Fowlsheugh

We're working hard to make our nature reserves safe and ready for our staff, visitors and wildlife. Many have now re-opened in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, although some facilities are not yet available. Some reserves remain closed for now. See our COVID-19 updates page for the latest information (link below).

Address: RSPB Fowlsheugh, Crawton, Stonehaven AB39 2TP

Grid ref: NO879808

See our reserves Covid-19 updates page for which sites are open and other important details.

The spectacular cliffs at Fowlsheugh are packed with more than 130,000 breeding seabirds during the spring and summer months. These include guillemots, razorbills and kittiwakes, along with some puffins and fulmars too. If you're lucky, you might also spot grey seals and dolphins in the water here.

Plan your visit

Covid-19 update: The hide remains closed at this time. We are working to open this as soon as it is safe to do so. We apologise for any inconvenience caused.

Trails open at all times.

Free entrance to RSPB members: Yes

Adults: Free, but donations are very welcome.

Children: Free, but donations are very welcome.

Facilities

Car park
Guided walks is closed
Viewing points are closed
Nature trails
Educational facilities

Accessibility

Full accessibility information (external website)

How to get here

By train

Nearest station is Stonehaven. From Stonehaven train station, take the A92 southbound for 3 miles (4.8 km), then take the turning on the left signed for Crawton. The reserve is at the end of this road.

By bus

Request bus stop at start of road to Crawton (Stonehaven to Johnshaven route) - just over a mile's walk to the reserve.

By bike

This reserve is one mile from Route 1 of the National Cycle Network.

By road

The reserve is 3 miles (4.8 km) south of Stonehaven. On the A92 heading south from Stonehaven, take the turning on the left signed for Crawton. The reserve car park is just before the end of this road; car parking facilities are limited, and unsuitable for coaches or caravans. Please do not park in the passing places.

Sat nav POI file: If you have a satellite navigation system that can accept POI files, please see our POI page for a download link and instructions.

Get directions from Google Maps

RSPB reserves on Google Earth

Any enquiries should be made to the East Scotland Regional Office. Tel: 01224 624824, email: esro@rspb.org.uk

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Contact Fowlsheugh

RSPB, Loch of Strathbeg, Starnafin, Crimond, Fraserburgh. Aberdeenshire. AB43 8QN
strathbeg@rspb.org.uk
01346 532017

What will you see?

Our star species

Fulmar

Watch for their trademark stiff-winged flight around the cliffs.

Guillemot

Although ungainly above water, underwater they become agile and manoeuvrable.

Kittiwake

Visit Fowlsheugh in spring and early summer and your ears will be filled with their unmistakable calls.

Puffin

Enjoy the comical antics of puffins in spring and early summer from the viewing points on the cliffs.

Razorbill

Razorbills spend most of their lives at sea in the Atlantic, only coming to land to breed between March and July.

Nature spectacles

The largest mainland seabird colony on the east coast of Scotland, this impressive seabird colony contains populations of some of Scotland’s most iconic and favourite birds including guillemots, razorbills, kittiwakes and a small numbers of puffins. Offshore, seals, dolphins and other cetaceans contribute to the unique and stunning nature of Fowlsheugh.

Watch out for the returning seabirds as they find their nests on the ledges. Pick out a puffin near their clifftop burrows. Look out to sea for gannets and skuas. Spot a passing dolphin or even a minke whale!

Enjoy the sights and smells of the spectacular seabird city. Look for the small farmland birds, such as linnets and meadow pipits, on the clifftop. Listen to the thrilling song of the skylarks. Admire the colourful summer flowers.

Check the water off-shore for red-throated divers and sea ducks like scoters and eiders.

Spot the grey seals hauled out on Craiglethy Island. Look for the new seal pups on the beach at Trelung Ness. Watch out for the fulmars returning to the cliffs in February.

About Fowlsheugh

Habitat

A colourful coastal cliff top walk over grassland to view thousands of seabirds with a stunning backdrop of 30-metre sea cliffs should not be missed. Although the seabird experience is limited to May to early August, Fowlsheugh provides a great walk for all months of the year. A small shelter at the end of the trail overlooks the breeding ledges. The cliffs, mostly basalt and conglomerates of Old Red Sandstone, form a rock face with innumerable holes and ledges, providing ideal sites for cliff nesting seabirds.

Conservation

Counting seabirds - We aim to maintain the whole seabird colony at numbers around 123,000 individuals, including increased numbers of guillemots, razorbills, fulmars and kittiwakes. We are also working to boost the herring gull population and to maintain small numbers of puffins and shags.
Colony care - We are working to minimise disturbance to the colony during the breeding season, with cliff-top signposting for visitors and an agreed protocol for boats at the cliff face. We will also enhance visitor safety by maintaining steps and footpaths, installing trail markers, rerouting any hazardous sections of the cliff edge path, and providing clear warning signs.

Site information

Running for around three kilometres along the coast, Fowlsheugh is part of a wider SPA designated for its number of seabirds. It lies within two SSSIs – the main one, Fowlsheugh SSSI, is a 1.8km length of sheer 30 to 60-metre cliffs, with a narrow strip of clifftop grasslands. The second, a section of the cliff at the southern end, is included within Crawton Bay SSSI.

The site has been owned and managed as a reserve by The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) since 1976.

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Activities and events

Leisure activities

Aberdeenshire Coastal Trail long-distance path runs inland of the reserve. Other ad hoc activities include scuba diving at Trollochy and Spurnell’s Cove.

Marshside

Lytchett Fields

Arne

Fowlsheugh