Fugloy ( Danish ''Fuglø'',

Old Norse Old Norse, Old Nordic, or Old Scandinavian, is 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 of Scandinavia and t ...

''Fuglaey'') is the easternmost island in the

Faroe Islands The Faroe Islands ( ), or simply the Faroes ( fo, Føroyar ; da, Færøerne ), are a North Atlantic archipelago, island group and an autonomous territory of the Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark. They are located north-northwest of Scotlan ...

. The name means ''bird island,'' and refers to the large number of birds that nest on the island's cliffs.

Geography

There are two settlements: *

Kirkja Kirkja ( da, Kirke) is a village on the island of Fugloy, Faroe Islands. It is located on the south-tip of the island, and its land is stretching all over the western side of the island, including a small enclave in the now uninhabited ''Skarð ...

on the south-coast and * Hattarvík on the east-coast. Fugloy is special because of the stone-material consisting of

basalt Basalt (; ) is an aphanitic (fine-grained) extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of low-viscosity lava rich in magnesium and iron (mafic lava) exposed at or very near the surface of a rocky planet or moon. More than 90% of a ...

stratum, making the island very steep and inaccessible. The Eystfelli cliffs, which are 448m are located on the east coast. Nearby on the 47-metre-high sea stack Stapin there is also a lighthouse, a natural arch feature and what looks like the outline of an Egyptian

Pharaoh Pharaoh (, ; Egyptian: '' pr ꜥꜣ''; cop, , Pǝrro; Biblical Hebrew: ''Parʿō'') is the vernacular term often used by modern authors for the kings of ancient Egypt who ruled as monarchs from the First Dynasty (c. 3150 BC) until th ...

(the Pharaoh's Face).

Mountains

There are three mountains on Fugloy:

Flora and fauna

Important Bird Area

The island has been identified as an

Important Bird Area An Important Bird and Biodiversity Area (IBA) is an area identified using an internationally agreed set of criteria as being globally important for the conservation of bird populations. IBA was developed and sites are identified by BirdLife Int ...

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 ...

because of its significance as a breeding site for

seabird Seabirds (also known as marine birds) are birds that are adapted to life within the marine environment. While seabirds vary greatly in lifestyle, behaviour and physiology, they often exhibit striking convergent evolution, as the same envir ...

s, especially

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

s (15,000 pairs),

European storm petrel The European storm petrel, British storm petrel, or just storm petrel (''Hydrobates pelagicus'') is a seabird in the northern storm petrel family, Hydrobatidae. The small, square-tailed bird is entirely black except for a broad, white rump and ...

s (25,000 pairs) and

black guillemot The black guillemot or tystie (''Cepphus grylle'') is a medium-sized seabird of the Alcidae family, native throughout northern Atlantic coasts and eastern North American coasts. It is resident in much of its range, but large populations from the ...

s (100 pairs), as well as for about 50 breeding pairs of

Eurasian whimbrel The Eurasian whimbrel or common whimbrel (''Numenius phaeopus'') is a wader in the large family Scolopacidae. It is one of the most widespread of the curlews, breeding across much of subarctic Asia and Europe as far south as Scotland. This spe ...

s. Fugloy was also a nesting site for the now extinct

great auk The great auk (''Pinguinus impennis'') is a species of flightless alcid that became extinct in the mid-19th century. It was the only modern species in the genus ''Pinguinus''. It is not closely related to the birds now known as penguins, w ...

(garefowl). On the east side of the island there is a rock ledge called ''Gorfuglarókin'' "Garefowl Ledge", and written sources confirm that great auks were still breeding on Fugloy in the 18th century.J. Chr. Svabo, ''Indberetninger fra en Reise i Færøe 1781 og 1782; udgivet af N. Djurhuus. - Uforandret fotografisk genoptryk. - Kbh. : C.A. Reitzels Boghandel, 1976''

Mammals

Grey seal 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 ...

s are regular visitors to the coastlines of Fugloy. Mountain hares were introduced by humans, and inhabit the higher altitudes on the island. Fugloy has its own subspecies of

house mouse The house mouse (''Mus musculus'') is a small mammal of the order Rodentia, characteristically having a pointed snout, large rounded ears, and a long and almost hairless tail. It is one of the most abundant species of the genus ''Mus''. Althoug ...

