‘Exquisite’ UK island offers free stay in exchange for counting puffins

Just off the coast of Pembrokeshire in rural Wales, you’ll find Skomer Island, a national nature reserve with no permanent population.

It might only be comprised of 720 acres, but it’s still managed to build up quite the reputation, as it’s known for its stone circles, prehistoric remains, and unique wildlife population.

It has its own species of vole (aptly named the Skomer vole), and it’s home to seals and, crucially, one of the UK’s largest puffin colonies.

Now, if you want to get away from it all and immerse yourself in nature, Skomer Island has just the ticket, because it’s offering free bed and board to a whole host of volunteers who are up for, wait for it…counting puffins.

Managed by the Wildlife Trust of South and West Wales, the island is currently recruiting for various long-term volunteer positions, including a seabird monitoring role.

The lucky candidates will all work to record the birds’ numbers over the coming months, a practice that’s undertaken yearly so that Skomer Island can keep a handle on just how many puffins are flocking there.

The roles are unpaid, but they include free accommodation (including bills), travel expenses to and from the island, as well as parking, and a bursary of between £200 and £400.

There’s also a remit for the seabird position to include training on how to drive a powerboat, which is always handy, and the position will see the island becoming your home from May 23 to June 23.

The advert says: ‘Our seabird monitoring volunteer forms an integral part of the island team, assisting with seasonal monitoring of our internationally important seabird populations.’

Applications for the bird volunteering role close at 11.59pm on February 28, while the remainder of the long-term volunteer positions must be submitted by 11.59pm on January 31. So, you’ll need to be quick.

There are three positions for the long-term volunteers, who’ll be shipped out to Skomer for the following dates:

• March 28-July 4 2026
• April 25-August 1 2026
• July 4-September 30 2026.

It’s worth noting that the duties are slightly different to that of the seabird volunteer position, but the longer-term roles necessitate:

• Assisting with the running of the island
• Supporting the wardens with visitor engagement
• Helping with wildlife monitoring (including seabirds, breeding birds, butterflies, moths and marine mammals)
• Maintaining paths and infrastructure on the island.

Why does Skomer Island do a yearly puffin count?

2025 was a record-breaking year for the puffins of Skomer Island, as last year’s annual puffin count showed that there were 43,626 of them calling it home.

At the time, Leighton Newman, Skomer Island’s warden, described the annual count as ‘no small undertaking,’ revealing that six members of staff work day and night to make sure each and every bird is counted.

Last year, there were huge landfalls recorded across Skomer Island, which meant that more puffins than ever were seen further up the cliffs.

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I had quite a few questions about where I saw puffins in one of my recent videos, so I thought I’d provide more details! I did a daytrip with Pembrokeshire Island Boat Tours. You take a boat from Martin’s Haven, and it’s a 15 minute ride to Skomer Island. You’ll know when you’re nearby as you will suddenly see thousands of puffins flying around! You then spend 4.5 hours on the island before taking the boat back. If you want to see puffins this year, be quick! Only 250 people are allowed to visit the island a day and the puffins are only there until the end of July. Tag the person you’d like to see puffins with ⬇️🐧 Puffin Facts | Skomer Island | Puffins | Wildlife Conservation #puffin #puffins #wildlife #wildlifeconservation

♬ Wildlife – Space Kitchen

He said: ‘The island is broken up into seven sections and we systematically count every bird; on the land, rafting on the sea, and we estimate the number in the air during our counts.

‘This is undertaken in the evening, when there are generally more puffins around the island and early enough in the season that birds are not already in burrows.’

The numbers marked an increase from the previous record, set in 2023, when 42,513 puffins were documented in and around the island.

Puffins are currently listed as vulnerable to extinction on the IUCN Red List, endangered by the ramifications caused by pollution and climate change.

Experts reckon that the sudden uptick in Skomer Island’s population of puffins is largely owing to the abundance of food available.

There aren’t many rats or predators, meaning that seabird families are able to thrive without fearing for their nests.

Leighton added: ‘Although The Wildlife Trusts’ Skomer Island is a conservation success story for puffins, they are a species under threat and are rapidly declining elsewhere.

‘We are acutely aware of the threats facing these charismatic birds and we must do all we can to continue to protect them.’

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