Mullion Island facts for kids

Mullion Island (Cornish: Enys Pryven, meaning worm island) is a small, uninhabited island. You can find it off the coast of Cornwall in the United Kingdom. It's located on the eastern side of Mount's Bay.

The island is about half a mile (0.8 km) from Mullion Cove. It measures about 1 mile (1.6 km) around. Its highest point is 118 feet (36 meters) above sea level. Mullion Island is part of the beautiful Lizard Peninsula area. This area is known as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. It is also part of the Mullion Cliff to Predannack Cliff Site of Special Scientific Interest. This means it's a special place for nature.

How Mullion Island Was Formed

Mullion Island was created about 350 million years ago. Imagine a crack in the Earth's surface. Hot, melted rock, called lava, flowed out from this crack. When this lava hit the cool ocean water, it hardened very quickly. This fast cooling formed large, rounded shapes that look like pillows. Scientists call these "pillow lava".

Mullion Island was made by a different volcanic event. It happened later than the rocks found nearby on the Lizard Peninsula.

Plants and Animals of Mullion Island

The soil on Mullion Island is very rich. This is because of all the bird droppings. These droppings are full of important nutrients like nitrogen and phosphate. Because of this, two main plants grow really well here. They are sea beet (Beta vulgaris subsp maritima) and tree mallow (Lavatera arborea).

Many seabirds use the island as a safe place to live and raise their young. Some of the birds that breed here include the great black-backed gull (Larus marinus). You might also see common guillemots (Uria aalge). Eurasian oystercatchers (Haematopus ostralegus) also nest on the island. It's possible that razorbills (Alca torda) breed here too.

Other birds have been spotted visiting the island. These include the European shag (Phalacrocorax aristotelis) and the great cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo).

Protecting the Birds

In 2019, rangers from the National Trust visited the island. They found thousands of elastic bands scattered everywhere. It's believed that gulls pick up these bands when they are looking for food in fields on the mainland. The birds might mistake the bands for worms or other food. Later, when they rest on the island, they might spit them out.

Rangers also found small pieces of string and green fishing net. Sadly, they even found a dead gull with a large fishing hook stuck in it. This shows how important it is to keep our environment clean. Litter can be very dangerous for wildlife.

History of Mullion Island

Before the First World War, Mullion was a busy fishing area. Companies that caught pilchards used a special lookout. This lookout was called a "huer". The huer would stand on Mullion Island. Their job was to watch for dark patches in the water. These dark patches meant a large group of pilchards was nearby. The huer would then shout to guide the fishing boats.

The island used to belong to a family called the Lords Robartes of Lanhydrock. In the 1920s, they sold it to the Meyer family. The Meyer family then generously gave the island to the National Trust in 1945. The National Trust is a charity that protects special places in the UK.

Mullion Island has even been on TV! It was used for filming parts of the 2015 television show And Then There Were None. This show was based on a famous mystery novel by Agatha Christie.

Images for kids

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  Mullion Island