Calf of Man ( ) is a island, off the southwest coast of the

Isle of Man The Isle of Man ( , also ), or Mann ( ), is a self-governing British Crown Dependency in the Irish Sea, between Great Britain and Ireland. As head of state, Charles III holds the title Lord of Mann and is represented by a Lieutenant Govern ...

. It is separated from the Isle of Man by a narrow stretch of water called the Calf Sound. Like the nearby rocky islets of Chicken Rock and Kitterland, it is part of the historic parish of Rushen and the current parish district of Arbory and Rushen. It has only two seasonal inhabitants. The word 'calf' derives from 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 ...

word ''kalfr'', which means a small island lying near a larger one. One can reach the Calf of Man by boat from either Port Erin or

Port St Mary Port St Mary ( or ''Purt-noo-Moirrey'' ) is a village district in the south-west of the Isle of Man. The village takes its name from the former Chapel of St Mary () which is thought to have overlooked Chapel Bay in the village. Its population ...

. Cow Harbour and South Harbour are the main landing places. The highest part of the island is in the west where an unnamed peak reaches above

sea level Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an mean, average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal Body of water, bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical ...

. Until 1939, the island was under private ownership by the Keig family, but the island was purchased by Mr F. J. Dickens of Silverdale,

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...

, who then donated it to the

National Trust The National Trust () is a heritage and nature conservation charity and membership organisation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The Trust was founded in 1895 by Octavia Hill, Sir Robert Hunter and Hardwicke Rawnsley to "promote the ...

for it to become a bird sanctuary. In 1951, the Manx Museum & National Trust, which became known as Manx National Heritage, was established. Manx National Heritage then rented the Calf from the National Trust for a nominal £1 per year, until 1986, when ownership was transferred. In 2006 Manx National Heritage employed the charity Manx Wildlife Trust as the Calf Warden Service Provider, but it retains ownership. The island has been a bird observatory since 1959, and welcomes visits from volunteers and

ornithologists __NOTOC__ This is a list of ornithologists who have articles, in alphabetical order by surname. See also :Ornithologists. A * John Abbot – US * Clinton Gilbert Abbott – US * William Louis Abbott – US * Humayun Abdulali — India * Joseph ...

. The observatory is able to accommodate up to eight visitors in basic self-catering accommodation, which can be booked through Manx National Heritage. The Calf of Man and its offshore rocks have no fewer than four lighthouses: two lighthouses were built in 1818 under the Isle of Man and Calf of Man Lighthouses Act 1815 ( 55 Geo. 3. c. lxvii) by Robert Stevenson to warn mariners of the hazards of the Chicken Rock off the south end of the Calf. These were replaced in 1875 by a lighthouse built on the Chicken Rocks themselves. In 1968, a third lighthouse was built on the Calf after a severe fire destroyed the Chicken Rock light. The Chicken Rock lighthouse was later rebuilt.Coakley, F. (2001
Calf of Man Lights
an

, both in: ''A Manx Notebook: An electronic compendium of matters past and present connected with the Isle of Man''. Retrieved 14 May 2007 There are two minor, unfenced roads on the island, and two very short streams. Between the Isle of Man and the Calf is the islet of Kitterland, while the islets of The Burroo and The Stack lie close to the Calf's shore. The southern shore of the island encloses a small bay called The Puddle. Almost a mile southwest of the Calf is Chicken Rock, the most southerly part of the Isle of Man's territory. Calf of Man is home to a breeding population of

Manx shearwater The Manx shearwater (''Puffinus puffinus'') is a medium-sized shearwater in the seabird family Procellariidae. The scientific name of this species records a name shift: Manx shearwaters were called Manks puffins in the 17th century. Puffin is an ...

s, a seabird which derives its name from its presence in Manx waters. The Calf of Man also has a large colony of seals which live and breed on the rocky coastline.

References

External links

Information about the Calf of Man

Calf of Man Bird Observatory
{{Authority control Islands of the Isle of Man Calves (islands) Lighthouses completed in 1818 Lighthouses in the Isle of Man Works of Robert Stevenson (civil engineer)