Auskerry (population 5 (2001 census)) is a small island at the east of the Orkney island group. It lies in the North Sea south of Stronsay and has a lighthouse, completed in 1866. The name Auskerry comes from the Old Norse for east skerry.
The island was uninhabited for a time after the automation of the lighthouse in the 1960s. It was previously a popular location for hunting seals.
Auskerry is inhabited by a family who keep sheep on the island. There is a wide variety of wildlife and the wreck of a cargo ship, the 'Hastings County', which ran aground on the south coast of the island during thick fog. Mail is delivered from Stronsay, once a month, by a fishing boat .
There are 3 small wind turbines and 4 solar panels on the island, which provide most of the power. After a series of expansions and renovations, the single roomed stone bothy is now a modern house with 4 bedrooms, kitchen, shower room and living room; the chemical toilet is outdoors due to the complication of installing septic tanks.
The lighthouse is attached to two flats; the lower one is used all year as a store and the top one is used mainly in summer.
Auskerry is designated a Special Protection Area due to its importance as a nesting area for Arctic Tern and Storm Petrel; 4.2% of the breeding population of Storm Petrel in Great Britain nest on the island.