Record number of puffins recorded on Welsh island

Conservationists are celebrating the news that the number of puffins have increased to record levels on a small island off the coast of Wales.

The Wildlife Trust of South and West Wales (WTSWW), said 52,019 puffins were recorded on Skomer Island this year - which is 8,000 more than in 2025.

The charity said it was a "very pleasant surprise" because it was not expecting such a high count.

Skomer island is a very important island for seabird colonies as it's distance from the mainland means the birds are protected from predators and people who might disturb their nests.

Conservationists from the WTSWW carry out a big seabird count on the island each year, to help keep an eye on how the birds are doing.

As well as puffins, they also record the number of guillemots, eazorbills, kittiwakes, manx shearwaters and fulmars on the cliffs around the island.

They also keep an eye on reptiles, marine mammals and the Skomer vole.

This year 52,019 puffins were recorded, beating the previous record of 43,626 set in 2025.

The team counts every single bird on the island using a pair of binoculars and a notepad.

Researchers have been counting them in the same way since the 1980s, so they can compare more than 40 years of puffin population data.

The 1.13 sq m (2.92 sq km) island is broken up into seven sections, and the team works against the clock and the elements to make sure they have counted every puffin.

If they start the count too early in the season, most of the birds will not yet have returned from their migration, too late and they will be settled on eggs in their burrows.

There are no shops on the island, so the researchers must bring their own food supplies with them whilst they stay there for a few months for the count, but they can catch a short boat ride back to the mainland if they need to.

The team at WTSWW said that monitoring the animals for a long period of time helps to better understand how seabird populations are changing and can sound alarm bells when something goes wrong.

Seabirds face many threats on land and at sea, from pollution and invasive predators to bird flu and offshore developments.

According to the charity, puffin numbers across the UK are some of the fastest declining - so the latest results from their count is a positive story for the seabird.