Sheep Island, Argyll and Bute
Encyclopedia
Kintyre
Kintyre is a peninsula in western Scotland, in the southwest of Argyll and Bute. The region stretches approximately 30 miles , from the Mull of Kintyre in the south, to East Loch Tarbert in the north...
peninsula
Peninsula
A peninsula is a piece of land that is bordered by water on three sides but connected to mainland. In many Germanic and Celtic languages and also in Baltic, Slavic and Hungarian, peninsulas are called "half-islands"....
in Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
.
Sheep Island, along with Sanda Island and Glunimore Island
Glunimore Island
Glunimore Island is an uninhabited island around south east of the Kintyre peninsula, Scotland. It lies alongside Sanda Island and Sheep Island...
, form a small group of islands approximately 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) south of Kintyre
Kintyre
Kintyre is a peninsula in western Scotland, in the southwest of Argyll and Bute. The region stretches approximately 30 miles , from the Mull of Kintyre in the south, to East Loch Tarbert in the north...
at .
Running roughly north to south, the island is around 600 metre long, and is steep and precipitous along the west coast, rising to a maximum height of 41 metres (135 ft). There is a cave on the west coast and a natural arch
Natural arch
A natural arch or natural bridge is a natural geological formation where a rock arch forms, with an opening underneath. Most natural arches form as a narrow ridge, walled by cliffs, become narrower from erosion, with a softer rock stratum under the cliff-forming stratum gradually eroding out until...
at the northwest of the island. A considerable reef of drying rocks surrounds the island and makes landing on the island problematic. There are a number of strong tidal race
Tidal race
Tidal race is a natural occurrence whereby a fast moving tide passes through a constriction resulting in the formation of waves, eddies and hazardous currents...
s in the area, Tum ba nach is one that extends north from Sheep Island to around halfway across the Sound of Sanda.
As the name suggests, sheep have traditionally been grazed here, however the island is more notable as the primary breeding ground for Puffins
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...
in the Clyde. From here the birds are returning to nearby Ailsa Craig
Ailsa Craig
Ailsa Craig is an island of 219.69 acres in the outer Firth of Clyde, Scotland where blue hone granite was quarried to make curling stones. "Ailsa" is pronounced "ale-sa", with the first syllable stressed...
, where they were once wiped out. Guillemot
Guillemot
Guillemots is the common name for several species of seabird in the auk family . In British use, the term comprises two genera: Uria and Cepphus. In North America the Uria species are called "murres" and only the Cepphus species are called "guillemots"...
s and Razorbill
Razorbill
The Razorbill is colonial seabird that will only come to land in order to breed. It is the largest living member of the Auk family. This agile bird will choose only one partner for life and females will lay one egg per year. Razorbills will nest along coastal cliffs in enclosed or slightly exposed...
s also nest on Sheep Island.