I'm just back from a four night stay at WWT Caerlaverock (link to their website here) and can honestly say I did not want to leave. It's the only WWT reserve that has accommodation on site, which means you can walk around the reserve even when it's closed to the general public. And I certainly think some of the other WWT sites should consider doing the same thing.
The accommodation was a large cottage with a huge kitchen and lounge. The beds were incredibly comfortable and I shared a twin room with Sue, my fellow Cranford Park birder mate. The view from our window was over Folly Pond, and we had some great views of Whooper Swans coming in to roost every early evening.
I've seen so much and taken so many photos, that I've had to write up three blog posts (including this one). I've also learnt some new things from the incredibly knowledgeable staff at the centre. So did I enjoy my stay ? That's a big fat 'yes'. Only one tiny downside was the very iffy wifi connection and phone signal, but with so much to see at Caerlaverock who wants to go on the internet anyway.
Our first day was spent just exploring.....and there was plenty to explore...
There is a brilliantly designed bird feeding station along the Peter Scott trail. I have tried to capture it in my photo below, but it doesn't really do it justice......
The feeders are behind the 'fence' on the left hand side. The way the slats are positioned means you can sit on the benches or stand to see the birds, and get good photos and views either way. Because the slats are there, the birds don't always see you so disturbance to them is minimum. All the photos below are taken through the slats whilst I was sitting on one of the benches...
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| Goldfinch |
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| Greenfinch |
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| Coal Tit |
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| Robin |
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| Blue Tit |
And a first for me, the gorgeous Tree Sparrow.....
Where I live there are no Tree Sparrows so I was really chuffed to see my first ones with such great views. These little loveys are in serious decline across much of the UK.
The most prolific bird at the feeders, and practically everywhere on the reserve, was the Chaffinch but as they are so photogenic I didn't really mind.....
There were also two Water Rails resident around the Peter Scott trail but although I caught three glimpses of one of them I didn't manage to photograph it, though Sue did get lucky as one walked across a path.
Wrens were both very vocal and easily seen all over the reserve. This one below was singing it's little head off outside the Peter Scott Observatory......
and I caught this little one playing peek-a-boo by the Campbell hide....
There were several Song Thrushes around too, including this photogenic beauty outside the Wildlife Garden hide....
In the Wildlife Garden itself there's a great bug hotel too....
On investigating the site we found there are nine main hides including the Farmhouse tower, which would have been enough for anyone really, but also dotted all over the site are seventeen little hides which you can just about squeeze four people in. This is one of them below....
The photo below is of the walk up one of the 'avenues'. Goldcrests and Treecreepers were almost guaranteed sightings along both of the 'avenues'...
Below is the heated Peter Scott observatory viewed from one of the little hides along the Peter Scott trail....
The huge hide in the photo below is the Avenue Tower.....
From there we not only saw the thousands of Barnacle Geese one morning but also a Roe deer meandering along...
The Barnacle Geese were obviously one of the main reasons for visiting at this time of year, but more about them in my second blog post. So just for a taster, below is a photo of a huge skein of them heading towards the Solway Firth.....
The Whooper Swans were another reason to visit at this time of year. Many of them have already departed for Iceland, some 800 miles away, but there were still good numbers of them on the reserve and in the neighbouring fields. The best places to see them (if they weren't flying overhead) was from the Peter Scott Observatory. At the moment the staff and volunteers are still feeding them outside the observatory twice a day but that will stop in a couple of weeks time.
You can never take too many photos of a Whooper Swan. They are so elegant, beautiful and incredibly loud !
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| The Mute Swan behind these two Whoopers doesn't look particularly happy..... |
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| Just a random shot of a Mute to show that they too are rather splendid.... |
Sue and I were obviously a little spoilt when it came to Whooper Swans as every late afternoon and early evening several would fly in and land on the Folly Pond in front of our accommodation. And as we found out yesterday afternoon, the volunteers who put out the peanuts and honey for the Badgers (more about them in 'part three' of my blog posts) also throw out some more grain for the swans and ducks. We got some cracking views of the Whoopers 'greeting' each other after landing on the pond.....
There is obviously more on the reserve than Whooper Swans, Barnacle Geese, Tree Sparrows and Badgers. From the little hide overlooking the Teal Pond I found two Little Grebes. One of them below had just caught a fish and as I took my photo, it's mate emerged from the water in front of it.....
I see plenty of these where I live but it's still nice to see one...
One of the 'great experiences' Sue and I had during our stay was when a large 'herd' of around 60 Curlew landed in a farmers field which is overlooked by one of the smaller hides along the Peter Scott trail. They were so close it was lovely to really appreciate their wonderful plumage....
So that's the end of part one. Go and put the kettle on, or pour yourself a glass of wine and ready yourself for part two.......
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