The multi-award winning Scottish Seabird Centre, North Berwick, is celebrating as not only have the first of the gannets of the year landed on the Bass Rock but the Centre has secured the title of BBC Countryfile Magazine's Nature Reserve of the Year for the Rock.

On Thursday 26 February, at approx. 10:30, the gannets were spotted on the five star Discovery Centre's interactive live cameras by visitor Laurie Mackie from Edinburgh, plus Seabird Volunteers Isabel Smith and Jennifer MacDonald.

This sighting is a significant milestone in the start of the nesting season on the Firth of Forth islands. The area is of international importance for seabirds and over the coming months it will be home to around 500,000 seabirds including puffins, cormorants, kittiwakes, guillemots, razorbills, fulmars, shags and terns. Scotland is home to around 60% of the world's population of North Atlantic gannets (Morus bassanus – named after the Bass Rock).

By summer the Bass Rock, just 4km (2.5miles) from North Berwick, will be crammed with well over 150,000 gannets. A count, which was undertaken in 2014 by Stuart Murray and the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, with advice from senior Bass Rock landing guide Maggie Sheddan, confirmed 75,000 apparently occupied nesting sites, making it the world's largest Northern gannet colony.

Laurie Mackie, crowned the Gannet Watch champion, said: “I've been visiting the Scottish Seabird Centre for a number of years with my family and we all love controlling the interactive live cameras in the Discovery Centre to zoom in on the gannets. To spot them on camera when they have only just landed is brilliant and I will look forward to seeing them throughout the year as the breeding season develops.”

Andy Dickson, Discovery Centre Manager, said: “Staff, volunteers and visitors have had their eyes glued to the cameras for a few weeks now in anticipation of the gannets landing. In 2014 we celebrated with our Gannet Watch Champions on 14 February, so almost two-weeks later this year. Congratulations to Isobel, Jennifer and Laurie for spotting the first of the landings.”

On Tuesday 3 March, during a live twitter ceremony, the Bass Rock was named BBC Countryfile Magazine's Nature Reserve of the Year. The Bass Rock was nominated by wildlife presenter, Chris Packham, who described 'this gannet-capped island' as 'the most exciting birding spectacle in the UK'.

Now in its fourth year, the BBC Countryfile Magazine Awards are a celebration of the countryside and its people – from great heritage attractions and favourite holiday destinations, to the best nature reserves and the finest rural pubs. The 2014/15 Awards launched in the January 2015 issue of the magazine followed by a hard-fought campaigning period during which time readers voted online, by email and post: voting closed on 31 January.

BBC Countryfile Magazine Editor, Fergus Collins, said: “This is our way of saying thank you to the people and places that make the countryside so special. The awards clearly roused great passion and amassed thousands of votes, a testament to the strong contenders in each category. It was a closely fought competition generating great interest. Our winners can be justly proud of their titles – they have been endorsed as outstanding examples in their field by our readership.”

Tom Brock OBE, Chief Executive of the Scottish Seabird Centre, said: “The Bass Rock has had an incredible year so far. In January it was named the world's largest Northern gannet colony and winning the accolade of Nature Reserve of the Year is outstanding news.

“A huge thank you to Chris Packham who nominated us and to all the Bass Rock fans who took the time to vote. At the Scottish Seabird Centre we are fortunate to be able to see and appreciate the Bass Rock every day. It is truly awe inspiring and is one of the wildlife wonders of the world. It's great that so many other people recognise its importance and appreciate its significance.”

Visitors to the Scottish Seabird Centre can control interactive live cameras located on the Firth of Forth islands, including the Bass Rock, in the Discovery Centre. They can zoom in on a range of wildlife, without any disturbance to the wildlife in any way. Boat trips to the Bass Rock will start from 21 March 2015.

There is also currently an exhibition Views of the Bass and Birds, by Kirsten Boston from Hangar Framing, with a selection of original artworks.

Gannet facts:

• First records of gannets on the Bass Rock date back to the 15th century
• Gannets are Britain's largest seabird, with a wing span of over 6ft/ 1.8m
• Gannets travel south for the winter, many travelling as far as the coast of West Africa
• They can live over 30 years
• They have excellent eyesight and can spot schools of fish below the surface of the water and dive at speeds of up to 60mph/ 96kmph.

Bass Rock facts:

• The Bass Rock was formed 320 million years ago and is the core of an old volcano
• It has played a key role throughout Scottish history – a religious retreat during early Christianity; fortress and prison in the time of the Covenanters and Jacobites; and a strategic stronghold during the times of the Scottish and English wars
• It has been owned by the Hamilton-Dalrymple family for the last 300 years
• There is a lighthouse, built in 1902: the last keepers left in 1988 when the lighthouse was automated.

For further information visit www.seabird.org