Live web cam on Wildlife Wonder the Bass Rock home to the largest colony of Northern gannets in the World

The Bass Rock is home to one of the largest Northern gannet colonys on the planet! These spectacular seabirds spend most of the year on the Bass, arriving in late February and departing at the end of October heading out for wintering grounds in the southern North Sea, the Mediterranean or West Africa.

Northern gannets are one of Britain’s largest seabirds with a wingspan of up to 2 metres. They are bright white with distinctive black wingtips and a yellow head. When flying, they alternate between flapping and gliding, swooping low over the water. They feed by circling high above the waves, before folding their wings back and diving into the water headfirst at speeds of up to 60 miles per hour.

Our innovative new 360 live stream provides a rare insight into the lives of these spectacular seabirds, watch below or for the full 360 experience click on the live YouTube link.

The Bass Rock 360 footage is beamed directly into the Scottish Seabird Centre's Discovery Experience and showcased on their huge screens daily. Behind these incredible images is a groundbreaking new camera system that employs industrial grade 360 degree 8k cameras coupled with an off-grid solar battery system and a high-speed microwave link between the lighthouse complex on Bass Rock and our visitor centre.

We are very grateful to the Scottish Marine Environmental Enhancement Fund for funding the camera system, to our technical partner Audio Light Systems, and to others who helped make the install happen, including the Northern Lighthouse Board.

This project is supported by the Scottish Marine Environmental Enhancement Fund (SMEEF) using funds made available by the Scottish Government's Nature Restoration Fund.

Understanding the health of this amazing colony is vital to informing the conservation action needed protect it.

Find out more about the research projects that are helping us better understand the health and movements (through tracking) of the gannet population HERE.

While watching the live stream you may see researchers on the island conducting this important work and throughout the summer months small groups of photographers also land. Our landings are led by expert guides who ensure that disturbance to the colony is minimised. While a small number of birds standing on the path may move away as people pass, the breeding birds that are located near the path will sit tight on their nests. People on the Rock pass these birds calmly and quietly, ensuring that they remain undisturbed.