The Isles of Scilly

The Isles of Scilly
Rosemary Parslow

About 30 miles south-west of Land’s End is the low group of rocks and islands that form the Isles of Scilly. Mysterious, romantic and beautiful, they have long exercised the imagination of story tellers and historians.Rosemary Parslow has spent many years working on the islands, each of which has its own unique character and special plants and animals. In this New Naturalist volume she examines the many aspects that make the islands and their flora and fauna so unique: their geography, geology and climate, the people of the islands, the way they used the land and its present day management.She brings to life the major kinds of habitats found in Scilly: the heathlands, the coast, cultivated fields and wetlands. She also discusses the people who have been important in the study of the island flora and fauna, and tells the story of the rise in popularity of the islands for birdwatchers.This book complements other regional titles in the New Naturalist series which include Loch Lomondside, the Broads, the Lakeland area and Northumberland.

Collins New Naturalist Library

103

The Isles of Scilly

Rosemary Parslow

Editors (#ulink_82d979b0-73ce-5cfa-83da-64bca644ad68)

SARAH A. CORBET, ScD

PROF. RICHARD WEST, ScD, FRS, FGS

DAVID STREETER, MBE, FIBIOL

JIM FLEGG, OBE, FIHORT

PROF. JONATHAN SILVERTOWN

The aim of this series is to interest the general reader in the wildlife of Britain by recapturing the enquiring spirit of the old naturalists. The editors believe that the natural pride of the British public in the native flora and fauna, to which must be added concern for their conservation, is best fostered by maintaining a high standard of accuracy combined with clarity of exposition in presenting the results of modern scientific research.

Table of Contents

Cover Page (#u64ed69de-6908-5530-8f22-25fa411d11e0)

Title Page (#u7a135795-7a97-5736-9def-aa4aae6c6493)

Editors (#uab70fcf4-b2b7-524b-98f3-5578654ed1aa)

Map (#u7136f190-5e77-58b8-b6d9-9e259d53518a)

Editors’ Preface (#u96e2236d-1f5a-5960-beb0-8205badfbdb3)

Author’s Foreword and Acknowledgements (#u2692ba1e-eb5e-5b09-984f-26d58eb0cca3)

CHAPTER 1 An Introduction (#u86613bec-c57b-5939-9a8c-b40bd68b4c15)

CHAPTER 2 Geology and Early History (#uc1995b01-a788-596d-8577-cfb46a9adf34)

CHAPTER 3 Later History - People and Their Influence on the Islands (#u3d7eda8b-01d2-5d48-9ddf-27fb5de3f661)

CHAPTER 4 Naturalists and Natural History (#ue2160a52-baab-56e7-8198-0d1329d466c5)

CHAPTER 5 St Mary’s (#u4ba5b07e-1c0c-5058-bdd1-a37a346b6818)

CHAPTER 6 The Off-Islands (#u5ac6d553-75a3-5838-ba3a-9d05a7083a7d)

CHAPTER 7 The Uninhabited Islands (#u0cb81704-7a9e-537b-8e6d-8db08b97f840)

CHAPTER 8 The Sea and the Marine Environment (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER 9 The Coast (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER 10 Grassland and Heathland (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER 11 Woodland and Wetland (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER 12 Cultivated Habitats - Bulb Fields and Arable Plants (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER 13 Gardens (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER 14 Insects and Other Terrestrial Invertebrates (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER 15 Mammals, Reptiles and Amphibians (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER 16 Birds (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER 17 The Future (#litres_trial_promo)

APPENDIX Vegetation Communities (#litres_trial_promo)

References and Further Reading (#litres_trial_promo)

Species Index (#litres_trial_promo)

General Index (#litres_trial_promo)

The New Naturalist Library (#litres_trial_promo)

About the Author (#litres_trial_promo)

Copyright (#litres_trial_promo)

About the Publisher (#litres_trial_promo)

Map (#ulink_b28ef7af-8325-5fc7-88d3-99c079af6348)

Editors’ Preface (#ulink_e80f3986-8224-579c-9648-007783d564d0)

EARLIER VOLUMES OF the New Naturalist library have concerned the natural history of the islands of northern Britain – the Highlands and Islands (1964), Shetland (1980), Orkney (1985) and the Hebrides (1990). Here, in the Isles of Scilly, a group of islands at the extreme southwest of Britain presents a totally different aspect of island natural history.

Any account of the natural history of the Isles of Scilly has to comprehend an unusually wide variety of life and environments. In this striking archipelago of inhabited and uninhabited islands, southwest of Land’s End and on the fringes of the Atlantic, marine and terrestrial natural history are intimately connected. The oceanic climate, with mild summers and winters and stormy weather, exerts a strong influence, resulting in a flora and fauna unique in Britain. Added to this is the effect of thousands of years of human occupation, governed by changing economic conditions and isolation from the mainland, a history which has produced, for example, an extraordinary mix of native, introduced and cultivated plants.

The author, Rosemary Parslow, has an unrivalled knowledge of the natural history of the Isles of Scilly, gained over nearly fifty years of active involvement in observation and survey. Her studies have included the marine life and the life of terrestrial environments, including both fauna and flora. With such a range of practical experience, she is in an excellent position to give a synthesis which covers the variety of natural history of the islands, as well as issues of conservation and future development. Such a synthesis will be welcomed by Scillonians and by the many visitors to the islands, as well as by those with wider interests in the British fauna and flora.