The great British safari

Overseas wildlife-watching trips to gaze at brown bears or giraffes have become so popular that we forget the rewarding diversity of creatures the British Isles has to offer–if you are patient, quiet and warmly dressed. Kate Green suggests 30 creatures that are thrilling to glimpse

- Kate Green

1 Manx shearwaters on Skomer

ATINY island off the Pembrokeshire coast boasts the largest breeding colony of Manx shearwaters (Puffinus puffinus) in the world; they arrive in March from South America. When the bird was first scientifically recorded, in 1676 on the Calf of Man, it was known as the Manx puffin for its plump shape and, like puffins, which are also prolific on Skomer, they nest in burrows to avoid predation by gulls. The shearwater’s physiognomy (with its legs set far back on the body) is organised for graceful swimming and flying, not walking, and its slow waddle makes the bird vulnerable.

A summer-evening boat cruise from Martin’s Haven is the prime viewing time although, ironically, it is rough weather that will bring the birds out. An overnight stay on Skomer is an atmospheric, if deafening experience, as they scream to each other to return to the right burrow in the manner of an exasperated wife retrieving her husband from the pub.

2 Dolphins off the west Cornish coast

THE heartwarming sight of smiley-faced dolphins bounding through the waves is not confined to Cornwall, but locals in the know are to be found sighting them through telescopes from the rocky cliffs at Porthgwarra, south of Land’s End. Here, the seas can teem with bottlenose or common dolphins (which may live in pods of up to 100).

The more solitary harbour porpoise— dubbed the ‘puffing pig’ for its snuffling breathing sound—may be glimpsed rolling around closer to shore off much of the South-West coast.