Dunbar Harbour Web Cam
The Scottish Seabird Centre is the world's number one remote wildlife viewing attraction. The webcam images refresh every five seconds and are transmitted live from our cameras. If they appear black, green or frozen, the cameras may have been switched off overnight or to allow researchers on the islands to carry out their work.
In spring and summer, the camera at Dunbar Harbour brings wonderful live pictures of the famous kittiwake colony in the old Dunbar Castle ruins. Keep a look out and and you'll be able to look into the nests from the camera. During the winter months, you may catch some activity around the harbour, with fishing boats, including "The Fisher Lassie", a working trawler owned by Gordon Easingwood, which takes small groups out to land on the Bass Rock. The trips run from March to early October. They also enjoy the experience of "chumming" on Gordon's boat, which is the sight of gannets plunge diving at speeds of around 100 kmph to catch fish thrown from the boat. See boat trips for more information and booking.
The harbour is also home to one of the largest lifeboat stations in the area and, if you're lucky, you may also see Sammy the resident friendly seal, who spends his time swimming around the harbour, hoping for a fish supper from the fishermen. For an unusual gift, why not adopt a Seal? The Seabird Centre is an independent charity and all proceeds go towards the work of the charity, including education and conservation.
The kittiwake colony is the most accessible in Britain with more than 600 pairs of kittiwakes nesting in the ruined red stone walls of the historic Dunbar Castle, a favourite haunt of John Muir, the "father of modern conservation" who spent his childhood in Dunbar. These graceful seabirds have suffered in recent years with numbers decreasing by 50% around Scotland. This is due to various factors, including a shortage of sandeels, which makes this camera particularly valuable for monitoring their progress. Last year, several chicks died, having been fed snake pipe fish. Enterprising parents, struggling to find sandeels, were bringing back this alternative, but the snake pipefish, related to the seahorse, is spiny and indigestible, causing the chicks to choke to death.
The Scottish Seabird Centre gratefully acknowledges support from the Heritage Lottery Fund, Scottish Natural Heritage and Tyne Esk Leader Funding in delivery of its conservation and education projects and events and exhibitions.
