Caerlaverock news
Recent Sightings - 13th August
It's been a "birdy" week with a few sightings of green sandpiper at multiple spots on the reserve.There's also been wheatear, greenshank and peregrine falcon spotted around the Lochar. You can tell there are juveniles and passage birds moving around now.
13 August 2023
Reserve Roundup
On Tuesday we were joined not only Sophie, Bob and Anita but also a couple of placement students from WWT Washington, Ed and Emily. They came to the site to experience a volunteer task and learn about reserve. The team began the day with some volunteer le
8 August 2023
Recent Sightings - 6th August
The highlight of this last week has to be a green sandpiper on the Folly pond and three green sandpipers seen on the Lochar. This signifies that migration, once again, has begun.Other signs of the changing seasons include a wheatear spotted at Powhillon a
6 August 2023
Reserve Roundup
Last week was another busy one for our reserve team. From conducting nest box checks to maintaining pathways and doing saltmarsh surveys, as well as continuing wildflower seed collection. On Tuesday morning the volunteers and the reserve team were out bir
4 August 2023
The saltmarsh larder
Water dripping down their noses, the volunteers look grimly over to Jake. This was not the day they were hoping for. They set out in the morning, with it already raining a little. A gang of seven volunteers have joined the reserve team today for seed co
1 August 2023
Recent Sightings -30th July
This last week provided some good encounters with birds of prey. On the 21st, the reserve team headed to Powhillon to see and ring some kestrel chicks (under the permit of a licensed ringer). The chicks are quite active and have been monitored for a few w
30 July 2023
Changing tides - discovering the zonation of the saltmarsh
Standing at the edge of the saltmarsh, with the water ahead of me and Caerlaverock behind me, I’m awed by the expanse, by the horizon stretching away for what seems like forever (well, maybe not quite forever because I can definitely see Cumbria but sti
28 July 2023
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