Scottish Seabird Centre
Take some time to enjoy nature post-lockdown by visiting the Scottish Seabird Centre in North Berwick – a 30-minute drive from Edinburgh. Visitors can control interactive live cameras on the local islands to zoom in on the amazing birds in the surrounding areas. Keep an eye out for gannets on the Bass Rock – the world’s largest colony of Northern gannets. The wildlife calendar on the centre’s website gives details of the kind of birds you’ll be able to spot on your visit.
Scottish Seabird Centre, North Berwick
Isle of May National Nature Reserve
Sitting on the edge of the Firth of Forth, at the Isle of May visitors can be sure to spot a stramash of seabirds crammed on the edges of the towering cliffs. The island is also home to the unmistakable puffin which can often be seen peeking out from their grassy burrows.
Isle of May, Anstruther, Fife
Staffa National Nature Reserve
This small island off the west coast could very easily be from a different planet. Its famous hexagonal rock columns are home to many seabirds. At the top of Staffa’s tall cliffs, puffins can sometimes be spotted nesting in the burrows. This island is a mus-visit for birdwatchers and nature-lovers alike.
Tigh Na Rois, Millbrae Cottage, Bunessan, Mull, PA67 6DG
RSPB Scotland Loch Garten Nature Centre
This centre, a 20-minute drive from Aviemore, gives visitors the chance to see some of Scotland’s most spectacular birds. Loch Garten is where ospreys returned to in the 1950s after a period of extinction in the UK and they still return to breed every spring – the famous Loch Garten Osprey Centre allows visitors to view the birds’ nests with their high definition Osprey webcam. The feeders in the ancient Caledonian pine forest attract many woodland birds for you to watch as well.
RSPB Scotland, Forest Lodge, Nethybridge, Inverness-shire, PH25 3EF
North Harris Eagle Observatory
This observatory is at the heart of the golden eagle territory. The North Harris Eagle Observatory is surrounded by the Harris Hills, north-west of the town of Tarbert and is part of the Outer Hebrides Bird of Prey Trail. The observatory offers some of the best views of the landscape, with the chance to see a wide range of birds including buzzards and ravens.
Glen Meavig, Harris, HS3 3AW
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