BIRD HEAVEN: THE ISLE OF MAY
ISLE OF MAY
Remote, rugged, and rife with wildlife, the Isle of May is one of Scotland’s most beautiful natural treasures. And that is saying a lot, given that Scotland was recently voted the most beautiful country in the world.
The island sits in the northern section of the Firth of Forth, an estuary emptying into the North Sea off the northern coast of mainland Scotland.
While the island is small, 1.5km long by about 0.5km wide, and covers just 57 hectares, massive populations of seabirds nest on its ledges along its tall cliffs, while teams of seals swim in its surrounding waters.
The arc of history shows that Vikings, smugglers, and monks all made good use of the outpost.
Now, no one lives on the island. It is owned and managed by Scottish Natural Heritage as a National Nature Reserve. Primarily, only daytrippers are allowed to visit and only by way of ferry from Anstruther in Fife or from North Berwick.
If you are an avid bird lover or researcher, you might be lucky enough to be granted access to stay at the island’s bird observatory. Only 6 visitors are allowed per week. The island is closed to visitors altogether from 1 October until Easter to prevent disturbance to the large number of seal pups.
The Isle of May is designated as a European Special Protection Area for breeding seabirds, and a Special Area of Conservation to protect its seals and the rocky underwater reefs around the island.
The Scottish Seabird Centre maintains 2 live cameras on the island so you can closely watch the seabird colonies even when you can’t visit them in person. At the height of the breeding season, the Isle of May hosts up to 200,000 seabirds. Puffins, Kittiwake, Guillemots, Razorbills, Shags, Fulmars, oystercatchers, eider ducks, terns, and gulls are among the most plentiful.
Grey seals come ashore on the northern and eastern coasts to breed on the black basalt pillars in autumn.
The only mammals on the island are rabbits, first introduced to the island by the monks in 1329. They hop about happily, sharing their burrows with the island’s iconic comical puffins.
The cultural history of the Isle of May is colorful as well. St Adrian's Chapel is a Scheduled Ancient Monument. The Isle of May Lighthouse, Keepers' Houses, North and South Horns, Low and Light Cottages, and the former Lighthouse Beacon have all been included in the list of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest.
From the a mass burial ground dating back to prehistoric times, to the earliest of Christian churches in Scotland, founded in the 9th century, the Isle of May has a deep spiritual heritage.
The island is made up of volcanic rock, with steep gullies caused by erosion. There are monumental rock stacks, stone arches and caves all along the west cliffs. Much of the rocky surface is covered with colorful lichens, including the extremely rare “Anaptychia ciliaris subsp mamillata.”
In summer, wild buttercups, daisies, ragwort and silverweed pop through the thin layer of soil here, attracting hundreds of species of nectar seeking butterflies and moths, including the rare Square-spot Dart.
Read more about Beautiful Scotland in See Scotland’s Crown Jewel Park and Scotland’s Most Spectacular Road Trip.
And check out more beautiful things happening now in BN Mind/Body, Soul/Impact, Nature/Science, Food/Drink, Arts/Design, and Place/Time, Daily Fix posts.
Want more stories like this? Sign up for our weekly BN Newsletter, Like us on Facebook. Follow us on Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, Tumblr. Join our BeautifulNow Community and connect with the most beautiful things happening in the world right now!
Do you have amazing photos? Enter them in this week’s BN Photo Contest. We run new creative contest every week! Now, it’s even easier to enter with the new BeautifulNow App!
Plus check out the rest of our App’s beautiful features. It’s free to download here.
IMAGE CREDITS:
-
Image: by Fr Lawrence Lew, O.P. “Puffin in Flight.” Isle of May, Scotland.
-
Image: by Neil Banas. “Isle of May.” Isle of May, Scotland.
-
Image: by Hannah Swithinbank. “Gentle breeze.” Isle of May, Scotland.
-
Image: by Scott Presly. “Oystercatcher in the rye.” Isle of May, Scotland.
-
Image: by James Stringer. “Isle of May.” Isle of May, Scotland.
-
Image: by Jean-Marie Prival Untitled. Isle of May, Scotland.
-
Image: by Moira Dunworth. “The Isle of May.” Isle of May, Scotland.
-
Image: by alljengi. “Isle of May, Firth of Forth.” Isle of May, Scotland.
-
Image: by Neil Banas. “Isle of May.” Isle of May, Scotland.
-
Image: by James Stringer. “Isle of May.” Isle of May, Scotland.
-
Image: by James Stringer. “Isle of May.” Isle of May, Scotland.
-
Image: by BN App - Download now!
-
Image: by James Stringer. “Isle of May.” Isle of May, Scotland.
