Wildlife in the Isle of Man

Last November, sadly due to the loss of a much loved family member, I spent 3 weeks on the Isle of Man.

On a couple of occasions I was able to take some time out and go for short walks/drives with my camera and found the Island to be absolutely teaming with interesting wildlife and birds.

I wondered if anyone who hasn't been there would like to see some snaps I took.

I'll get out this spring and try to get some wildlife pics of Dartmoor, where I live, to share with you all too.


Herring Gull.

The Tower of Refuge is a familiar landmark to anyone who has arrived in Douglas by Ferry.


Grey Heron - Castletown Bay

This fella was fishing in his favourite spot at every mid-tide.





Pairs of Choughs - these are quite rare birds but are very common on the Island and were remarkably tolerant of my photographing them.


A pair of Oystercatchers - Castletown Beach.

I always associate my time on the beach with the piping calls of the oystercatchers.


Redshank - Castletown Harbour

This little guy was really making a racket when I walked past - lot of volume from a small bird!


My first sighting of a Hooded Crow

These were in pairs mostly and I was fascinated to watch one grabbing what must have been small molluscs, flying up vertically and then dropping them from a great height onto the rocks - nifty way of shell breaking and tenderizing your grub I guess.



Ahhh - the lonely cry of the Curlew - Langness, nr Castletown.


more pics to come.....

[ 28. March 2008, 01:21 AM: Message edited by: Cookie Monster ]

 

One of last springs cygnets - Mute Swans have always lived around Castletown Harbour, from as far back as I can remember. They add a natural beauty to the magnificent backdrop of Castle Rushen by the inner harbour.


An unidentified fin, just off Fenella Beach, below Peel Castle.

I wondered if by the chunky nature of this fin, if it was a bottlenosed dolphin. The Isle of Man get a lot of Basking Sharks, but usually they are there in the summer months, unless climate change has them overwintering !!!???



Grey seals and pups basking on the Bird Sanctuary - The Calf of Man. Seal calls are very spooky when a sea mist comes down.


Some more familiar animal life....
Sheep in Druidale in the shadow of the tallest mountain, Snaefell.


Good old fashioned beef herds


A remarkably tame wild rabbit grazing on the grassy headland of Port Erin.


My favourites - the 2 cart horses resident at the Manx Heritage Farm at Cregneish.

 

Two Manx native animals I didn't manage to catch on film this time were the Manx cat and the native Loaghtan Sheep.

Here are 2 images I have borrowed from the net to show you what different species inhabit this magical little island.



Manx Cat. I have owned 2 of these and they make great character cats - although I have found their lifespan to be cruelly short - may be a result of the inbreeding or the defective spina bifida gene which renders them tailless.



The 4 horned Manx Loaghtan Sheep - now making a comeback and being locally farmed - the meat from these lambs is incredibly tasty and tender.

I hope you enjoyed my little natural history trip around the Isle of Man. For anyone into Birdwatching, hill and glen walking, cliffs and marine life or ancient monuments like mediaeval castles, ancient stone circles or viking burial grounds - then this little treasure house of an Island is a must-see. I have been visiting it since I was a child and it holds up as my favourite place to this day.

 

just loved them C.M.. really enjoyed your pics i have never been but think you have just convinced me..

 

Hello funny man !- I refer to your magnificent pigeon film! :D

Nice to meet you Inter!

I cannot recommend IOM enough. The only drawback is it is quite expensive to travel to by ferry and aeroplane. But it is certainly worth a visit. TT week is also great if you are into motorbikes. The island becomes crowded with bike fanatics and every type of model of bike old and new. The Manx Museum is really worth a visit too.

 

Oh... forgot to mention.

Anyone who is interested in alternative transport and transport history would find interest on the Island too. It has a fully working Steam Railway, an Electric railway up to the top of Snaefel, Horse drawn trams on the prom in summer in Douglas and a fine old restored waterwheel in Laxey at the old mines (silver and tin I think?)

The windy wild flat lands of the Point of Ayre in the North has a great nature reserve and as I mentioned, the Calf of Man can be visited on day boat trips and is the Manx Bird Reserve.

And NO - I don't work for the Manx Tourist Board - I just wish I did!

 

lovely pictures cookie monster, that first is great and loved the cow and calf.
I used to go to the isle of man years ago only for the bike racing, wasnt into taking pics then certainly wish now i was after seeing your pics, well done

 

Thanks very much Rosa.

I started visiting IOM when I was about 4 years old in the early 1970's. My mum used to run barefoot around Peel every summer as a child and all my maternal side of the family are Manx. I have seen a lot of change on the Island with building of new housing estates, but these are still mostly just around Douglas and all of the natural beauty of the place is still as it was in my Grandmothers day.

If you decide to visit again, I should love to see your photos of the place. It is interesting to see a familiar place through someone elses eyes.

Kath

 

CM,Thankyou for showing us the Isle Of Man.Mr Kandy and I went there a few years ago for a two week holiday.Despite his fear of the Catamaran sinking he prefered this crossing to the Ferry :D

We stayed in a cottage in Cronky Voddey? Loved exploring all of the island and especially the journey up to Sneafell on the electric rail system Swa lots of wildlife and our dog Tina loved chasing the Mountain Hares round the mountain side when out walking.

We never had the digi cameras then so all our photos are in print form,though we never got to taking the sort of wildlife photos that you have managed to capture.

Thankyou for sharing them with us

 

Just for you Rosa

 

Cronk y Voddy? What a nice place you chose to stay. I know that area - just up from the beautiful Glen Helen with its lovely waterfall.

IOM is certainly a dog walkers paradise. There is the 'Way of the Gull' a coastal path that circumnavigates the whole Island, also the Millenium Way and the Herring Way which both cut across inland. I got my early love for hill walking on the Island. To walk up one of the west coast hills and watch the sunset is magical. You can see on a clear evening, the Mountains of Mourne across the Irish sea come into view. On a very clear day you can see all the Kingdoms from the high points of the island - ie: Cumbria, Mull of Galloway, Ireland, North Wales the Kingdom of Mann and the Kingdom of the sea and the Kingdom of heaven - as the Manxmen say!

 

We loved the Island but sadly havn't been back there since.We did loads of walking espcially because we had our dog who sadly has gone over the rainbow bridge. :(

We did some of the Millenium Way and also the Way of the Gull.Port Erin was also nice and we had to visit Jurby Junk.We tried to find Nigel Mansells house but failed and then found out that Norman Wisdom lives on the Island as well.

We did a lovey walk round Tholt-e-Will plantation,though it got a bit too hot on some of these walks.

Visted Ramsey and got some nice fish and chips from there.

Cronk-y-Voddy is just outside Kirk Michael,11th Milestone of the TT races which my young brother alwys liked to visit when the TT races were on....

 

thanks kath, lovely picture fab view of the island,dont know whether i would get the chance to visit the IOM again but certainly would love to capture the wildlife there, never know may get there one day, been to douglas and ramsey and went round the island on a racing bike.
will look forward to seeing your wildlife pics of dartmoor

 

Thanks for your comments folks.

Here is a pic I took of the Calf of Man.

It is located off the southerly tip of the Isle of Man and as I mentioned it is a Bird Sanctuary owned by Manx National Heritage. I thought the birdy people among us may be interested. It is where I saw the seals en masse.

Here is a link to more info.

http://www.gov.im/mnh/heritage/countryside/sound/intro.xml