Vanliga frågor

Where is Skomer Island located?

Skomer lies off the Pembrokeshire coast in southwest Wales, about 24 kilometers (15 miles) west of Haverfordwest as the crow flies. Boats reach it from Martin’s Haven, near the village of Marloes, in about 20 minutes.

What can you see on the Skomer Island Webcam?

The Puffin Colony Cam looks down a clifftop of short turf full of burrow entrances to a pebble beach and the water of North Haven. The Puffin Bank Cam tab shows a steep grassy bank dropping to dark rocks and the sea, where boats can appear.

Why are there no puffins on the Skomer Island Webcam right now?

Puffins come to Skomer only to breed. According to the Trust they start arriving in mid-April, are present from May to July, begin leaving in mid-July and are all gone by the end of July. They spend the rest of the year out at sea, so from August until the following April the burrows on screen stay empty.

Why is the Skomer Island Webcam not showing anything right now?

The Trust warns that its webcams may not be live during the winter. If the player is empty, the season has most likely ended, and the cameras come back when the Trust restarts its streams. This season’s streams went live in early March 2026, ahead of the puffins’ return.

What is the weather like on Skomer Island?

Mild and wet, with January highs near 9°C (48°F), July highs near 19°C (67°F) and the most rain from autumn into winter.

How do you get to Skomer Island?

Book a day trip with Pembrokeshire Islands Boat Trips from Martin’s Haven between April and September, or stay in the Trust’s hostel. Dogs are not allowed on the island, and the steps and narrow paths make it impossible to visit in a wheelchair.

Are there seals on Skomer Island?

Yes. Gray seals live around Skomer all year, in low numbers from May to July, and the Trust tells viewers to look out for them basking on the beaches and swimming in the surrounding waters.

Source: The Wildlife Trust of South and West Wales