Clif Top Web Cam

Craigleith is a small island less than 1/2 mile(0.8 kilometres) from the Seabird Centre at North Berwick where a rich variety of seabirds and marine life can be seen. Puffins are one of the main attractions on the island and, during the nesting season, Craigleith's Clifftop Cam brings fantastic views of the puffins congregating round their burrows, as well as cormorants nesting with their chicks. This camera also offers wonderful panoramas of the town of North Berwick, with its sandy beaches, the Scottish Seabird Centre, “The Law” a landmark volcanic plug and the imposing Bass Rock, approximately 3 miles (4.8 kilometres) away.

The first puffin of the year was spotted on Tuesday 1st April by Mr and Mrs Leftley (and their 20 month old son, Francis) from Birmingham, who were visiting the Seabird Centre while on holiday. They were delighted with their prize of a puffin backpack.  

Craigleith Island was once one of the largest puffin colonies in Britain, with over 28,000 pairs in 1999, but numbers have crashed dramatically to just a few thousand. This has been caused by an alien plant invasion of tree mallow (Lavatera arborea), a giant woody plant which grows up to 6 feet (1.8 metres) tall, choking the puffin burrows and preventing the birds from nesting and rearing their chicks, called “pufflings”.  Thanks to the efforts of SOS Puffin, a five year Scottish Seabird Centre project to reinstate the puffins on Craigleith, and with the help of a team of over 150 volunteers, we're delighted that the puffins are returning to nest again on the island. The project is funded by Viridor Credits and Scottish Natural Heritage. To find out more about the campaign see the summary below or go to SOS Puffin.  You can click here to Adopt a Puffin online.