Handa Island

Handa Island (Template:Langx) or usually Handa, is an island in Eddrachillis Bay off the west coast of Sutherland, Scotland. It is Template:ConvertTemplate:Sfn and Template:Convert at its highest point.<ref name=OS/>

The island is of national importance for its birdlife and maritime vegetation, and is a Scottish Wildlife Trust nature reserve, a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), and a Special Protection Area (SPA).<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Notable seabirds include guillemots, great skuas, puffins and razorbills.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Handa also forms part of the North-West Sutherland national scenic area, one of 40 such areas in Scotland.<ref>"National Scenic Areas" Template:Webarchive. SNH. Retrieved 30 Mar 2011.</ref>

A small ferry sails to Handa from Tarbet on the mainland and boat trips operate to it from Fanagmore. The island receives five thousand visitors per annum.Template:Sfn

Etymology

The island's name is of mixed Gaelic and Norse origin. The Norse name was Sandey meaning "sand isle" from Template:Langx.Template:Sfn It was recorded in Joan Blaeu's 1654 Atlas of Scotland as "Ellan-Handey"Template:Sfn with the addition of the Gaelic Eilean (meaning simply "island") and the Norse form having become Handey and ultimately "Handa" due to aspiration in Gaelic.Template:Sfn MacBain and Haswell-Smith support the derivation of "sand isle",Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn although Mac an Tàilleir translates the modern Gaelic of Eilean Shannda as "island at the sandy river".Template:Sfn<ref group="Note">The nearest river is the Laxford the outflow of which into Loch Laxford is some Template:Convert away.<ref name=OS>Template:Cite web</ref></ref>

Geography and geology

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The Great Stac of Handa

Handa is composed of Torridonian red sandstoneTemplate:Sfn and surrounded by cliffs covered with birds. In the north is a hill with two peaks, with the south and east being lower lying. The north and west have Template:Convert cliffs, and there are beaches in the south and east. The Sound of Handa separates it from the mainland and smaller islands around Handa include Glas-Leac to the south, Eilean an Aigeach to the north east and Stac an t-Sealbhaig to the north.

The Great Stac of Handa was first climbed in 1876 by Donald McDonald,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> a native of St Kilda,Template:Sfn who crossed the 24m gap between the stack and Handa "swinging hand-over hand from a rope".Template:Sfn It was first climbed from the sea in August 1969 by Graeme Hunter, Hamish MacInnes and Douglas Lang.<ref>"Doug Lang". The Herald. (18 May 2011) Retrieved 6 August 2013.</ref> The height of the stack, which is one of the tallest in Scotland, is variously recorded as Template:Convert,<ref>"Great Stac of Handa". Themountainguide.co.uk. Retrieved 30 March 2024.</ref> "about 107m"Template:Sfn and 115m.Template:Sfn The nearby Stacan Geodh Bhrisidh is Template:Convert high<ref>"Stac a'Bhrisidh". Themountainguide.co.uk. Retrieved 30 March 2024.</ref> and was also first climbed by that trio in the same year.Template:Sfn

Flora and fauna

Handa is noted for its birdlife, which includes puffins, razorbills and guillemots. The SPA designation lists six priority species: fulmar, great skua, guillemot, kittiwake, and razorbill.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The breeding colonies of razorbills and guillemots on Handa are the largest in the UK, representing 11% and 9% of the total British population respectively. The arctic skua and kittiwake populations are also of national importance, representing >1% and 2% of the British population respectively.<ref name=citation/> Other birds at Handa include eider ducks and oystercatchers, and seals and otters can often be seen at Boulder Bay on the island's southern coast. Dolphins, basking sharks and several species of whale regularly visit the seas surrounding Handa.<ref name=leaflet/>

Handa is also of national importance for its maritime vegetation. The exposed cliff tops are home to maritime grassland species that can tolerate salt, such as thrift, sea plantain and Festuca rubra. In less exposed areas can be found herb-rich grasslands which support species such as Yorkshire fog, bluebell and Scots lovage. Heather and crowberry are also widespread across the island.<ref name=citation>Template:Cite web</ref>

History

In the past the island was used as a burial place, and there are still the remains of a chapel in the south east, commemorated in the name Tràigh an Teampaill (Beach of the Temple). The use of Handa as burial place is thought to be due to the fact that wolves would dig up graves on the mainland so frequently that the inhabitants of Eddrachillis resorted to burying their dead on the island:<ref name="perry">Wildlife in Britain and Ireland by Richard Perry, published by Taylor and Francis, 1978</ref>

It had a population of 65 in 1841Template:Sfn but following the 1847 Highland Potato Famine the inhabitants emigrated to Nova Scotia.<ref name=leaflet>Template:Cite web</ref> In some ways this is surprising, since it is recorded that the islanders had a fairly varied diet including oats, fish and seabirds, rather than depending heavily on a potato crop. The islanders had a parliament, similar to that of St Kilda, which met daily, and the oldest widow on the island was considered its "Queen".Template:Sfn

The island is now part of the Scourie Estate, owned by Dr Jean Balfour (until her 2023 death) and J.C. Balfour.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The Balfours leased Handa to the RSPB for 25 years, however this lease was not renewed, because the Balfours wished a Scottish-based body to run the island; as a result the Scottish Wildlife Trust (SWT) took it over.Template:Sfn Under the SWT the island is managed by one warden and a handful of volunteers during the summer months.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Gallery

• Stacan Geodh Bhrisidh
  Stacan Geodh Bhrisidh
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  Northern fulmar (Fulmarus glacialis) at Handa Island
• Puffin (Fratercula arctica) at Handa Island
  Puffin (Fratercula arctica) at Handa Island
• Great skua (Stercorarius skua) at Handa Island
  Great skua (Stercorarius skua) at Handa Island
• Sign for the breeding birds' protected area
  Sign for the breeding birds' protected area
• Quinag and Scourie across the Sound of Handa
  Quinag and Scourie across the Sound of Handa

References

• Template:Cite book
• Template:Cite book
• Template:Haswell-Smith
• Template:Cite web
• Template:Cite book
• Template:Cite web

External links

• Scottish Wildlife Trust - Handa Island
• Template:Usurped at the Handa Island Skua Project