For the last year I've been in email contact with Eric Hocking, a fellow bird enthusiast from Melbourne, Australia. I'd contacted Eric via his website and when he found out that he would be in the UK for a couple of weeks on business we arranged to meet up and visit Skomer in the hope of seeing and photographing Puffins.

There was one non-paying passenger on the Dale Princess, the boat we boarded for the short voyage to Skomer. He was a hand-tame Herring Gull called 'Tonto' and he provided some good photo opportunities as he flew along with the boat a few feet above our heads. A probable Rock Pipit flew past into the rocks as we started to pull away from shore.

It was a calm, fine day and as we drew nearer the island we saw more and more Puffins gently bobbing on the sea all around us. A single Great-black Backed Gull looked down on from the cliffs surrounding the bay as we disembarked. The hills around the bay were riddled with holes, most of which were Puffins' nesting burrows, some belonged to Manx Shearwaters. A tiny Wren was busy shuttling back and forth, feeding it's young in a nest which was beneath a noticeboard at the point where the all the visitors to the island gathered for a brief introductory talk by the warden.

We followed the path which lead to the south of the island because the warden had said that some of the best spots for Puffins were in that area. A few 'little brown jobs' caused an identification problem for a while, providing very brief glimpses as they flitted around in the bracken. One of the birds stayed in view long enough for us to identify it as a Sedge Warbler.

The first sea cliff we came to was covered in Guillemots with many Gulls, Puffins and a few Fulmars scattered around. We came to the spot where I had taken a few photos of Puffins on out last visit. Their burrows were only a few feet from the footpath and earlier in the season they wood have been lots of birds popping in and out of the holes but there were very few birds in evidence this time. I think Eric was a bit disappointed as he failed to get a good shot, despite patiently waiting in vain for one bird to emerge from it's burrow after we saw it scuttle underground with a beak full of sandeels. The cliffs opposite held a large colony of Kittiwakes and more Guillemots.

Further along the path, Eric was the first to spot a male Wheatear in moult and what was very probably it's mate put in appearance soon afterwards. It was an exceptionally clear day and we could plainly see the RSPB owned island of Grassholm, about 7 miles away. One half of the island was a yellowish, white colour, caused by the 30,000 Gannets which breed there.

There were many rabbits on the island, quite a few of which were completely black! My wife pointed to a bird not far in front of us along the path and asked, "What's that?" The male bird 'experts' responded with, "Oh that's just a Gull", thinking she was referring to a Lesser-black Backed Gull sitting on a stone wall. She gave me an odd look as she pointed to a female Kestrel perched on a rock a few feet above the Gull and said "That's a Gull???".

There were many Swallows and a few House Martins hawking around the buildings in the centre of the island. A nearby warbler proved to be a bit of a puzzle and I never did positively identify it despite posting to the uk.rec.birdwatching newsgroup for opinions.

The boat trip back to he mainland provided a Razorbill sighting and a single Gannet flew past in the direction of Grassholm.