There were seabirds everywhere when I visited Staple Island for a morning in May 2010: puffins, fulmars, kittiwakes, shags, guillemots, razorbills and eider ducks. My fellow visitors were all bird watchers with lenses on their cameras that were several feet long. I felt a bit out of place with my small "point and shoot" camera.
The only building on the island is an old tower, which was used as a beacon lighthouse in the 18th century. It was destroyed by a storm in the late 18th century.
If you were feeling a bit seasick on the way to Staple Island, you would almost certainly vomit when you arrived as the smell of seabird guano is extremely pungent and pervasive! However you do get used to the smell quite quickly. There are no visitor facilities on the island i.e. no toilets. During the breeding season much of the island is roped off to avoid disturbing the nesting birds, so there were no quiet corners to disappear into if you needed to do a wee! There is also no shelter on the island if it should rain while you are there.
Some of the eider ducks had chosen to nest in the public area of the island and the females are brown and very difficult to spot against the rocks, so you have to look where you are putting your feet, as they don’t move or make a noise even when you are very close to them, unlike the shags, who hiss at you if you get within 6 feet of them.
2024 update - Staple Island is currently closed to visitors.
Guillemots and Razorbills
Looking towards Brownsman from Staple Island
Brownsman in the distance from Staple Island
Rock stacks off Staple Island
Rock stacks
Staple Island
Cottage and old beacon on Brownsman
Steps at the landing place on Staple Island
Some puffins are sitting on the steps.
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