Latest sightings

A beast of a beetle

The life of a fish fry can be a stressful affair. Between death from the dive bombing tactics of kingfishers to the endless pursuits from other larger fish, they have little time to rest in this relentless freshwater ecosystem. Now imagine that on top of

14 June 2024

Wetland Word of the Week 15

For our 15th installment of wetland word of the week, we have chosen... ...flocht, a Scots word meaning 'bird on the wing'. It is related to another word, flochter, which means to allow yourself to feel joy freely, perhaps as a bird does while flying.

10 June 2024

The 2024 tree sparrow season so far

Tree sparrows are a farmland bird and a focal species for us here at WWT Caerlaverock. Their numbers have declined over the last few decades due to the intensification of farming causing them to become a red listed species. They lack the sexual dimorphism

7 June 2024

Wetland Word of the Week 14

The wetland word this week is... ... burn. Up here in south west Scotland, this is what we call a small river or large stream.! It's also used in north east England, parts of Ulster, Kansas, Australia and New Zealand. Feature image by Shannon Clifford

3 June 2024

How we survey natterjack toads

We welcomed Amphibian and Reptile Conservation to lead some natterjack toad survey training at WWT Caerlaverock in May. At the training session, we were introduced to the species ecology and identification, methods of surveying and the importance of co

1 June 2024

Who needs fences? Wilder, Wetter Caerlaverock Diaries no.3

As a part of The Wilder, Wetter Caerlaverock Project (supported by the Scottish Government’s Nature Restoration Fund, managed by NatureScot), we have an exciting opportunity this summer to use Nofence collars on some of the cattle grazing on the reserve

29 May 2024

Wetland Word of the Week 13

This week, our wetland word is...... natterjack, our favourite kind of toad. They are identified by the distinctive yellow stripe going along their back and have a croaking mating call that you can hear through the spring months. Natterjack toads are a pa

27 May 2024

The rain isn't deterring the wildlife

After some lovely sunny weather, it has become rainy at Caerlaverock again. The wildlife hasn’t been discouraged though. Around the Peter Scott Trail, tree sparrows, goldfinch and greenfinch have been seen on the feeders. In the foliage, the first br

25 May 2024

Enjoying gorse close up... carefully

Gorse is a plant that we have a bit of a mixed relationship with on the reserve. Sometimes there is too much of it - it spreads and covers lots of other plants so we work hard to clear it in some places. It is unbelievably prickly and each prickle that pi

23 May 2024

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