Bird Rock Lighthouse

Bird Rock stands off the northwestern tip of Crooked Island, a bare rock carrying a lighthouse built in 1876 to mark the Crooked Island Passage, one of the main routes between the Atlantic and the Caribbean. The tower and keeper's quarters were manned until automation and then left; hurricanes have taken the roof and much of the interior. Ospreys nest on it now. Boats go out from Landrail Point when the sea allows, and landing is a scramble onto rock.

What to look for

• The tower - an 1876 lighthouse standing derelict on a bare rock.
• The keeper's quarters - roofless ruins beside the tower.
• The passage - the shipping channel the light was built to mark.
• The ospreys - nesting on the structure since it was abandoned.

When to go

November to April is the dry season and calmest. Landing depends entirely on sea state and is often impossible. Hurricane season runs June to November and this rock takes the full force.

Good to know

The structure is derelict and unsafe: floors have gone and climbing the tower is genuinely dangerous. Landing is a scramble from a boat onto wet rock. Crooked Island itself is remote, with limited flights and very little accommodation.

Nearby

Landrail Point is on Crooked Island opposite, and Acklins lies across the bight.

Key facts