Sule Skerry
| Location | |
|---|---|
 Sule Skerry
Sule Skerry shown within Scotland
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| OS grid reference | HX621244 |
| Coordinates | 59°05′N 4°25′W / 59.08°N 4.41°W |
| Physical geography | |
| Island group | North Atlantic |
| Area | 16 ha |
| Highest elevation | 12 m |
| Administration | |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Country | Scotland |
| Council area | Orkney |
| Demographics | |
| Population | 0 |
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|
| References | |
| Coordinates | 59°05′05″N 4°24′26″W / 59.084713°N 4.407325°W |
|---|---|
| Year first constructed | 1895 |
| Automated | 1982 |
| Construction | masonry tower |
| Tower shape | cylindrical tower with balcony and lantern |
| Markings / pattern | white tower, black lantern, ochre trim |
| Height | 27 metres (89 ft) |
| Focal height | 34 metres (112 ft) |
| Original lens | "hyperradiant" Fresnel lens |
| Light source | solar power |
| Range | 21 nautical miles (39 km; 24 mi) |
| Characteristic | Fl (2) W 15s. |
| Admiralty number | A3868 |
| NGA number | 3568 |
| ARLHS number | SCO-231 |
| Managing agent | Northern Lighthouse Board |
Sule Skerry is a remote skerry in the North Atlantic off the north coast of Scotland.
Sule Skerry lies 60 kilometres west of the Orkney Mainland at grid reference HX621244. Sule Skerry's sole neighbour, Sule Stack, lies 10 km to the southwest. The remote islands of Rona and Sula Sgeir lie approximately 80 km further to the west. Sule Skerry and Sule Stack are both a part of the Orkney Islands council area.
Sule Skerry is 16 ha in area and about 0.8 kilometres long along its length. It reaches a height of 12 meters. It is formed of Lewisian gneiss.
Sule Skerry together with Sule Stack are listed as a Special Protection Area as they are home during the breeding season to thousands of puffins and gannets and smaller numbers of the rarer Leach's storm petrel and storm petrels. Note that Leach's petrel visit the island but breeding is not proved. Since the first visiting birds in 2003 there is now a large breeding population of gannets; a possible overflow from nearby Sule Stack.
Every year the puffins and other seabirds on sule skerry are monitored by a team of birders called the sule skerry ringing group. They have been monitoring the seabirds on the island since 1975.
The island is tree-less, since few trees would withstand the high winds of winter and salt spray environment. The dominant plant is maritime mayweed (Tripleurospermum maritimum).
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Wikipedia