Puffin Island is an uninhabited steep rocky island lying off the coast of the Iveragh Peninsula

Iveragh Peninsula

The Iveragh Peninsula is located in County Kerry in Ireland. It is the largest peninsula in southwestern Ireland. A mountain range, the Macgillycuddy's Reeks, lies in the centre of the peninsula...

, County Kerry

County Kerry

Kerry means the "people of Ciar" which was the name of the pre-Gaelic tribe who lived in part of the present county. The legendary founder of the tribe was Ciar, son of Fergus mac Róich. In Old Irish "Ciar" meant black or dark brown, and the word continues in use in modern Irish as an adjective...

, Ireland

Republic of Ireland

Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...

. The island is about 1.5 km long and 0.7 km wide, and rises to 159 metres. It is separated from the mainland by Puffin Sound, which is only about 250 metres across. Puffin Island holds important populations of several seabird

Seabird

Seabirds are birds that have adapted to life within the marine environment. While seabirds vary greatly in lifestyle, behaviour and physiology, they often exhibit striking convergent evolution, as the same environmental problems and feeding niches have resulted in similar adaptations...

 species, including Atlantic Puffin

Atlantic Puffin

The Atlantic Puffin is a seabird species in the auk family. It is a pelagic bird that feeds primarily by diving for fish, but also eats other sea creatures, such as squid and crustaceans. Its most obvious characteristic during the breeding season is its brightly coloured bill...

s, Manx Shearwater

Manx Shearwater

The Manx Shearwater is a medium-sized shearwater in the seabird family Procellariidae. The scientific name of this species records a name shift: Manx Shearwaters were called Manks Puffins in the 17th century. Puffin is an Anglo-Norman word for the cured carcasses of nestling shearwaters...

s and European Storm-petrel

European Storm-petrel

The European Storm Petrel or Storm Petrel is a small bird of the storm-petrel family, Hydrobatidae, part of the seabird order Procellariiformes. It is the only member of the genus Hydrobates.-Description:...

s, and was acquired as a nature reserve

Nature reserve

A nature reserve is a protected area of importance for wildlife, flora, fauna or features of geological or other special interest, which is reserved and managed for conservation and to provide special opportunities for study or research...

 by the Irish Wildbird Conservancy (now BirdWatch Ireland

BirdWatch Ireland

BirdWatch Ireland is the current name of the organisation that used to be known as the Irish Wildbird Conservancy.BirdWatch Ireland is the leading voluntary conservation organisation in the Republic of Ireland, devoted to the conservation and protection of the Republic of Ireland's wild birds and...

) in the early 1980s.

The island also has some signs of ancient human habitation, and it has attracted the interest of archaeologists

Archaeology

Archaeology, or archeology , is the study of human society, primarily through the recovery and analysis of the material culture and environmental data that they have left behind, which includes artifacts, architecture, biofacts and cultural landscapes...

.