The Isle of May is such a small island located in the north of the outer Firth of Forth, opposite to the small town Anstruther. The isle is approximately 8 km off the coast and covers a area nearly 0.8 km2. We went there in the afteroon, after enjoying the so-called famous Fish and chips, we boarded our boat "the princess of May".

This is a good place for observing birds, up to now, more than 20 types of birds nesting and rearing their chicks here. The cliffs where the birds nest are part of a great slab, formed deep inside the earth when molten rock was squeezed into a gap deep underground, like a jam into a doughnut. That was about 290 million years ago-before the time of dinosaurs-and since then all the other rock has worn away, leaving this hard volcanic shelf jutting out the sea.

 The most common birds are Puffins. It was said that the Puffins are only here from mid-April until mid-July. The rest of the time they live out at sea. It almost takes five years for the pulluses come back to the land to have their own families. They are inquisitive birds: once two of them squabble outside a burrow, the neighbours all crowd round to see what's happening.

Guillemots and Razorbills are also very popular in May. They seem very lazy birds, standing on the ledges of cliffs and moving their short legs only when I was almost able to touch them. For them, the rocky cliff probably too small so the beaking with one another can be seen quite often.

If you walk very fast along the path, make sure you won't disturb the Eider Ducks, it is the time now for the female to hatch their eggs. I didn't see any males around the island, probably headed out far for food. The females, a little larger than other ducks, squat on her eggs, silently. They feel so stressful when tourists like us, pointing our cameras towards them, however, maternity makes them stay and only stare at you nervously.

We also found seal near the isle, although their stay inside the water for the whole period, we still took some pictures of them, kinda excited.

 

The buildings on the island are quite simple, two beacons and two foghorns-to keep ships and sailors safe. They are quite useful in the old times but seems superfluous nowadays. Only the main lighthouse were still under operations and in a highly automatical way. There were used to be monastery here and kinda a shrine place for pilgrims. The monks dedicated to Saint Ethernan used to live here in a hard and self-sacrificed way that echoed Christ's ordeals in the wilderness. Around 875AD, all the monks were killed in a raid, a big tragedy.

Our journey spent almost 1 and half hours on the island. Scenes on the island are incomparable, the sea: the grass and the sky, all joint in one point and are provoked by the noisy birds. Although we don't have a chance to explore the world under the water, we can imagine the all the living life: sardines, crabs, lobsters, octopuses and starfishes from the continous diving of the birds that searching for food.

 

Isle of May is unique an isolated, from here, all the nature elements could be maintained and prosper. Thanks to the Scottish Natural Heritage who owns and manages teh place so it can stay as remarkable today as it was when the first people came here some 5000 years ago, it now a National Nature Reserve and an important base for internationally scientific work on sea birds and seals. Hope we can witness all of these beautiful scenarios again in the other time.