Wales: That’s Not a Gull!

I saw my very first Northern Fulmars a decade and a half ago on the cliffs of Norfolk, and I was looking forward to seeing them on their breeding grounds again on our visit this summer to Wales. The cliffs of Pembrokeshire came through nicely, with several birds seen gliding stiffly over the waves as we walked the coastal path above.

Once again I had to think of James Fisher, whose love for this charismatic petrel resulted in one of the great classics of twentieth-century bird writing, The Fulmar. And who could fault his taste, watching these lovely creatures skim the waves, then tower high in front of the cliffs?