News
55 whooper swans now at our feeds
We're now getting up to 55 whooper swans, and up to 28 mute swans at our daily feeds.
19 October 2021
Recent counts for barnacle geese and whooper swans
Today's barnacle goose count was 5,700 with large groups constantly on the move between fields and the merse. Whooper numbers today were 23 on the whooper pond, and 10 on the flood ground.
16 October 2021
Barnacle Geese are back
A little later than some years, but our wild barnacle geese are now arriving back in big numbers!
12 October 2021
Rain bringing more birds in
This week has brought 5" of rain! This has reopened many of our scrapes, and 600 golden plover can be seen mingling with lapwing.
4 October 2021
Increase in wintering wildfowl
With a drop in temperature we are seeing an increase in wintering wildfowl on the reserve. This week we have had counts of around 300 pintails and 400 teal on the folly pond.
29 September 2021
A Long-Eared Owl and high Teal numbers
The week started with 475 Teal on the Folly pond, before we were then treated to several close encounters with a Long-Eared Owl.
16 September 2021
It's the little things...
A little egret, little stint and a little grebe have been spotted on the reserve this week.
10 September 2021
Marsh harriers and more
It's been a busy week with lots of sightings, including two marsh harriers.
3 September 2021
Great curlew numbers
The reserve is receiving regular visits from curlews, 70 being the biggest count of the week.
26 August 2021
Sandpipers and godwits
Our latest sightings are 3 x green sandpipers and 3 x black-tailed godwits.
19 August 2021
Visits from migrating waders
We have had brilliant wader sightings this week: 1 wood sandpiper, 6 x black-tailed godwits, 3 x spotted redshank, and 3 x green sandpipers.
11 August 2021
Heading into August
It has been another dry week here and the low water levels in the ponds have been particularly great for viewing snipe feeding on the folly pond.
4 August 2021
Hares are Abound
Hares are being seen more regularly in the fields now they have been mown and the leverets have grown. Wader numbers are definitely increasing with 30 snipe, 82 curlew and 20 lapwing being peak numbers we have recorded this week and a wood sandpiper dropp
27 July 2021
Waders are trickling through
We had a visit from a stunning wood sandpiper this last week and although he only stayed for a day it is often a sign of the start of the autumn migration with failed breeding birds moving back to their wintering grounds. We have had increased sightings o
19 July 2021
Scarce Damselfly Found in Good Numbers
11 male and 1 female banded demoiselles have been seen on the Lochar river bank this week. They are a scarce breeder in Scotland only being recorded in a handful of sites in Dumfries and Galloway and before this year we had only had the occasional sightin
12 July 2021