Grassholm, Island of Gannets…

Having lived here most of my life I’ve pretty much seen and experienced everything this part of Wales has to offer, that is all except for one place. A place I’ve only ever seen through binoculars from afar, a place that is literally out on it’s own, this place is called Grassholm Island.

One of the lesser visited of all the Pembrokeshire Islands, it sits roughly ten miles from the mainland. It’s a small rock in the middle of nowhere but plays a very important part to one particular species of bird; the Gannet. Grassholm Island serves as a breeding site for 39,000 pairs of the birds, and supports around 10 percent of the world population. It’s the third largest Atlantic Gannetry in the world behind the Scottish islands of St Kilda and Bass Rock respectively.

From afar this island appears half white, the is mainly down to the mass of Gannets tightly packed into one small piece of rock.

You don’t realise how large these birds are until your up close, with a wingspan up to 2 metres in some cases these are seriously big birds to be amongst.

They are stunning looking birds, extremely sleek and streamline – perfectly made for flying miles on end above the water and plunging in head first at great speed into the sea for fish.

All in all great trip and definitely recommend it to anyone. Thanks to once again the crew of the Dale Princess & Dale Sailing http://www.pembrokeshire-islands.co.uk

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All photos on this page taken with Canon EOS 7D with 400mm f/5.6L