Accessibility during autumn and winter

During the colder months, the reserve can be wet and muddy so waterproof footwear is recommended. Those with limited mobility or using push wheelchairs may find traversing the Avenue and Saltcot Loaning unsuitable. Please call us on 01387 770200 for more info.

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Latest Sightings - 25th August - Godwits, Harrier and Goshawk

The Folly Pond is still one of the best places on the reserve at the moment. Plenty of mud means the Black-tailed Godwits are feeding there most days despite the work we have been doing around that area. There are over 60 Godwits there this morning. There has also been a Greenshank and a juvenile Ruff with them this week but no sign yet this morning.
You can get great views of them from the new hide accessed from the Farmhouse Garden!

A female Marsh Harrier has been seen over the merse the past few days, it has green wing tags and we are in the process of finding out where it might have come from.

Also reports of a female Goshawk around the reserve this week!

Todays high tide is at 15:31, 9.2m

Around the reserve today:

Wildflowers
Elder flower
Dog Rose
Red Campion
Herb Robert
Common Vetch
Tufted Vetch
Forget-me-not
Mousear
Red Clover
Yellow Rattle

Insects
Peacock Butterfly
Large White Butterfly
Meadow Brown Butterfly
Ringlet Butterfly
Common Blue Butterfly
Small Tortoiseshell
Large Red Damselfly
Common Blue Damselfly
Four Spotted Chaser Dragonfly
Common Darter Dragonfly
Early Bumblebee
Tree Bumblebee
Common Carder Bumblebee
Red-tailed Bumblebee
Beefly
Drinker Moth caterpillar

Mammals
Brown Hare
Weasel - family with 4 young
Roe Deer - with fawns
Fox
Badger
Otter
Soprano Pipistrelle Bat - evening
Wood Mouse

Whooper Pond
Whooper Swan 1
Mallard 49
Pintail 1 ♂ in eclipse plumage
Cormorant 3

Folly Pond

Mallard 19
Teal 200
Grey Heron 1
Black-tailed Godwit 60+
Snipe 6
Moorhen 6
House Martins - 39 nests on Farmhouse Tower (youngsters now flying)

Teal Pond

Swallows nesting in hide
Mallard 14
Gadwall 4
Moorhen 3 + chick

Avenue Tower
Mallard 18
Teal 125
Mute Swan 2 & cygnet
Little Grebe 1
Grey Heron 1
Brown Hare 1
Roe Deer 2

Saltcot Merse Observatory
Peregrine
Kestrel
Osprey
Buzzard

Swallows
Skylarks
Whooper Swan 1
Linnets - flocks of up to 60
Canada Geese 100+
Greylag Geese 50+
Roe Deer 5
Hebridean Sheep 10
Longhorn Cattle 3

Avenues & Feeders
(notable species)

Reed Bunting
Sparrowhawk
Coal Tit
Long-tailed Tit
Goldfinch
Greenfinch
Linnet
House Sparrow
Tree Sparrow
Treecreeper
Great-spotted Woodpecker
Chiffchaff
Willow Warbler
Sedge Warbler
Blackcap

Twitter & Facebook

Follow us on Twitter @WWTCaerlaverock for instant WWT Caerlaverock bird news, wildlife news and upcoming events to your mobile phone or computer. This is a great way to get instant news as we update from our mobile phones as we are finding the birds.

You can also ‘Like’ us on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/wwtcaerlaverock.

Osprey Webcam

See live footage of our local Osprey nest here: http://www.wwt.org.uk/wetland-centres/caerlaverock/experience/ospreys/

The camera is online between 10am and 5pm daily.

joe.bilous@wwt.org.uk

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