Few wildlife reserves in Scotland have so much to offer as Caerlaverock Wetlands Centre. Just a few miles from the county town of Dumfries, this exciting reserve hosts wildlife attractions all the year round. Not only is it renowned widlfowl refuge it is also home to some of our rarest and most unusual wild life. The osprey has made a breeding comeback here and it also home to the rare natterjack toad. There is something for everybody during the Caerlaverock year.
Caerlaverock Is a Special Reserve in All Seasons
While justly renowned as a wildfowl reserve Caerlaverock Wetlands Centre has so much more to offer the visitor. It is truly a year round facility of the highest order and offers a wide cross section of wildife experiences. At the centre they have an aquarium containing the triops. These living fossils are only found in Scotland on the reserve. Another specialty of the centre is the rare natterjack toad. They frequent the brackish waters and breed in the sandy banks of the salt marsh.
Spring Is a Special Time on the Wetlands
On still spring nights the air is filled with the sound of calling natterjacks as they compete to attract a mate. The northern Solway is as far north as these rare amphibians range in the Brittish Isles. Warblers come back to breed on the reserve in the spring and the hedges of Caerlaverock prove an attractive haven. One exciting development in the past few years is the return of the osprey to the reserve. CCTV cameras in the centre show live pictures from the nearby secret nest site
Summertime Is Idyllic on the Reserve
Caerlaverock means the castle of the larks and in summer the centre is just alive with the trilling of these high flying birds. Ospreys can be seen feeding out on the saltmarsh known as the Merse. The wild flower meadows are ablaze with vibrant colours and these in turn attract multi-coloured insects. Amazing dragonflies and butterflies are attracted to the summer herbage. Sometimes the elusive otter can be spotted hunting on the wetlands.
Autumn Is Time for All Change at Caerlaverock
When the summer visitors leave the reserve the wetlands are not deserted for long. Caerlaverock is part of a year round National Nature Reserve. When the ospreys and the summer visitors head for warmer winter quarters it is not long before the wildfowl arrive in great numbers from the north. Wader numbers build up on the purpose built ponds and the mud flats. Before long the skies are filled with ragged lines of barnacle geese returning from their Arctic breeding grounds.
Winter Wildfowl Make the Wetlands a Special Place
Huge numbers of geese take up winter quarters on the reserve. The main population are mostly banacles but several other species turn up in smaller numbers each winter. There is a network of hides giving a unique opportunity to see these birds. The sight of thousands of these birds flying in after a night on the mudflats is an unique wildlife experience. Hundreds of whooper swans also frequent the reserve and they are fed twice daily. Watch them from the comfort of a heated hide.
The Reserve Also Has Its Resident Birds and Mammals
Barn Owls nest regularly in the farm buildings and can be seen on CCTV in the breeding season. There are also badger sets on the reserve and special badger watching evenings take place in the spring and autumn. The shy roe deer is usually to be seen somewhere on the reserve where it roams unmolested. Yes, Caerlaverock Wetlands Centre is a rather special place and it has something for everyone in all seasons.
Dave McFadzean - Based in southwest Scotland I have been a freelance travel writer and photographer for nearly two decades. Building up a strong market for ...