''Mus musculus domesticus'', as do some of the other Faroese islands.

Flora

In contrast to the other

Norðoyar The six islands in the northeast of the Faroe Islands are together referred to as Norðoyar, i.e. the Northern Isles ( da, Norderøerne). These Islands from west to east are Kalsoy, Kunoy, Borðoy, Viðoy, Svínoy and Fugloy. Klaksvík Klaksv� ...

islands, Fugloy is green and fertile all the way up to the mountain tops. Some rare plants are found on the island, e.g. the Fugloy Eyebright ''Euphrasia foulaensis''. FugloyMap

Eystfelli a cliff on Fugloy Faroe Islands

History

The island has been populated since the

Viking Age The Viking Age () was the period during the Middle Ages when Norsemen known as Vikings undertook large-scale raiding, colonizing, conquest, and trading throughout Europe and reached North America. It followed the Migration Period The ...

. One of the most important stories of the island is that of the

Floksmenn Floksmenn is a folktale from the Faroe Islands. The story centers on the easternmost village of Hattarvík on Fugloy during the Middle Ages. The tale of the Floksmenn is of a ''flok'' or group of rebels. The most notorious of the rebels, (as ...

. They were a flock (group) of

rebels Rebels may refer to: * Participants in a rebellion * Rebel groups, people who refuse obedience or order * Rebels (American Revolution), patriots who rejected British rule in 1776 Film and television * ''Rebels'' (film) or ''Rebelles'', a 2019 ...

, in the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

, from Fugloy. The most notorious of the

separatists Separatism is the advocacy of cultural, ethnic, tribal, religious, racial, governmental or gender separation from the larger group. As with secession, separatism conventionally refers to full political separation. Groups simply seeking greate ...

, (referred by the Danish governmental officials in

Tórshavn Tórshavn (; lit. "Thor's harbour"), usually locally referred to as simply ''Havn'', is the capital and largest city of the Faroe Islands. It is located in the southern part on the east coast of Streymoy. To the northwest of the city lies the ...

) were Høgni Nev, Rógvi Skel, Hálvdan Úlvsson and Sjúrður við Kellingará from Hattarvík. These men controlled and ravaged the northern parts of the

for a long time. This is one of the most important

separatist Separatism is the advocacy of cultural, ethnic, tribal, religious, racial, governmental or gender separation from the larger group. As with secession, separatism conventionally refers to full political separation. Groups simply seeking greate ...

myths of the

Faroe islands The Faroe Islands ( ), or simply the Faroes ( fo, Føroyar ; da, Færøerne ), are a North Atlantic archipelago, island group and an autonomous territory of the Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark. They are located north-northwest of Scotlan ...

. The smarter Sjúrður við Kellingará was forced to go the more militant way of

rebellion Rebellion, uprising, or insurrection is a refusal of obedience or order. It refers to the open resistance against the orders of an established authority. A rebellion originates from a sentiment of indignation and disapproval of a situation and ...

by Høgni Nev and Hálvdan Ulvsson who were more criminally minded. All the four men were later caught and sentenced to death. Sjúrður við kellingar was shown mercy and

amnesty Amnesty (from the Ancient Greek ἀμνηστία, ''amnestia'', "forgetfulness, passing over") is defined as "A pardon extended by the government to a group or class of people, usually for a political offense; the act of a sovereign power offic ...

