Sula Sgeir
| Sula Sgeir | ||
|---|---|---|
 |
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| Waters | North Atlantic | |
| Archipelago | Outer Hebrides | |
| Geographical location | 59 ° 5 '24 " N , 6 ° 9' 0" W | |
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| length | 830 m | |
| width | 300 m | |
| surface | 15 ha | |
| Residents | uninhabited | |
Sula Sgeir ( Scottish Gaelic , of Súlasker , Old Norse for gannets Skerry ) is an island in the north of the Outer Hebrides in Scotland . Sula Sgeir is one of the most remote in the British Isles . The island is uninhabited.
geography
Sula Sgeir is located nearly 70 kilometers north of the northern tip of the main island of Lewis and 16 kilometers west of the island of Rona . The island is around 0.15 km² and consists of gneiss . To the south there are a number of interconnected sea caves. There are several archipelagos around the island .
history
The earliest records of residents of the Ness district on Lewis sailing to Sula Sgeir date back to 1549. Their goal was to hunt seabirds, especially gannets . This hunt, the guga cull , is still practiced today by people from the Ness district, although Sula Sgeir was declared a nature reserve together with North Rona in 1956 . Up to 2000 young northern gannets are allowed to be killed by hunters from the Ness district every year according to a special regulation; their meat, called guga , is considered a delicacy in Ness.
According to a local legend, Brianhuil, one of the two sisters of Saint Ronan of Iona , was said to have lived on the island without drinking water for a while before her death.
building
A number of partially crumbled shelters are on Sula Sgeir, including the Taigh Beannaichte (Blessed House). They are built from long pieces of cast iron. There is also a lighthouse on the south coast that has already been damaged several times in storms.
Flora and fauna
Despite its exposed location, there is rich vegetation on Sula Sgeir. Numerous beach carnations ( Armeria maritima ) bloom in June .
The island is particularly known for its sea birds. Around 5000 northern gannet breeding pairs ( Morus bassanus ) are counted annually. There are also other species such as kittiwakes ( Rissa tridactyla ) and puffins ( Fratercula arctica ).
natural reserve
Sula Sgeir was part of the Rona and Sula Sgeir National Nature Reserve , which was established on March 30, 2006 , together with North Rona . The protection status was revoked on May 18, 2018.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Linus Reichlin : The screeching of the boobies. In: Reports 4/2012, pp. 100–111.
- ↑ SaintRonans.co.uk: Who was Saint Ronan? Archived from the original on April 19, 2016 ; Retrieved April 19, 2016 .
- ↑ Ordinance on the establishment of the nature reserve (PDF file; 84 kB)
- ↑ Repeal with certificate tellmescotland.gov.uk (English), accessed on May 16, 2019