Scottish Islands Explorer 41: Jan / Feb 2017

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Scottish Seabird Islands - Part One Scottish Seabird Islands - Part One Richard Clubley focuses on the wilderness Many I speak to have never been to Scotland, fewer have been to an island, fewer still have stood on Ailsa Craig, Bass Rock, St Kilda or any of the other, wonderful, teeming, raucous, smelly seabird-islands round the Scottish coast. Almost no one, save a few lighthouse men and mad adventurers have seen, let alone visited, Sule Stack or Sule Skerry. A ship’s captain once replied to my enquiry, “No, you won’t see either of those, they’re rocks, they’re dangerous, we steer well away them!” It is this danger to shipping, inaccessibility from land, lack of facilities and (oen) sheer, slippery sides that make sea bird islands just perfect - for seabirds. ey are wildernesses in the true sense of the word, a noun referring to an uncultivated and uninhabited area. Birds can court, nest, rest and raise their young in peace. ey are not hunted or squeezed out of their habitat by town planners or anyone else apart, perhaps, from some Outer Hebrideans who take 2000 gannet chicks, gugas, under licence ever year from Sula Sgeir for those who relish the delicacy. In Decline e islands are nurseries and sanctuaries for our seabirds. ere is little threat on the islands yet many species, in many places, are in decline. Ocean warming, ocean acidification, over-fishing and plastic pollution, leading to depleted or inaccessible or shied prey species are most likely to blame. ere are many voices calling for our act to be cleaned up. e banning of plastic microbeads, the establishment of marine special protection areas and fisheries regulation are proposed. May I add my own, small voice to the campaign for conservation of seabird islands? One bright, calm day in May 2015, I stepped off a rolling boat and clambered up some steep steps, cut into the side of the cliff face on Bass Rock in the Firth of Forth. I was very lucky to have been invited and luckier still the trip had not fallen foul of the weather, as all previous ones that season had. 8 SCOTTISH ISLANDS EXPLORER JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2017
Scottish Seabird Islands - Part One ‘ere is little threat on the islands yet many species, in many places, are in decline.’ JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2017 SCOTTISH ISLANDS EXPLORER 9
Page 1 and 2: SCOTTISH ISLANDS THE UK’S ONLY MA
Page 3 and 4: Gallery of Rust Page 36 Scottish Se
Page 5 and 6: VISION FOR 2020 ‘Challenge Ordina
Page 7: INSIGHTS Page Index Header Shipping
Page 11 and 12: Scottish Seabird Islands - Part One
Page 13 and 14: House on the Point - Ullapool House
Page 15 and 16: ISLANDS BEYOND Island of and Iceber
Page 17 and 18: ‘Archaeologists believe that the
Page 19 and 20: ‘A Good Enough Day’ e archaeolo
Page 21 and 22: ‘As well as being crucial for nat
Page 23 and 24: New Marine Protected Area in Wester
Page 25 and 26: READERS’ OPPORTUNITIES Page Index
Page 27 and 28: Golden eagle in flight during winte
Page 29 and 30: The Atlantic Grey Seal ‘Grey seal
Page 31 and 32: distances of over 200 miles. Man ha
Page 33 and 34: A History of Lismore A History of L
Page 35 and 36: A History of Lismore Roman Catholic
Page 37 and 38: JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2017 SCOTTISH IS
Page 39 and 40: A Gallery of Rust next to a redunda
Page 41 and 42: Apostle of Land Reform The Crofters
Page 43 and 44: A Short Hop to Papa A Short Hop to
Page 45 and 46: A Short Hop to Papa Flying Time Fro
Page 48 and 49: RESPONSES Responses The west coast
Page 50 and 51: ISLAND INCIDENTS Mike Heslop wonder
Page 52: £60 Richard Kershaw www.nake

Scottish Islands Explorer 41: Jan / Feb 2017

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