Calf of Man (MNH)

A two and a half sq. km islet off the SW tip of the Isle of Man combining rough pastures and slate cliffs. The old farmhouse is now a Bird Observatory and there are two disused 19th Century lighthouses.Stonechat, Chough, Raven (all year). Great variety of passerine migrants (passage). Manx Shearwater, Storm Petrel, Eider, Hen Harrier, Water Rail, Kittiwake, auks, possibly Short-eared Owl and Wheatear (summer). Good sea-watching early autumn. Recent rarities: Osprey, Red Kite, Goshawk, Sabine’s Gull, Pechora Pipit, Bluethroat, Aquatic Warbler, Red-breasted Flycatcher, Woodchat Shrike and Scarlet Rosefinch. There is a resident Warden at the Bird Observatory for most of the year. Activities include bird-ringing and monitoring the breeding bird population. There is a considerable flock of Loghtan sheep.