Nightingale Island

Nightingale is the smallest of the three main Tristan islands, uninhabited and covered in tussock grass, and the density of seabirds on it is what people remember: great shearwaters nest in burrows in numbers running into the millions, rockhopper penguins come ashore, and two land birds found nowhere else, the Nightingale finch and the Wilkins's bunting, live in the tussock. Tristan families keep huts on it for fishing trips.

Background

Nightingale is an active volcanic island of 3.2 square kilometres, thought to be some 18 million years old. With the islets Stoltenhoff, 99 metres high, and Middle, 46 metres, it makes up the Nightingale Islands. The higher of its two peaks, High Ridge, reaches around 378 metres, and four ponds called the Molly Ponds lie on the lower western half. The Dutch ship Nachtglas under Jan Jacobszoon named it Gebrooken Eyland, or Broken island, in January 1656, and the first landing followed in 1696. The present name honours the British captain Gamaliel Nightingale, who explored it in 1760. On 29 July 2004 a six-hour earthquake swarm was followed by floating pumice from an underwater flank.

Source: Wikipedia, "Nightingale Island"

What you'll find

• The shearwater burrows - great shearwaters nesting in the tussock in vast numbers.
• The rockhopper penguins - the colonies coming ashore on the rocks.
• The endemic finches - two land birds found only on this island group.
• The island huts - the shelters Tristan families keep for fishing trips.

When to go

October to March is the southern summer and the landing window. Swell prevents landing much of the time. Seabirds are on the island through the breeding months.

What to expect

Landing depends entirely on swell and is often impossible. Permission from the island council is required. Walking through tussock collapses shearwater burrows, so routes are controlled.

Nearby

Inaccessible Island is west, and Tristan is northeast.

Key facts