Donna Nook is one of the most accessible sites for seeing seals at a time of breeding in the UK. Elsewhere they either gather on beaches but in far away places like the Scottish islands, or they are out to sea in rocky outcrops. In Lincolnshire it is a short ride from near Louth to the beach and there they are, in late autumn and early winter.

Lundy lies off the coast of North Devon, where the Atlantic ocean meets the Bristol Channel with nothing between it and America, a granite outcrop, three and a half miles long and half a mile wide. In the hubbub of the modern world it is a place apart, peaceful and unspoilt.

Lundy's flora and fauna is so rich and diverse that most of the Island is a Site of Special Interest and the seas surrounding it are England's only statutory Marine Nature Reserve, so whether you are looking for birds or basking sharks; Soay sheep or seals; or even Lundy cabbages or corals then Lundy is the place to come.

The Farne Islands lie two to three miles off the Northumberland coast midway between the fishing village of Seahouses and the magnificent Castle of Bamburgh. As well as being the most famous Sea Bird Sanctuary in the British Isles they also have a large colony of Atlantic or Grey Seals.

Skomer is an enchanting island with just about everything an island nature reserve should include. It is the second largest island in Wales, after Anglesey, and one of the most important wildlife sites in Europe. Skomer lies just off the Pembrokeshire coast, separated from the mainland by the turbulent waters of the Jack Sound.

For bird watchers, this makes it one of the best sites to visit in Europe, especially during Springtime, when the bluebells and coastal flowers (sea and red campion, pink thrift) present a wonderful coloured carpet for the birds to land on.
The sheer cliffs support Guillemots (14,000 individuals), Kittiwakes (2,000 pairs), Razorbills (3,500 individuals) and Fulmars (700 pairs). Midland Island, which separates Skomer and the mainland, is home to a colony of Shags (over 30 pairs). About 16 pairs of Cormorants nest on the Mew Stone, to the south of the island.

Perhaps the most popular bird to observe on Skomer is the comical "Pembrokeshire Parrot", the Puffin; over 6000 pairs breed on the island each year; the first to arrive in 2005 were spotted on 19th March. The world's largest colony of Manx Shearwaters (over 150,000 breeding pairs), is also resident.

These birds return to their burrows in early May each year, rearing a single chick, before travelling to South Atlantic fishing grounds in September; in 2005, the first Shearwater arrived on 6th March. On Skomer's heath and grassland, Lesser Black Backed Gulls nest (11,000 pairs), together with Great Black Backed (over 80 pairs) and Herring Gulls (460 pairs). Curlews, Short-Eared Owls (who prey on the unique Skomer Vole), Buzzards, Kestrels, Peregrine and Oystercatchers also make their home here.