Granddad’s Camera
Fulmar, as it appears in the game

No.058 · Birds · Common

Fulmar

Fulmarus glacialis

A gull-like bird that is really a cousin of the albatross, gliding on stiff wings along the cliffs and spitting foul-smelling oil at intruders.

When to look

February to September, mostly at dawn, day and dusk.

Time of day

Best time
Almost all year on the cliffs at Skomer and Martin's Haven, with the most birds April–July.
Where in the game
the Pembrokeshire coast (sea cliff, clifftop, island and sea)
Size
43–52 cm
Wingspan
102–117 cm
Weight
About 770 g (595–970 g)
Lifespan
Very long-lived: oldest ringed bird nearly 42 years; young birds spend four or five years at sea and do not breed until about nine (BTO)
Population
350,000 pairs in the UK (BTO, 2015). 381 apparently occupied sites on Skomer in 2024, 19% down on 2023 (Wildlife Trust of South & West Wales)
Status
Amber list, UK Birds of Conservation Concern (BTO)

Diet

Fish, squid, plankton and scraps, taken from the surface

Habitat

Sea cliffs, grassy ledges and open ocean

Breeding

One egg per year (on Skomer the first egg was laid 12 May in 2024 and first chick 4 July). Both parents incubate for 52–53 days; the chick fledges after 46–51 days

Field signs

  • Stiff-winged, effortless gliding along the cliff face
  • A pale grey back and white body, with a heavy yellow bill with tube-like nostrils
  • A hoarse, cackling call from ledges
  • A bird sitting on a bare ledge with a spray of oily stains below

Did you know?

  • When threatened at the nest, a fulmar spits a foul-smelling oil at intruders.
  • Over the last 250 years the fulmar, once confined to St Kilda and an island off Iceland, has spread to nest around Britain and beyond (BTO).
  • Young fulmars spend their first four or five years at sea, and do not breed until they are about nine (BTO).

Moments worth waiting for

  • Fulmar chick on the ledge July to August, day
    A fluffy grey fulmar chick sits tight on its ledge while its parent glides back along the cliff.

Photo tip

Fulmars glide on cliff updraughts, so stand where the wind hits the cliff and they come to you. Use 1/1600 s or faster and pan smoothly. Watch the background: pale grey birds against pale grey sky lose their outline, so shoot against dark rock or sea.

Be a good naturalist

Never approach a nesting fulmar: it will spit, and the oil ruins feathers, harming the bird's ability to stay dry. Keep to the paths and away from cliff edges.

The law

Protected as a wild bird under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981

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