The Berwickshire coast offers great birdwatching in tremendous scenery; wherever you go, and whatever time of year you visit us, it will not disappoint you.

The coastline stretches for roughly 40 km from Lamberton in the south to Dunglass. Along the rocky coast, cliffs rising to a height of 150m are interspersed with sandy bays and wooded inlets.

In the spring, hundreds of thousands of seabirds nest on the cliffs, including kittiwakes, guillemots, razorbills, shags, fulmars and herring gulls, puffin and cormorant.

The best places to view seabirds are from the cliff path between Eyemouth and Burnmouth (NT957613), where you will find peregrines taking advantage of the numerous feral pigeons, sparrowhawks and kestrels. Even ravens, once a common bird, have recently recolonised the cliffs after an absence of forty years.

A variety of small, open country birds such as whinchat, wheatear, yellowhammer, linnets, corn and reed buntings and whitethroats breed in the scrub in the fields along the cliff tops and in sheltered hollows.

Other places to view seabirds include St Abbs Head (NT915693), a rocky headland 7 miles north of Burnmouth; the area is a National Nature Reserve owned by the National Trust for Scotland and jointly managed with the Scottish Wildlife Trust.

Above Pease Bay rises Pease Dean (NT793704), a remnant of ancient woodland in a steep sided valley. A good network of paths gives easy access to the wide variety of woodland birds which including the marsh tit, here approaching the northern limit of its distribution in the UK, dippers and grey wagtails.

In the spring and autumn migration (April-May and mid August-October), the well-vegetated steep hillside leading down to Burnmouth Harbour (NT958609) acts as an excellent migrant trap, providing shelter and food. Such rarities as icterines and greenish warblers have been sighted in recent years. Other visitors include king eider, red-footed falcon, golden oriole, red-backed shrike, barred warbler, yellow-browed warbler, red-breasted flycatcher and little bunting.

The strong north or north-east winds of August and September bring shearwaters, skuas and gannets circling over the rocky outcrops beneath the cliffs. In very strong winds, you may wish to view the birds from your car, perhaps at the end of Eyemouth golf course (NT950646).

Less frequented areas of the Berwickshire coast can also bring rewards: divers and grebes occur in sheltered areas at Linkim shore, Coldingham Bay and Pease Bay while turnstone and purple sandpiper can be found along the rocky shore. The area around Dowlaw and Coldingham Moor (NT850690) produce red grouse, peregrine, merlin, short-eared owl and hen harrier with large mixed flocks of finches and buntings including twite and snow bunting. The pond at Dowlaw Dam (NT852698) is a greylag roost and home to ducks and waders.