Rockabill

Rockabill (irish place name|Carraig Dábhiolla, Cloch Dábhiolla|Two-bill Rock) is an island (to be precise, two islands, "The Rock" and "The Bill"), lying in the western Irish Sea about 6 kilometres east-north-east of Skerries, County Dublin, Ireland. An alternative Irish name, "Carraig Dhá Bheola", meaning "Two Lips Rock", is probably just a corruption of Carraig Dábhiolla.

The two granite islands are separated by a channel about 20 metres wide. On the Rock there is a lighthouse, built in 1855–1860 and automated in 1989, and several walls and outbuildings. These walled areas have enabled a build-up of soil and the establishment of vegetation, notably tree mallow ("Lavatera arborea"), which provides nesting cover for the birds. The smaller Bill has very little vegetation.

Rockabill is an important seabird breeding island, especially notable for its terns. It is an internationally important site for Roseate Terns, with the largest colony in Europe, over 600 pairs in 2003. There are similar numbers of Common Terns, and other seabirds include Black Guillemots and Black-legged Kittiwakes.

Rockabill is owned by the Commissioners of Irish Lights and is a Refuge for Fauna and a Special Protection Area under the European Union Birds Directive. Since 1989, when the protection afforded by the lighthouse keepers ceased, the islands have been managed by BirdWatch Ireland.

External links

* http://www.skerrieshomepage.com/history13.htm
* http://www.logainm.ie/?text=rockabill&placeID=1165790