, but the story goes that he could not live with the crimes that he and the others had committed under their "little"

and asked to be executed with the other

. Because the

harbour A harbor (American English), harbour (British English; see spelling differences), or haven is a sheltered body of water where ships, boats, and barges can be docked. The term ''harbor'' is often used interchangeably with ''port'', which is ...

of Fugloy is not protected by breakwaters, it has stopped any form of economic growth since the early 20th century. The island's only income has been agriculture and some fishing, but also the famous catching of birds such as the

puffin Puffins are any of three species of small alcids ( auks) in the bird genus ''Fratercula''. These are pelagic seabirds that feed primarily by diving in the water. They breed in large colonies on coastal cliffs or offshore islands, nesting in c ...

has been used on Fugloy to this day. The Faroese parliament has tried to work out plans for the future of the island, such as the island getting electricity in the 1960s. In the 1980s a road from

to Hattarvík was built and a

helicopter A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forward, backward and laterally. These attribut ...

route to the island was established as well. When the population was at its peak at the beginning of the 20th century, there were around 250-300 people living there. Due to a change in lifestyles and norms, island life has become less popular and people have moved away as a result. Today, there are only five people living all year around in Hattarvík and some 20 in

. There are few jobs on the islands; one shop and few jobs on the harbour are all that there are.

Másin the mail boat

Until taken out of service in 2010, the 1950s

mail boat Mail boats or postal boats are a boat or ship used for the delivery of mail and sometimes transportation of goods, people and vehicles in communities where bodies of water commonly separate or separated settlements, towns or cities often where b ...

''Másin'' was used as transit to Fugloy, making a popular attraction in itself. A newer boat is now used as a replacement but at Kirkja, passengers still have just a few minutes to jump ashore and get bags and their things with them. Oil for the electricity plant on Fugloy is transported in oil barrels and garbage is transported by the same boat and must be landed at the same time.

Tourism

The name Fugloy comes from the Faroese word ''fuglur'' for "bird" so it is not surprising that the island has a rich fauna of sea and land birds, especially puffins (Faroese: lundi) which inhabit the island in thousands. The view over to the nearest islands Svínoy and

Borðoy Borðoy ( da, Bordø) is an island in the north-east of the Faroe Islands. Its name means 'headland island'. There are eight settlements: Klaksvík (the second largest town in the Faroes), Norðoyri, Ánir, Árnafjørður, Strond, Norðtoftir, ...

is excellent, and sunsets that can be seen are among the things that make Fugloy feature in old pictures of the Faroe Islands.

Mythology

There are several myths connected to this island. In old Faroese Culture

trolls A troll is a being in Nordic folklore, including Norse mythology. In Old Norse sources, beings described as trolls dwell in isolated areas of rocks, mountains, or caves, live together in small family units, and are rarely helpful to human be ...

played a large part in the mythology of the

: ;The Floating Island of Fugloy ''It was said that Fugloy was once a floating island with

living on it. Men had tried several times to approach the island, but every time they tried, the

threw stones and curses at the men in the boats. After a long time the men grew tired of trying and were close to leaving the

with the island. But one of the men, a priest, wanted to try one more time, before giving up. The men got in the boats again and rowed once more to Fugloy. In the first boat to approach the island were the priest and some other men. When the

saw what was happening, they started to collect stones, and began throwing them at the men. All the men in the first boat were scared and wanted to sail home again at once, with the big stones flying through the air! They were about to turn round and sail home, when the priest got so angry and was in such great despair that he threw the

Bible The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts o ...

that he had brought with him on the trip at the

. The

landed right in front of the

, the ground started shaking, the island stopped floating, and in a split second all the

were transformed into little grassy hills, and now the men could at last settle Fugloy. The little grassy hills are still located around the island, and particularly, close to the Bygd (

).''

References

External links

personal website
with 6 aerial photos of Fugloy {{DEFAULTSORT:Fugloy Islands of the Faroe Islands Important Bird Areas of the Faroe Islands Municipalities of the Faroe Islands