First for Caerlaverock!!
Breeding birds at Caerlaverock, three new breeding records.
Garganey
A pair of Garganey was first seen on 26th March in a small borrowpit in the Corner Field. These birds remained here for a few days and later relocated to the Teal Pond. The last time the pair was recorded together was on the 1st May, since then only the male had been seen. The male remained present moving around all the water bodies until 25 May when he was no longer seen. Whilst walking around the Teal Pond early one morning on the 11th June a female Garganey came flying out of the juncas and straight to my feet calling consistently. She stayed like this for 30 seconds then shot back into the juncas. This first approach was a giveaway that she had young in the area and it was just a waiting game from then on to find out how many. Whilst walking around the pool the next few days until 14th June the same happened however, on the 15th June a small duckling was seen the briefly in the long vegetation behind the area she came out of. Later on that day whilst sitting in the Teal Pond hide she kindly brought herself and her eight ducklings out across the pond.
Over the next few days she moved around a lot and ended up on the back pond, here she stuck very close to the undergrowth and in the end went missing on the 20th June. Since then juvenile birds have been seen on the back pond, Teal Pond and Folly Pond and we believe she has sadly lost 3 ducklings as we have a maximum count of five juveniles. These birds are coming out a lot now feeding mainly around the Teal Pond and with a bit of patience can be seen easily.
This is the first ever record of Garganey breeding here at WWT Caerlaverock and only the second time in Dumfries and Galloway, the first being in 2003.
Shoveler
Another first breeding record for WWT Caerlaverock is Shoveler, this species has never been reported breeding on the reserve, but on 15th July a female was seen on the Flood Ground with 8 ducklings. Shovelers are known to breed around the local area so we are really pleased they have decided to breed here this year.
Gadwall
Another first for WWT Caerlaverock comes in the form of Gadwall. Similar to the Shoveler this species is known to breed close by but has never been recorded on the reserve. However on the 10th July a female was seen with her eight Ducklings on the Teal Pond, and was more than happy to show them off to everyone in the hide.
