Bass Rock - Wildlife

Wildlife

The island plays host to more than 150,000 Gannets and is the largest single rock gannetry in the world, described famously by Sir David Attenborough as "one of the wildlife wonders of the world". When viewed from the mainland, large regions of the surface appear white due to the sheer number of birds (and their droppings, which give off 152,000 kg of ammonia per year, equivalent to the achievements of 10 million broilers). In fact the scientific name for the Northern Gannet, Sula bassana or Morus bassanus, derives its name from the rock. They were traditionally known in Scots as 'Solan Goose'. In common with other gannetries, such as St Kilda, the birds were harvested for their eggs and the flesh of their young chicks, which were considered delicacies. It is estimated that in 1850 almost 2,000 birds were harvested from the rock. Other bird species that frequent the rock include Guillemot, Razorbill, Cormorant, Puffin, Eider Duck and numerous gulls.

The natural history of the rock was written about almost five hundred years ago in John Mair's De Gestis Scotorum ("The deeds of the Scots") published in 1521. Today, the Scottish Seabird Centre at North Berwick has solar powered cameras located on the island which beam back live close up images of the seabirds to large screens on the mainland, just over a mile away. The images are sharp enough for visitors at the Scottish Seabird Centre to read the ID rings on birds' feet. The Seabird Centre has 10 cameras located on the islands of the Forth and also broadcasts the images live on the internet. The Centre also has exclusive landing rights to the island from the owner Sir Hew Hamilton-Dalrymple and operates a limited number of photographic boat trips to the islands throughout the year, weather permitting.