New look Noss centre set to re-open

Noss Nature Reserve. Picture: NatureScot

Noss Nature Reserve will re-open to the public tomorrow (Wednesday) with a new-look visitor centre.

The Noss ferry will resume service for the summer season on 1st May.

And new information panels on the island’s marine life and seabirds, thousands of which will return to breed on the cliffs, will await those coming to visit.

Wardens Jen Clark – returning for her seventh season – and new recruit Aidan Doherty said they were looking forward to welcoming visitors to Noss.

However, measures introduced in the wake of the 2022 bird flu outbreak will remain in place to protect the seabird populations.

Visitors will be asked to clean their footwear on disinfectant mats when they arrive at and leave Noss.

NatureScot, which runs Noss Nature Reserve, said that no bonxies and only one gannet were recorded with bird flu last year.

But bonxies were down by as much as 85 per cent after a difficult year in 2022.