Water rail, barn owl and a surprise magpie
Recent sightings from WWT Caerlaverock September 30th to October 4th
At the Folly Pond, a marsh harrier flew over putting up the barnacle geese that were resting in the field. There were redshank, curlew and shoveler here as well as pintail, teal and wigeon. We have been known to see magpies here before but it is a very uncommon occurrence and one was spotted on Wednesday flying over the Folly Pond.
The usual suspects (lapwing, golden plover, little egret) were seen on the WeBS count in various of the fields along the Avenue. There was also a leucistic barnacle goose spotted amongst the flock.
The merse is still the best spot for merlin but you might get lucky, as our site manager did, and see a barn owl near one of the barns.
The water rail is still being regularly spotted under the feeders on the Peter Scott Trail especially on a frosty day.
In the Paddocks, a chiffchaff was spotted in the reeds. They are overwintering the UK more and more now but this is one of the first winter ones we have seen at Caerlaverock.
Words by Marianne Nicholson
Feature image of magpie by Ian Henderson
