If you’ve ever dreamed of waking up to the sound of seabirds, stepping outside into salty Atlantic air, and spending your days contributing to real, hands-on conservation science — this is your moment.

Applications to become a Seabird Monitoring Volunteer on Skomer Island close tomorrow, and it’s not an opportunity that comes around every day.

🌊 A Wildlife Island Like No Other

Located just off the coast of Pembrokeshire in West Wales, Skomer is internationally celebrated for its extraordinary seabird colonies. Each spring and summer, the island becomes home to:

• Thousands of charismatic Atlantic puffins

• Vast colonies of guillemots and razorbills

• Storm petrels flitting through dusk skies

• And around half of the world’s population of Manx shearwaters nesting underground

It’s a place where conservation is immediate, immersive, and happening all around you.

🔬 What You’ll Actually Be Doing

This isn’t just wildlife watching (though there will be plenty of awe-inspiring moments). As a Seabird Monitoring Volunteer, you’ll be:

• Assisting with long-term seabird population monitoring

• Carrying out cliff and coastal counts using established scientific methods

• Supporting boat-based surveys (weather permitting)

• Recording and managing ecological data

• Contributing to nationally and internationally important datasets

The monitoring work on Skomer plays a vital role in understanding seabird population trends, informing conservation policy, and protecting marine ecosystems.

You’ll gain hands-on field experience that’s highly valuable for anyone pursuing a career in conservation, ecology, or environmental science.

🏡 Living on the Island

For around six unforgettable weeks, Skomer becomes your home.

Life on the island is simple, communal, and deeply connected to nature. There’s no commute, no city noise — just rugged cliffs, rolling seas, and the constant movement of wildlife.

Volunteers receive:

• Accommodation on the island

• Travel expenses (within the UK)

• Training and necessary equipment

• A bursary upon completion of the placement report

Be prepared for changing weather, physical fieldwork, and early starts. But also prepare for golden sunsets over the Atlantic, close encounters with puffins just metres away, and the surreal nighttime calls of shearwaters echoing across the island.

🌍 Why It Matters

Seabirds are among the most threatened groups of birds globally, facing pressures from climate change, fisheries interactions, pollution, and habitat shifts.

The work carried out on Skomer Island contributes to long-term conservation strategies and helps scientists understand how these populations are changing over time.

By volunteering, you’re not just gaining experience — you’re actively contributing to the protection of internationally significant wildlife.

⏰ Don’t Miss the Deadline

Applications close tomorrow at 23:59.

If you’ve been thinking about applying, this is your sign.
If you’ve been waiting to update your CV, now’s the time.
If you’ve been dreaming about working somewhere truly wild, don’t let this pass you by.

Opportunities like this are rare. The puffins are waiting. 🐧

🔗 https://www.welshwildlife.org/volunteering-opportunities/skomer-island-seabird-monitoring-volunteering