Isle of May National Nature Reserve

Isle of May National Nature Reserve The Isle of May NNR is a wildlife reserve in the Firth of Forth managed by NatureScot. See you soon!

The island is home to 14 seabird species including some 50,000 puffins and has a rich human history of religion, lighthouses and wartime.

20/08/2026

The Isle of May is open to visitors until the end of September and we have a few exciting events coming up in September👇👇👇 :

5th 6th Open Doors Weekend, A two-day special event allowing people access to all the buildings across the Isle of May. Join to learn about the island’s fascinating human history,

12th 13th Medieval history weekend. Join historian Peter Yeoman to learn about the early medieval period and Christianity on the Isle (which dates back to the 7th Century),

19th 20th Migration weekend, Join us to discover about bird migration at Scotland's longest running bird observatory. Get expert tips on how to spot and identify different bird species and watch live bird-ringing demonstrations.

Visiting the Island:

It’s free to visit the nature reserve, but you must take a boat trip to reach the island. Sailings are on the privately-run May Princess or Osprey of Anstruther from the Anstruther Harbour or through the Scottish Seabird Centre in North Berwick and BlueWild in Dunbar.

Anstruther – for tickets and details, see www.isleofmayferry.com, (May Princess) or www.isleofmayboattrips.co.uk (RIB Osprey).

North Berwick – For tickets and details, book online on the Scottish Seabird Centre website at www.seabird.org

Dunbar - https://www.bluewild.co.uk/ See less

Open Doors Event 5th-6th September! We are opening all our main buildings on the Isle of May from the three lighthouses ...
18/08/2026

Open Doors Event 5th-6th September! We are opening all our main buildings on the Isle of May from the three lighthouses to the engine rooms. Check out the blog which has all the news: https://isleofmaynnr.wordpress.com/

WOW!!! A White-throated Sparrow was found on the Isle of May this morning and the blog has the full story: https://isleo...
05/08/2026

WOW!!! A White-throated Sparrow was found on the Isle of May this morning and the blog has the full story: https://isleofmaynnr.wordpress.com/ All photos Will Cresswell

Meet Tina Tern-er the Arctic Tern!Since Tuesday, she now resides at 1 Right Side, Path, Isle of May. She will be live da...
05/06/2026

Meet Tina Tern-er the Arctic Tern!

Since Tuesday, she now resides at 1 Right Side, Path, Isle of May. She will be live daily here until her chicks have fledged.

Tina left a good job in Antarctica working for the man every night and day and has settled on the May because it`s simply the best, better than all the rest.

When you visit the island, please give Tina and her family lots of space.

Thank you!

At last! A good bird to celebrate as a Western Subalpine Warbler arrives on the Isle of May today as the blog explains (...
28/05/2026

At last! A good bird to celebrate as a Western Subalpine Warbler arrives on the Isle of May today as the blog explains (photo John Dryden) : https://isleofmaynnr.wordpress.com/

Up there with one of the strangest encounters we've ever had on the Isle of May, this morning we had a juvenile Dipper! ...
25/05/2026

Up there with one of the strangest encounters we've ever had on the Isle of May, this morning we had a juvenile Dipper! The blog explains: https://isleofmaynnr.wordpress.com/ Photo John Dryden

Address

Isle Of May
Anstruther

Telephone

01738 458800

Website

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