Burhou facts for kids
Burhou (pronounced bu-ROO) is a tiny island located about 2 kilometers (1.4 miles) northwest of Alderney. It is part of the Channel Islands. No one lives on Burhou, and it is a special place for birds, known as a bird sanctuary. Because of this, visiting the island is not allowed from March 15 to July 27 each year to protect the nesting birds.
The island is home to many wild animals, including a group of puffins, though their numbers are getting smaller. There are also lots of rabbits living there. Burhou does not have a proper dock, so visitors use a small bay to land. However, if the weather is bad, it can be impossible to get to the island.
E.D. Marquand, a plant expert from Guernsey, once called Burhou "the most desolate and lonely of all the islands" in the area. He even had to spend a night there because thick fog stopped him from leaving.
A book from 1906, called The Channel Pilot, warned that "many dangerous rocks" are found around Burhou Island. It also mentioned that the water currents there are very fast. John Beaman, a member of the States of Alderney, is the person in charge of the island's political matters.
The name Burhou, like other Channel Islands such as Lihou and Jethou, comes from the Norman language. The part "‑hou" means "a small island" and comes from the Old Norse word holmr. Some experts believe "bur" means a "storehouse." So, Burhou might have been a place where fishermen kept their tools and supplies.
People have visited Burhou for a very long time. Old Flint tools have been found on the island, and one is now in the Alderney Museum. In 1847, two large standing stones were found, but they have since been lost.
A Shelter on Burhou
Records from the 1300s show that Burhou was a place where rabbits were raised and where fishermen could find safety. This means there must have been some kind of shelter on the island for them to use.
A small hut was built on Burhou in 1820. It was meant to be a safe place for fishermen and sailors. General Le Mesurier, who was the Governor at the time, helped make this happen. Sadly, the hut was destroyed during World War II. The Nazis used it for target practice.
A new hut was built in 1953. It offers simple lodging that visitors can rent from the Alderney Harbour Office.
People have tried to raise sheep on Burhou before. In 1900, a French couple even lived there for a year. The island's soil is very thin, and sea spray often washes over it, making the soil very salty. Burhou also does not have a fresh water supply for most of the year. It has to get water delivered, or it used to rely on water tanks.
Plants and Animals of Burhou
Burhou is mostly known for its birds, but rabbits have lived there for a long time. The island has many puffins and some storm petrels. While the number of storm petrels has gone down, they used to nest in the old hut's roof.
Roderick Dobson, in his book Birds of the Channel Islands, said that puffins had been common on Burhou for over a hundred years. The book Birds of Guernsey from 1878 also mentioned many puffins. However, puffins have had to compete with gulls. In 1949, hundreds of puffins died because of tiny red mites. The rabbit holes on the island are good places for puffins to build their nests.
Some of the plants found on Burhou include sea spurry, forget-me-nots, scarlet pimpernel, field bugloss, bracken, and nettles. In 1909, E.D. Marquand counted 18 different types of plants. But by the late 1900s, Frances Le Sueur and David McClintock found 45 species, which they wrote about in a scientific paper.
Related pages
- List of places with fewer than ten residents
See also
In Spanish: Burhou para niños
