30/05/2026
Skomer! A day that started off with beautiful sunshine and clear skies. We where off to see the Puffins!
As we got to the Wick we set ourselves about watching and imaging these gorgeous seabirds, Chops being in his element. I was set on some wider shots. I hammered my 85mm 🤣
After about half an hour the sky changed dramatically, clear skies replaced with a very visible storm rolling in on the horizon. A wall of rain was sailing past it seemed. We were most certainly wrong. Within 10 minutes the rain started with a bit of thunder and lightening. Progressing to small Hail and then a 15 minute onslaught of what I can only describe as a freakish (for the UK) hailstorm.
Large, fast and in huge numbers this hail battered us. Mrs Uncommited Photographer had to shield as much of chops as she could and I had to try and shield them both. the puffins even retreated after a hearty attempt to stay out of their burrows. The images included in this post are a sequence of weather events (as best I could capture them! The camera took quite the beating!)
For Chop's first time out in a thunderstorm he certainly managed to catch a doozy. The poor kid was beside himself. He is ok! It was quite the shock even for the adults among us!
I wanted to take a moment and really send my heartfelt thanks to staff and volunteers. The minute it was safe to move they took Chops and his mum (and everyone else) to the Farmhouse to get them dry, some new clothes and a biscuit. Something I know helped chops thoroughly. Although the storm ate a lot of our time on the island we still very much consider it such a special day. Next year we will most certainly return!
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