Skellig Michael

Skellig Michael, or Sceilig Mhichíl in Irish, is a tower of old red sandstone over 12 km from the mainland and standing at over 200 m. The island is a UNESCO World Heritage site due to the presence of a 6th century monastery famous for its beehive huts and precarious setting.

European Storm petrels nest within stone construction of the beehive huts and drystone walls. Skellig Michael’s steep cliffs provide nesting habitat for Northern fulmars, Black-legged kittiwakes, and Common guillemots, while the steep slopes are dotted with the burrows of Atlantic puffins and Manx shearwaters. Its sister island, Little Skellig, is host to the largest gannetry in Ireland with over 35,000 breeding pairs.

There are around 4,000 breeding pairs of Atlantic puffins on Skellig Michael. Individuals tracked from this colony between 2010 and 2013 brought to light the extraordinary migration from Ireland to the Canadian coast after the breeding season. Skellig Michael will become a SEATRACK site in summer 2020, with GLS deployed on Atlantic puffins.