Light house on the Isle of May

The Isle of May is located in the north of the outer Firth of Forth, approximately 8 km (5 miles) off the coast. The isle belongs to the "Kingdom of Fife". It is just 1 km long and half a kilometre width. Since 1956 the isle is dedicated as a "National Nature Reserve". The visitor centre of the isle was founded as a bird observatory in 1934 and was the first bird observatory in Scotland. Birds that can be seen on the island include Puffins, Kittiwakes, Razorbills, Guillemots, Shags, Terns and Eider Duck. The Forth Bridges cross the Firth The Firth of Forth is the estuary or firth of the River Forth, where it flows into the North Sea between Fife to the north, and West Lothian, the City of Edinburgh, and East Lothian to the south. ... Fife is a pure unitary council region of Scotland situated between the Firth of Tay and the Firth of Forth, ken. ... 1956 was a leap year starting on Sunday. ... 1934 was a common year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ... Species Fratercula arctica Fratercula corniculata Fratercula cirrhata The puffin is an auk (or alcid) of the genus Fratercula (Latin: Little Brother - probably a reference to their black and white plumage resembling monastic robes) with a brightly colored beak in the breeding season. ... Species Rissa tridactyla Rissa brevirostris The Kittiwakes (genus Rissa) are two closely related seabird species in the gull family Laridae. ... Binomial name Alca torda Linnaeus, 1758 The Razorbill, Alca torda, is a large alcid, 38-43 cm in length, with a 60-69 cm wingspan. ... Genera Alle Uria Alca Pinguinus Cepphus Brachyramphus Synthliboramphus Ptychoramphus Cyclorrhynchus Aethia Cerorhinca Fratercula Auks are birds of the family Alcidae in the order Charadriiformes. ... The term Shag may refer to one of the following. ... Genera Sterna (Gelochelidon) (Hydroprogne) (Thalasseus) Chlidonias Phaetusa Anous Procelsterna Gygis Larosterna Terns are seabirds in the family Sternidae, previously considered a subfamily Sterninae of the gull family Laridae. ... Binomial name Somateria mollissima (Linnaeus, 1758) The Common Eider (Somateria mollissima) is a large sea duck, which is distributed over the northern coasts of Europe, North America and eastern Siberia. ...

The isle just can be visited for one day. The only way to get there is by ferry. It takes 45 minutes to go from the small ports of Anstruther and Crail to the isle. There is also a P. G. Wodehouse character named Mr. ... Crail is a burgh in Fife, Scotland. ...

The so-called "Battle" of May Island took place nearby on the night of 31 January 1918. A sequence of accidental collisions between Royal Navy warships occurred over little more than an hour which saw two submarines sunk with heavy loss of life, another four damaged along with a light cruiser. Operation E.C.1, sardonically known as the Battle of May Island, was a disastrous series of accidents amongst Royal Navy ships on their way from Rosyth in Scotland to fleet exercises on the misty night of 31 January–1 February 1918 that caused the loss of two submarines, damaged... January 31 is the 31st day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1918 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... The Royal Navy of the United Kingdom is the senior service of the armed services, being the oldest of its three branches. ... USS Los Angeles A submarine is a specialized watercraft that can operate underwater. ... A light cruiser is a warship that is not so large and powerful as a regular (or heavy) cruiser, but still larger than ships like destroyers. ...

External links

• Scottish National Nature Reserves (http://www.nnr-scotland.org.uk/reserve.asp?NNRId=28)
• Scottish Seabird Centre (http://www.seabird.org/wildlife/may.html)
• Isle of May Ferry (http://www.isleofmayferry.com/)