The Norrard (Northern) Rocks are a group of small uninhabited granite rocks in the north–western part of the

Isles of Scilly The Isles of Scilly (; kw, Syllan, ', or ) is an archipelago off the southwestern tip of Cornwall, England. One of the islands, St Agnes, is the most southerly point in Britain, being over further south than the most southerly point of the ...

, to the west of

Bryher Bryher ( kw, Breyer "place of hills") is one of the smallest inhabited islands of the Isles of Scilly, with a population of 84 in 2011, spread across . History The name of the island is recorded as ''Brayer'' in 1336 and ''Brear'' in 1500. Ge ...

and

Samson Samson (; , '' he, Šīmšōn, label= none'', "man of the sun") was the last of the judges of the ancient Israelites mentioned in the Book of Judges (chapters 13 to 16) and one of the last leaders who "judged" Israel before the institution o ...

. In 1971 they were designated as a

Site of Special Scientific Interest A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle of ...

(SSSI) for their breeding seabird colonies and they are permanently closed to landings from boat passengers. The vegetation on the islands is limited by the extreme exposure and only six species of flowering plants have been recorded.

Nature reserve

The islands are largely managed as

nature reserves A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or o ...

by the

Isles of Scilly Wildlife Trust The Isles of Scilly Wildlife Trust, formed in 1985, is a Wildlife Trust covering the Isles of Scilly, a group of islands off the coast of Cornwall. It became the 46th member of The Wildlife Trusts in 2001 and is dedicated to ensuring that the a ...

, principally for breeding seabirds and grey seals (''

Halichoerus grypus The grey seal (''Halichoerus grypus'') is found on both shores of the North Atlantic Ocean. In Latin Halichoerus grypus means "hook-nosed sea pig". It is a large seal of the family Phocidae, which are commonly referred to as "true seals" or " ...

''). The only breeding sites for European Storm–petrel in England are on the Isles of Scilly with eleven colonies and an estimated 1475 occupied sites (i.e. breeding pairs). There are only three small breeding colonies on the Norrard Rocks; Mincarlo, Illiswilgig and Castle Bryher with a total of 37 pairs. Other seabirds breeding within the SSSI are Fulmar ('' Fulmarus glacialis''), Guillemot (''

Uria aalge The common murre or common guillemot (''Uria aalge'') is a large auk. It has a circumpolar distribution, occurring in low-Arctic and boreal waters in the North Atlantic and North Pacific. It spends most of its time at sea, only coming to land to ...

''), Lesser Black–backed Gull ('' Larus fuscus'') and Herring Gull ('' L argentatus''). The

rove beetle The rove beetles are a family (Staphylinidae) of beetles, primarily distinguished by their short elytra (wing covers) that typically leave more than half of their abdominal segments exposed. With roughly 63,000 species in thousands of genera, the ...

('' Omalium allardi'') has been recorded on several of the islands.

Individual islands and rocks

The islands and rocks are listed below in decreasing order of area.

Gweal

( kw, Gwithial, ''place of trees'') () and high.

Gweal Gweal ( kw, Gwydhyel "place of trees") is one of the Isles of Scilly. It is the largest of the seven Norrard Rocks due west of Bryher. The name perhaps refers back to a time before most of the islands' area was inundated. References * Weatherh ...

is a small rocky island consisting of two hills linked by a boulder beach, just off the west coast of Bryher and is an occasional pupping site for grey seal. Plants recorded are sea beet ('' Beta vulgaris subsp. maritima''), rock sea–spurry (''

Spergularia rupicola ''Spergularia rupicola'' is a species of flowering plant belonging to the family Caryophyllaceae Caryophyllaceae, commonly called the pink family or carnation family, is a family of flowering plants. It is included in the dicotyledon order Ca ...

''), common scurvygrass ('' Cochlearia officinalis''), thrift (''

Armeria maritima ''Armeria maritima'', the thrift, sea thrift or sea pink, is a species of flowering plant in the family Plumbaginaceae. It is a compact evergreen perennial which grows in low clumps and sends up long stems that support globes of bright pink flow ...

'') and tree mallow (''

Lavatera arborea ''Malva arborea'' (also known as ''Lavatera arborea'', or, more recently as ''Malva eriocalyx''), the tree mallow, is a species of mallow native to the coasts of western Europe and the Mediterranean region, from Ireland and Britain south to Alger ...

''). Twenty-three cattle were salvaged from the ''Sussex'', which was wrecked on Seal Rock, were landed on Gweal in 1885.

