News
The sheep get a hair cut
I’m not all that big on bucket lists but I did get the chance to check something off this week at Caerlaverock: I got to shear a sheep. In all fairness, certainly not the most exciting thing on my list and I didn’t even do the whole sheep but I have
25 July 2023
Recent Sightings 17th-23rd July
The highlight of this week was a flock of common crossbills that our site manager saw by the avenue tower. Usually seen in coniferous woodlands it is likely that they were only passing through, but it’s still a great sighting. A grasshopper warbler was
23 July 2023
Recent Sightings 12.07.23
Frequent heavy showers between bursts of bright sunshine have been the common trend this July and with summer well underway, you will be treated to a fantastic variety of wetland life at WWT Caerlaverock.At the Folly Pond, oystercatchers, black headed gul
12 July 2023
Recent Sightings 02.07.23
The heatwave of June has officially passed and we are getting lots more rain now, but it is still consistently bright most days. The long warm days are great for spotting butterflies, moths and dragonflies around the reserve. In the Paddocks this week,
2 July 2023
Butterflies and hatchlings - recent sightings to 25th June
Our week has been pretty quiet in terms of birdlife but we have had some fantastic sightings nonetheless: a female marsh harrier was flying over the merse and one of our wardens was lucky enough to see it catching prey from only 20 metres away! There are
25 June 2023
Moth mayhem and other recent sightings
We have entered summer – it has been extremely warm for the last fortnight with temperatures exceeding 30° Celsius! There has been lots of fantastic stuff seen around the reserve, from birds to mammals to insects.There are still lots of chicks about, w
18 June 2023
Welcome to wildflower season (and more recent sightings)
At this time of year, you are able to enjoy a reserve which is vibrant with colour: wildflowers are coming into bloom. Meandering along the summer trail, as well as enjoying the dragon and damselflies (recent highlights include the four-spotted chaser
3 June 2023
Reframing Nature
Experience different perspectives of our reserve this summer. As part of Drawn to Water, our Quentin Blake partnership, we were inspired to create a selection of frames using natural and repurposed materials along our Walk on the Wild Side. From weav
28 May 2023
Dragonflies, damselflies and cygnets - recent sightings
A walk through the wildflower meadow and out along the Lochar would not be complete without seeing dragon and damselflies aplenty, and you can tell by our recent sightings that’s what is exciting us here at Caerlaverock at the moment. These carnivorous
27 May 2023
The Nesting Season at Caerlaverock (and recent sightings)
The nesting season is well underway and our site hosts a wide variety of resident and summer migrants raising chicks which will hopefully fledge in the coming weeks. Species like great tits will use the natural landscape such as old woodpecker’s holes
22 May 2023
Quentin Blake art draws people to Caerlaverock Wetland Centre.
Three seasonal trails highlighting the best of the UK’s wetland nature will be running at WWT Caerlaverock from 18 May until February 2024 as part of a partnership between renowned illustrator Sir Quentin Blake and the Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust. Throug
18 May 2023
A reserve alive with busy insects and birdsong
As the days lengthen, the reserve becomes more and more alive with birdsong and the constant humming of busy insects. Although certainly quieter than it is in winter time without our enormous flocks of barnacle geese, teal and wigeon, there is a kind of p
13 May 2023
More warblers, butterflies and amphibians
Our glorious spring weather continues and with it, our spring migrant birds continue to flock in, among them sedge, garden and grasshopper warblers and an osprey has been seen carrying its lunch! Mallard pairs have been spotted with their ducklings. As
6 May 2023
Farewell For Now to the Geese
April can be a confusing month at WWT Caerlaverock. On a calendar April is smack bang in the middle of spring and seen in black and white like that it should be clear what to expect when you venture out. Instead it is actually like an airport foyer with w
30 April 2023
Grasshopper warbler, Common sandpiper & Osprey
Throughout the week we have had an influx of invertebrate life grace the site with three really interesting species seen: the ruby tiger moth, drinker moth caterpillar and a water scorpion spotted in one of our natterjack pools near the Saltcot hide. I
23 April 2023