The Skerries () (), coming from the Old Norse word , are a group of sparsely vegetated rocky islets ( skerries), with a total area of about lying offshore from Carmel Head at the northwest corner of

Anglesey Anglesey ( ; ) is an island off the north-west coast of Wales. It forms the bulk of the Principal areas of Wales, county known as the Isle of Anglesey, which also includes Holy Island, Anglesey, Holy Island () and some islets and Skerry, sker ...

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

. The islands are important as a breeding site for seabirds, and they attract divers, who come to visit the numerous shipwrecks. The Skerries Lighthouse sits atop the highest point in the islands. The islands can be visited by charter boat from

Holyhead Holyhead (; , "Cybi's fort") is a historic port town, and is the list of Anglesey towns by population, largest town and a Community (Wales), community in the county of Isle of Anglesey, Wales. Holyhead is on Holy Island, Anglesey, Holy Island ...

. The individual islets are accessible from one another at low tide and by small bridges. The name "Skerry" is the Scottish diminutive of the

Old Norse Old Norse, also referred to as Old Nordic or Old Scandinavian, was a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants ...

"sker", and means a small rocky reef or island. The Welsh name for these islands, 'Ynysoedd y Moelrhoniaid', means "Islands of the Seals". An alternative name provided by some English-language sources is 'St Daniel's Isle'.

Seabirds

The islands have a seabird colony, which is particularly important for the Arctic tern, numbers of which are nationally important; the roseate tern breeds occasionally in very small numbers. In 2018 two roseate tern chicks fledged here for the first time in a decade. The following species also breed:

Atlantic puffin The Atlantic puffin ('), also known as the common puffin, is a species of seabird in the auk family (biology), family. It is the only puffin native to the Atlantic Ocean; two related species, the tufted puffin and the horned puffin being found ...

, black-legged kittiwake, common tern, herring gull and lesser black-backed gull. Because of these birds, in particular the terns, the island has been designated as part of the Ynys Feurig, Cemlyn Bay and The Skerries

Special Protection Area A special protection area (SPA) is a designation under the European Union Directive on the Conservation of Wild Birds. Under the Directive, Member States of the European Union (EU) have a duty to safeguard the habitats of migratory birds and cer ...

along with two other nearby sites, Cemlyn Bay and Ynys Feurig, and all three are also classed by

BirdLife International BirdLife International is a global partnership of non-governmental organizations that strives to conserve birds and their habitats. BirdLife International's priorities include preventing extinction of bird species, identifying and safeguarding i ...

as an Important Bird Area. The Skerries have also been 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 ...

. Terns interchange regularly between all three sites, and form part of a larger

Irish Sea The Irish Sea is a body of water that separates the islands of Ireland and Great Britain. It is linked to the Celtic Sea in the south by St George's Channel and to the Inner Seas off the West Coast of Scotland in the north by the North Ch ...

tern population together with birds at sites in

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

such as Rockabill Island. The islands are wardened by the

RSPB The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) is a Charitable_organization#United_Kingdom, charitable organisation registered in Charity Commission for England and Wales, England and Wales and in Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator, ...

during the tern breeding season, and management measures they have undertaken here include control of introduced tree mallow ('' Lavatera arborea'') and provision of nestboxes; these measures as aimed particularly at helping to increase the attractiveness of the site to breeding roseate terns, although it is accepted that the future number of pairs of this species here is primarily dependent on the overall health of the

population. The site came to national attention among birders briefly in July 2005 when it attracted a sooty tern, a species which only a very small number of birders had previously seen in Britain.

Tidal power

The area between the islands and mainland Anglesey is the site of the planne
Skerries Tidal Stream Array
being developed b
Marine Current Turbines
and RWE npower.

References

External links

Location map (Multimap)The Skerries Lighthouse (Anglesey Heritage)Wave and tidal power get more supportSeaGen Wales
{{DEFAULTSORT:Skerries, Isle of Anglesey Islands of Anglesey Sites of Special Scientific Interest on Anglesey Important Bird Areas of Wales Cylch-y-Garn Skerries