News - Caerlaverock
Wetland Word of the Week 12
Our wetland word of the week is... ... Solway. This is the firth that our reserve is situated on. It forms the border between Scotland and England on the west coast. It stretches from the Mull of Galloway in the north to just south of Whitehaven. There ar
20 May 2024
Welcome to the flock!
Hi, everyone. My name is Charlie and I’m proud to be the new reserve warden at WWT Caerlaverock!My journey into conservation began five years ago back in Northern Ireland when I decided to change career because I wanted to make positive environmental ch
14 May 2024
Wetland Word of the Week 11
The wetland words this week is...... mavis. In Southwest Scotland, mavis refers to a mistle thrush while in other areas it is used for a song thrush. So what is a song thrush called here? A throstle - two wetland words for the price of one this week!Our f
13 May 2024
Dragonflies galore
With summer approaching, invertebrates are becoming more abundant on the reserve each day. A particular group of invertebrates that I’m excited to see is Ordonata (the team here may even say that I’m a bit obsessed!) which is made up dragonflies and d
8 May 2024
Wetland Word of the Week 10
This week's wetland word is...... deluge which is a severe flood or a heavy fall of rain. It can also be employed as a verb meaning to overwhelm with a flood. If you are the poetic sort, you could also put it to use as a metaphor: "I've got a deluge of em
6 May 2024
The Walk on the Wild Side is back!
The Walk on the Wild Side takes a meandering route through the wildflower meadow and along the Lochar Water. If insects are your thing, this is a spot you cannot miss. Below are some of our favourites.The azure damselfly is quite a common species and has
2 May 2024
Wetland Word of the Week 9
This week's wetland word is...soggy meaning wet and soft. It comes from an old English dialect word, 'sog' meaning swamp or an obsolete verb meaning to become soaked. Either way, when it rains here at Caerlaverock, wellies are definitely needed to avoid g
29 April 2024
Finally it feels like spring!
As we near the end of April, we are finally feeling the spring weather! It is getting warmer here and the sky stays blue for more than a few hours. There is even warmth when the sun goes behind the clouds.The Peter Scott Trail is alive with birdsong: the
28 April 2024
Reminiscent Reflections
As I wander out onto our wild side meadow trail, I have mixed emotions and reflect on my time working here. Passing the now vacant Whooper Pond, where we fed the swans and I saw my first wild otters, I continue along the path. It follows the Back Pond,
28 April 2024
Spring explosion on the Peter Scott Trail: The Wilder, Wetter Caerlaverock Diaries no.2
Working on The Wilder, Wetter Caerlaverock project can be varied at times. Sometimes I’m working large amounts of the site all day to prepare future project work. Other times I’m sat at my desk working on maps, contracts and other admin based work. It
25 April 2024
Wetland Word of the Week 8
This week's word is... ... fen. A fen is the kind of wetland that is characterised by having alkaline or neutral water and peaty soil. They have lots of dissolved minerals. What we know as 'the Fens', an area of East Anglia, has largely been drained for a
22 April 2024
Holy moly, it's holy grass!
You may be asking “why are you so excited about a kind of grass?” but as the name says, holy grass is pretty special. Found across Eurasia and the Americas, Hierochloe odorata, or holy grass as it is known in the UK, is a marshland species, particul
19 April 2024
What has Hippocrates got to do with Caerlaverock?
Although I work at a nature reserve, as a member of the visitor centre team, I find myself spending most of my time indoors in the office. My main daily interactions with nature are watering the office plants and gazing out the windows at the trees and bi
17 April 2024
Wetland Word of the Week 7
This week's word is...scurvy grass. It is a plant found out on our saltmarsh. They are low and creeping plants with white flowers. It has a high Vitamin C content meaning it used to be valued for its help in preventing scurvy, which is where it gets its c
15 April 2024
Goosey Goosey Gander, a review
Murder in the marshes! No – not a marsh harrier catching its dinner but a conservationist shot on the edge of the River Severn. Is nobody safe?Goosey Goosey Gander by Frank Edwards is set on a wetland reserve not far from WWT Slimbridge and has illustra
13 April 2024