Wildlife of Skomer Island Trivia Quiz

Answer: Manx shearwater

There are approximately 120,000 pairs of Manx shearwater (Puffinus puffinus) nesting on Skomer. This represents roughly one fifth of the total world population. They are strictly nocturnal at the nesting sites as they would be attacked by gulls and other predators if they ventured out in daylight. It is thought that most adults spend the non-breeding time far away in the South Atlantic off the coasts of Argentina and Brazil.
Many thousands of puffins (Fratercula arctica) breed on Skomer. They too nest in burrows and will usurp rabbits occasionally but puffins are largely diurnal birds.
Around one hundred pairs of storm petrel (Hydrobates pelagicus) breed on the island; they nest in small crevices on rocky cliffs.
Gannets (Morus bassanus) are seen frequently around Skomer but none breed there. Many tens of thousands breed on Grassholm, an island some eight miles further west.

Answer: Short-eared owl

Short-eared owls (Asio flammeus) live in small numbers on Skomer. They are frequently seen hunting in daylight hours. The 'ears' are actually feather tufts.
Tawny owls (Strix aluco) are largely nocturnal and are hole nesting.
Little owls (Athene noctua) can also be seen during daylight hours but are also hole nesting (and could not tackle a full-grown rabbit).
Barn owls (Tyto alba) usually nest in farm buildings and are largely nocturnal but can occasionally be seen by day.

Answer: Grey seal

Only two species of seal are commonly seen in British waters, the grey seal (Halichoerus grypus) and the common seal (Phoca vitulina). As a general rule, common seals are found mostly along the east coast and grey seals mostly along the west. The female grey seals on Skomer usually give birth in August. About 100 pups are born most years making Skomer the second most productive site for grey seals in Wales (only nearby Ramsey Island has more).
Common seals are known as harbor seals in the USA.

Answer: Crow

The chough (Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax) is a striking bird with glossy black plumage and bright red legs and bill. The bill is quite long and down-curved, the chough uses it to find insects and other invertebrates on the grassy tops of cliffs. The cliffs around Pembrokeshire are ideal for choughs to nest and feed on.

They are frequently seen on Skomer. Other members of the crow family often get a bad press as nest-robbers but choughs are blameless in this respect. To see a party of choughs playing in the breeze and making their evocative calls is one of my favourite bird-watching experiences.

Answer: False

There are no woodlands on Skomer, in fact there are no trees! The island is frequently battered by strong Atlantic gales so vegetation tends to be very close to the ground. Some birds considered common on the mainland such as blue tits are quite rare on Skomer, although blackbirds and wrens breed there.

Answer: Puffin

The puffins (Fratercula arctica) on Skomer are remarkably tame and allow visitors to get very close. They return to their nesting sites each Spring. Once they have finished breeding they fly far out to sea and do not return until the following year. If you went to Skomer in August you would see plenty of seals but you would be unlikely to see any of the approximately 6,000 pairs of puffins which breed on the island.

Answer: Beetle

Glow worms (Lampyris noctiluca)also known as fireflies are quite scarce in most of mainland Britain but are found in some numbers on Skomer. The males glow in a attempt to attract a mate. However they are not worms or flies but actually belong to the beetle family.
Tylwyth teg are the Welsh fairies which some people used to believe created the lights actually created by glow worms.

Answer: Lizard

The slow-worm (Anguis fragilis) is rather badly named; it is neither a worm nor particularly slow. It looks very snake-like but in fact is a legless lizard. It is found on mainland Britain but is only common in a few places.

Answer: Vole

The Skomer vole (Clethrionomys glareolus skomerensis) is a unique subspecies of bank vole. About 20,000 of the voles are estimated to live on Skomer during the Summer months. They are predated by short-eared owls, gulls and various raptors. Some taxonomists claim the population has been isolated for so long it should be recognised as a separate species. One reason why Skomer is so rich in wildlife and particularly birds is that there are no rats on Skomer. Rats will eat birds' eggs and nestlings and with nearly all of Skomer's birds being ground or cliff-nesting, any introduction of rats could be disastrous.

Answer: False

There are many hundreds of rabbits on Skomer. They are predated by various bird species including buzzards, short-eared owls and the larger gulls. There are no mammalian predators of rabbits on Skomer.