The first puffins of the year have been spotted arriving off the east coast of Scotland.

Earlier this week the bird was seen from the live cameras at the Scottish Seabird Centre in North Berwick.

Every year the puffins return to the island of Craigleith in the Firth of Forth to breed.

The number of puffins in Scotland has been in decline in recent years thanks to overfishing and the invasion of a foreign plant. Tree mallow stops the birds from reaching their burrows to nest and is responsible for the decline on the islands off the east coast.

Volunteers have been visiting Craigleith and the nearby island of Fidra since 2007 to clear the plants to allow the puffins to reach their nests.

Tom Brock, chief executive of the Scottish Seabird Centre, said: "The return of the puffins marks a very special time at the centre. It is amazing to zoom in on them using our cameras to see them close up and interacting with each other. Their behaviour is fascinating and they are definitely looking at their colourful best at this time of year.

"The puffins spend winter out on the open sea, returning to the Forth islands in late March and landing en masse in early April. Younger, non-breeding puffins go ‘house-hunting’ while established pairs usually reunite each year, often returning to the same burrow where renovations take place.

"Then a very special time begins, as breeding pairs take turns to incubate their one and only egg. The arrival of a new chick is marked with the iconic sight of a parent carrying sandeels to their burrow in their colourful beaks."