Action packed!

I don't even know where to start tonight;  it's been an action packed day in more ways than one.

This morning started dramatically when a gentleman was taken ill shortly after getting off the boat. I think he took the steps too quickly and keeled over at the top. He was adamant that he was ok though and wouldn't let us help him back onto the boat, but he gradually deteriorated and we had to call the coastguard for them to send the lifeboat over. The took him to Milford Haven where an ambulance was waiting for him.

It's during those situations that you realise just how much we take for granted on the mainland. Thankfully he wasn't very seriously ill as even the nearest air ambulance takes 45 minutes to reach Skomer.

The rest of the day passed without incident and I chatted to some of our lovely visitors during island patrol. I also saw a peregrine falcon on one of the cliffs and helped some children to find it too which they though was great. It's wonderful to see kids appreciating wildlife at a young age and it gives me hope that they will educate their children in turn.

The action continued this evening when we joined the other island staff on a boat trip out past Grassholm. We went out to the farthest lighthouse off the coast of Britain.  Known as the Smalls lighthouse, it sits 18 miles off shore. The island staff were hoping to see storm petrels, which are about the size of a swift, so not easy to spot. We didn't see any but we did go back past Grassholm to see the gannets. It's the third largest colony on the UK with 90, 000 individual birds. You can see Grassholm from Skomer and one side of it is white; a combination of gannets and their poo (which stinks, by the way).

We also had some common dolphin riding our bow wave on the way back and breaching right next to the boat; I was in my element! And as we returned to the coast of  Skomer we saw a harbour porpoise and her calf and they also breached (when the break the surface of the water). I didn't realise how small porpoise are; the adults are just 1.3m long.

So all in all it's been a long and tiring day so I'm off for some chocolate and a cuppa. Nos da x

P.S the big white boat below is the one the island staff went on.  No prizes for guessing who ended up on the little orange RIB!!!  It was a bumpy ride to say the least!