Figures have shown that numbers of the sea bird, which is a type of gull, have fallen to 5,500 this year from a high of 18,000 in the early 1990's.
Their reduction has been blamed on falling adult numbers and failure to raise chicks, with only one fledge per 10 nests surviving this year.
Kevin Rideout, Countryside Ranger at St Abbs, said: "Kittiwakes have really been struggling the last four or five years but this year really has been particularly bad.
"Climate change has been suggested as a reason, which has seen the rising water temperatures but I don't think we say for sure."
Other sea birds - such as Guillemots and Shags - are able to dive under water to catch small fish and plankton and have thus remained stable in numbers at St Abbs.
But Kittiwakes feed from the water surface, which has seen a reduction in the small fish they feed from.
"It is a pattern across the east of Scotland, although the Farne Islands which is not far away have seemed to have done better than us in recent years.
"We saw an increase in the 1980's and 1990's and then it stablised but the last few years have seen a fall. The Kittiwakes have been hit hardest and maybe that is to do with climate change. We will just have to watch and see what happens.
"The last four or five years have certainly been a hard time for sea birds," added Kevin Rideout.
Meanwhile, it seems a parasite that has hindered breeding of European Shags on the Isle of May has not reached St Abbs. Scientists from Edinburgh University found that numbers of the sea birds on the island between Edinburgh and Fife had dwindled due to the parasite found in the stomach.
It has prevented the mothers from feeding their sons enough nutrients and thus there were fewer males available to breed.
But Kevin Rideout reports that numbers of Shags remain stable, although admits that visiting Shags from the Isle of May could have unknowningly carried the bug.
He said: "The breeding success of the Shags has been reasonably good but not fantastic. There have been no obvious signs (of birds suffering from the parasite) but on the other hand we do get shags from the Isle of May that mix with the population here and have nested so it is possible it could have been transmitted.
"We have seen breeds that have chicks in the earlier summer do well, like Guillemots, while those with chicks hatched in late summer doing badly."