North berwick | The Scottish Seabird Centre | Dallaswear
Posted by Callum McCrimmon on 1st Jan 1970
Scottish Seabird Centre
The Harbour
North Berwick
EH39 4SS
Situated in the beautiful seaside town of North Berwick the Scottish Seabird Centre is a fantastic place for a day out. The award=winning centre was opened officially in May 2000 by HRH Prince Charles, Duke of Rothesay. Its development has revitalised the Harbour area of the town making it a desirable destination for tourists, mainly during the summer months and a wonderful asset for local people during the rest of the year.
The Scottish Seabird Centre is a conservation and education charity. They are deeply involved in a project to protect the wonderful puffins that inhabit the Islands in the Firth of Forth. This is one of the UK’s largest puffin colonies. Monitoring had shown the population decline from more than 10,000 to 1000 in recent years. It was found that a plant called tree mallow was behind the decline, making it very difficult for the puffins to land and raise their young due to the plants’ rapid spread. An army of volunteers numbering 1200 have made over 300 journeys to the islands to dig up the plants. Seeds remaining in the ground continue to grow, so the volunteers still need to return to the islands on a regular basis to remove the new growth. Their efforts have allowed the regrowth of natural vegetation and improved numbers in the puffin population.
Just 2.5 miles offshore stands the iconic Bass Rock, home to a spectacular gannet colony. Any birdwatcher that has been lucky enough to see these magnificent birds dive, streamlined, in to the ocean will tell you what a truly stunning sight they are.
(Credit E McCrimmon for the drawing, follow her on Instagram e.mccrimmon_art)
The Discovery Experience at the Scottish Seabird Centre enables visitors to observe the birds of the islands remotely, in real time. There are video cameras relaying the action back to the visitor centre.
The centre has a comprehensive schools programme and continually champions the importance of Scotland’s stunning marine wildlife and seabirds.
The Scottish Seabird Centre is accessible to wheelchair users.
The centre runs sea boat trips around the islands so that you can appreciate the wonderful wildlife even more closely.
There is a lovely gift shop and really nice café with a sun deck.
At the time of writing, visitors are required to wear face coverings and to observe the visual reminders of social distancing. I would recommend checking out their website before visiting regarding social distancing measures currently in place. The website is very informative. Not only does it tell you, in detail, the new procedures that are in place for your and everybody else’s safety, it also tells you what needs to booked in advance of your visit. The Discovery Experience needs to be booked in advance and you are asked to arrive at the correct time so that the flow of visitors is maintained.
The Scottish Seabird Centre’s website also has a very useful calendar which gives you an idea of what you can expect to see at different times of the year.
The town of North Berwick is very attractive, with beautiful views across the sea to Bass Rock and lots of lovely restaurants, coffee shops and art galleries. There are a plethora of activities and points of interest aside from the seabird centre, we will look at more of these in another blog.