Scilly Rock

() Scilly Rock is just over west of Bryher is a large rock, divided by a deep chasm into two parts with a maximum height of . Each part has a summit named North Cuckoo and South Cuckoo. Landing is difficult and only possible in calm conditions. It is reputedly the island from which the rest of the archipelago gets its name because it was the first part to become separate from the original main island. fr. Puffin ('' Fratercula arctica'') breed and the only plants recorded are rock sea-spurrey and oraches (''

Atriplex ''Atriplex'' () is a plant genus of about 250 species, known by the common names of saltbush and orache (; also spelled orach). It belongs to the subfamily Chenopodioideae of the family Amaranthaceae ''s.l.''. The genus is quite variable and w ...

'') species.

Mincarlo

( kw, Men Karleyth, ''rayfish stone'') () Mincarlo is the southernmost of the group west of Samson. Several species nest on the island including the largest breeding colony of Cormorant (''

Phalacrocorax carbo The great cormorant (''Phalacrocorax carbo''), known as the black shag in New Zealand and formerly also known as the great black cormorant across the Northern Hemisphere, the black cormorant in Australia, and the large cormorant in India, is a w ...

'') in the Isles of Scilly as well as Puffin, Great Black–backed Gull (''

Larus marinus The great black-backed gull (''Larus marinus'') is the largest member of the gull family. Described by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology as "the king of the Atlantic waterfront", it is a very aggressive hunter, pirate, and scavenger. It breeds on t ...

''), Razorbill (''

Alca torda The razorbill, razor-billed auk, or lesser auk (''Alca torda'') is a colonial seabird and the only extant member of the genus '' Alca'' of the family Alcidae, the auks. It is the closest living relative of the extinct great auk (''Pinguinis imp ...

'') and Common Shag (''

Gulosus aristotelis The European shag or common shag (''Gulosus aristotelis'') is a species of cormorant. It is the only member of the Monotypic taxon, monotypic genus ''Gulosus''. It breeds around the rocky coasts of western and southern Europe, southwest Asia and ...

''). The breeding colony of European Storm–petrel ('' Hydrobates pelagicus'') occupied 17 sites during the Seabird 2000 survey. Tree mallow, orache, common scurveygrass, rock sea–spurrey and sea beet have all been recorded. The rocks are a main pupping site for grey seal (''

''). The

Arachnologist Arachnology is the scientific study of arachnids, which comprise spiders and related invertebrates such as scorpions, pseudoscorpions, and harvestmen. Those who study spiders and other arachnids are arachnologists. More narrowly, the study of sp ...

, W S Bristow visited the Isles of Scilly in 1928, 1929 and 1934 and landed on many of the uninhabited islands. On Mincarlo he recorded the following

spiders Spiders ( order Araneae) are air-breathing arthropods that have eight legs, chelicerae with fangs generally able to inject venom, and spinnerets that extrude silk. They are the largest order of arachnids and rank seventh in total species dive ...

; ''Trochosa terricola'', ''Oedothorax fuscus'', '' Lepthyphantes tenuis'', ''Dismodicus bifrons'', ''Xysticus kochi'' and ''Halorates reprobus'' which is associated with the nests of seabirds, especially cormorant and shag.

Illiswilgig

( kw, Enys Welsek, ''grassy island'') () Several species have bred on Illiswilgig, including a small colony of only three pairs of European Storm–petrel, recorded during the Seascape 2000 survey. Plants recorded are tree mallow, thrift, sea beet, rock sea–spurrey, common scurvy grass, orache and English stonecrop (''

Sedum anglicum ''Sedum anglicum'', the English stonecrop, is a species of flowering plant in the genus ''Sedum'' in the Family (biology), family Crassulaceae. Description ''Sedum anglicum'' is a low-growing perennial with stubby, succulent, untoothed, alternat ...

''). Illiswilgig is a main pupping and haul–out site for grey seal.

Maiden Bower

( kw, Meyn-Meur, ''great stones'') () Only a few gulls breed on Maiden Bower and no plants have been recorded.

Castle Bryher

( kw, Kastel Breyer, ''Bryher's castle'')() and The Seabird 2000 survey recorded 17 occupied sites of European Storm–petrel. Puffin and gulls also breed on the island and plants recorded are tree mallow, sea beet, rock sea-spurrey, common scurvygrass and orache.

Seal Rock

() An important breeding and haul out site for grey seal and orache is the only plant recorded.

References

External links

{{SSSIs Cornwall biological Uninhabited islands of the Isles of Scilly Sites of Special Scientific Interest in the Isles of Scilly Sites of Special Scientific Interest notified in 1971