Latest sightings
Waders are trickling through
We had a visit from a stunning wood sandpiper this last week and although he only stayed for a day it is often a sign of the start of the autumn migration with failed breeding birds moving back to their wintering grounds. We have had increased sightings o
19 July 2021
Scarce Damselfly Found in Good Numbers
11 male and 1 female banded demoiselles have been seen on the Lochar river bank this week. They are a scarce breeder in Scotland only being recorded in a handful of sites in Dumfries and Galloway and before this year we had only had the occasional sightin
12 July 2021
House Martin Extension
Well it has been a strange year for our hirundines (swallows and martins), the cold weather in May on the continent and in the UK held up a lot of birds from arriving at their breeding grounds. In 2019 we had over 30 nests on our Farmhouse Tower whereas t
5 July 2021
The Summer Meadow is Blooming
The summer meadow is really starting to show itself well now summer has arrived. The twayblade orchid can be seen alongside the northern marsh and the spotted orchid. We have also spotted yellow rattle, tufted vetch, red campion, silver weed, bird's-foot
28 June 2021
Bug Hunting
This week has all been about the emergence of insects so bug hunters big and small please come and see what you can discover there is no upper age limit to bug hunting or pond dipping! To add to our butterfly list of last week we have had red admirals and
8 June 2021
Damselflies a Plenty
The sun has definitely come out now and brought the insects out with it. The damselflies are now out in force with blue-tailed, azure and large red being seen in large numbers and four-spotted chasers are also on the wing. From a butterfly point of view w
31 May 2021
Spoonbill Visit
Our highlight of the week has been a visit from a spoonbill on to the floodground. It is amazing watching them use their 'spoon' to feed. We have also had a pochard appear briefly and we currently have some redpolls on our feeders. Signs of breeding is we
23 May 2021
Watery Awakenings
All winter, strange creatures have been hibernating at the bottom of the pond. In spring, the pond is starting to awaken...
22 May 2021
The Orange-tip and the Lady's Smock
One of the first butterflies to herald spring is the Orange-tip butterfly. Their story is intertwined with that of the Ladies Smock or Cuckoo flower...
21 May 2021
Can You Spot the Spotted Flycatcher
We have had a spotted flycatcher being spotted along the Peter Scott Trail for the last few days and whitethroats have been seen down at Saltcot to add to our increasing tally of summer migrants. The grasshopper warbler is still singing well although the
9 May 2021
The Sounds of Birdsong to Lift Your Mood
The sounds of the warblers singing is very impressive following an influx over the last couple of weeks. On the reserve we now have chiff chaff, willow warbler, sedge warbler, blackcap, whitethroat and grasshopper warbler. Grasshopper warbler aren't commo
2 May 2021
A Few More Signs of Spring
Willow catkins are providing food for the emergent bees and bumble bees. Evidence of spring (despite the relatively low temperatures) has been further evidenced by singing blackcaps, a common sandpiper at the Whooper Pond and at least four white wagtails,
18 April 2021
Spring is on its way despite the snow
This week has seen the arrival of a couple of willow warblers on the reserve and our chiffchaff count is now up to at least 4 birds singing. We have seen the start of the hirundine arrivals with sightings of swallows, house martins, and sand martins with
6 April 2021
Scottish Bird Names
Discover the Scottish names for some of our best-known birds!
24 February 2021
Meet the Whoopers
Meet some of our whooper swan characters
16 February 2021