TV wildlife presenter Simon King took a walk on the wild side during a visit to the island.

At the invitation of Manx National Heritage, he visited the Calf of Man for the first time, in this the 60th anniversary year of the opening of the bird observatory there.

He was in the island to give a talk at the Manx Museum as part of the island’s Wildlife Week and led a nature walk to the Chasms and the Sound with 10 island nature lovers.

He boarded the Scraayl at Port St Mary for the 45-minute crossing to the Calf, the boat pausing at the Sugarloaf on the way so the Blue Planet cameraman and former Springwatch presenter could take a look at the nesting kittiwakes, razorbills and guillemots.

Landing at the South Harbour, the party of 12 which included naturalists from MNH, Manx Wildlife Trust and DEFA, made their way across the islet to see what they could spot.

Laura McCoy, curator of natural history at MNH, said: ’Simon is such an amazing communicator and so knowledgeable about wildlife behaviour. You can look through binoculars but only see so much.

’But Simon can interpret the behaviour and tell you the story and drama of what’s going on’

He soon had a chance to show off that skill, when he spotted a hen harrier making a kill only for a tussle to ensue as a hooded crow tried to steal its prey.

In bright sunshine, there was plenty of wildlife to be seen including numerous grey seals in the bay known as the Puddle and another female hen harrier quartering the blue sky just beyond the observatory.

Mating tiger beetles, the caterpillar of a garden tiger moth and a dung beetle also caught Simon’s eye and he gave tips on how to approach and best photograph these minibeasts without disturbing them.

At the end of the all-too-short trip, Simon said: ’I’ve always loved being on islands. They have a special atmosphere.

’It is lovely to be on a place which is less impacted by the ravages of human consumption. You can see that echoed by the flora and fauna.’

Simon may be a well known name in wildlife documentaries but his celebrity status extends only so far, it turned out.

He agreed to have his photograph taken with a group who had booked to stay overnight at the observatory but who confused him with another TV nature presenter, the One Show’s Mike Dilger.

Simon’s partner, Kim Whittlestone, a criminal barrister who met the wildlife presenter while in Shetland, revealed a family link to the Isle of Man that she has only recently discovered.

Her great, great, great grandfather John Wright was killed in the Brig Lily disaster, which happened near the Calf at Kitterland in 1852 when a shipwreck in a storm left five people dead.

John Wright, a Castletown police constable, was among 29 local men who died in an explosion during the salvage operation.

Dr Lara Howe, marine officer from MWT, said: ’The Calf is a special place. It really does seem a world apart.’

She she hoped a project to increase puffin numbers and encourage breeding, by using decoys and having eradicated longtails, would prove a success.

She said: ’We have seen more sightings of puffins around the Calf and reports of landings. I would like to think the project is the reason for this but it could be a coincidence.’

She hoped to see a return of breeding puffins this year but more likely next year.