Great Skua - 1994

Passage migrant and occasional winter visitor

Mathew (1894) did not encounter the Great Skua but quoted Sir Hugh Owen as saying that it was always to be found in Goodwick Bay in a good herring season. Lockley et al. (1949) recorded a bird shot in Solva Harbour in 1894. It was next recorded at the Smalls in July 1955 and thereafter with increasing frequency, up to 20 being noted in 17 of the years to 1976, when Saunders wrote that it was recorded off Pembrokeshire in most autumns though in considerably smaller numbers than the Arctic Skua.

Frequent seawatching at Strumble Head in the 1980s revealed that Great Skuas are annual in occurrence in the autumn between 2 July and 28 December, and that overall they are as numerous as Arctic Skuas (compare Tables 13 and 14). Up to 25 birds pass Strumble Head on most days in autumn, but larger numbers are seen following south-west gales, with the maximum recorded being 198 on 3 September 1983. As with other skuas, the majority put out to sea once clear of the Bishops, but some occur inshore along the west coast and to a lesser extent the south coast, though the amount of observation may be insufficient to reveal the true extent.

December records from the Smalls, Strumble Head, Fishguard Harbour, St John's Point and Nolton Haven indicate that a few linger in Pembrokeshire waters throughout the winter.

There is a small and erratic spring passage, from 27 March to 15 June, with ones and twos being seen from all of the coasts and off the islands.

Donovan J.W. & Rees G.H (1994), Birds of Pembrokeshire