Sir David Attenborough's up before the beaks

SIR David Attenborough is to finally fulfil a long-held ambition to visit the Bass Rock to film the island's spectacular gannets diving in 3D.

But the TV naturalist may find he has to dodge the dive bombers as a bumper year for breeding pairs has put parts of the island off limits to visitors.

Sir David once listed the island in the Forth as one of his Twelve Wildlife Wonders of the World, but he has never set foot on it.

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Now he will finally get the chance when he films 3D footage of the gannets diving for food. The footage, due to be captured next month, will be used as part of the launch of the SKY 3D channel.

But with visitors currently diverted from the main path to avoid an unusually large number of nesting gannets that have spread across the route, he may want to invest in a hard hat before he arrives.

Tour organisers say anyone straying along the path would have to watch out for attacks from dive-bombing, screeching gannets trying to protect their eggs and newborn chicks.

The island is home to 150,000 gannets, making it the largest single island gannet colony in the world, and when Sir David plans to visit, numbers will be at their highest.

Lynda Dalgleish, communications manager for the Scottish Seabird Centre, which organises boat tours to the rock, said staff were delighted to finally welcome the TV naturalist to the island: "We're very excited. He has wanted to visit for years and has supported us from afar, so we're thrilled he's finally coming to this wonder for the first time."

She said it would be unusual for gannets to attack humans, but tour organisers were taking precautions for the sake of the birds, as well as their visitors. "They're stunning, beautiful creatures and very popular to watch. But this year they have started nesting on the pathway, which is a bit inconvenient.

"We will have to be careful and people won't be able to go up the path to the vantage point for the best views, but it won't affect the daily boat trips on the water.

"The gannet's dive is spectacular at 100kph, but the birds are spread out and don't come close to boats, unless we specifically set out to attract them.

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"There are a lot more gannets nesting nowadays, but if the space does get too filled up the birds will go elsewhere. At this point it isn't really a worry. Besides, we have cameras on the island that can identify if a gannet is being provoked."

Seabird Centre staff plan to fix some of the boundaries on the pathway this winter.

Several daily trips are taken around the nearby waters during the breeding season, which runs from March to October, and there are about 40 trips directly to the Bass Rock.

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