It is that time again Autumn is here marking the transition from Summer to Winter, deciduous trees shedding leaves offering a spectacle of colours and wintering birds coming in by the numbers. The remnants of hurricane Gonzalo have been and gone and we have finally had a clear day here at the Crook of Baldoon just in time for a guided walk at reserve 'Walk on the Wildside'; during which we have been joined members…

On National Moth Night we have organised a ‘Moth and Bat Night’ during which Paul the warden for the Crook led a walk at the reserve discussing moths, echolocation and the importance of bats to our natural habitats. The night started by setting up a moth trap after which we got our bat detectors in search of bats. By the end of the night we managed to spot a good number of common pipistrelles (41-52kHz) and soprano…

Four Buzzards and a Peregrine spotted from the Visitor Centre today.

We are pleased to announce that the road signs for the Crook of Baldoon are finally up.

We waited with great enthusiasm for the return of our ospreys this year in the hope that they would nest and that we would have some great views from our camera of the next generation being born.

Nature being what it is, things didn’t turn out quite as we had planned and although the Male arrived in late March and his young female a little later and they did start nest building. They even started an attempt to mate but…

We were very pleased to welcome the the RSPB's Glasgow local Group to the Crook on the 24th as part of the thier weekend away visiting the reserves in Dumfries and Galloway .

some of thier list were dunlin, ringed plover, lapwing, shelduck, linnet, skylark, reed bunting, rock pipit, medow pipit, pied wagtail.

community.rspb.org.uk/.../Moth-Morning-event.pdf

Today we have been working taking fencing down and at lunch to our surprise we had a bitten walk towards us.

The 7.84m tide combined with the south westerly wind and low pressure resulted in an event I thought I would never see. The last time it happened was over twenty years ago the whole of the reserve was under water the following pictures are just a couple that I have selected to give an impression of how far the water came in.  

This is from the track in to the car park ten minutes before high tide

View across field 2…

community.rspb.org.uk/.../Wild-Autumn-Festival-poster-KK-_2800_2_2900_.pdf

The link above is for the Dumfries & Galloway Wild Autumn Festival there are a lot of great events to get involved with. Come along and Enjoy

Paul

Please see below a poster for the upcoming event (Hopefully!)

My day was certainly brightened today, not just by the super sunshine but also by seeing both EP and DK at the nest over lunchtime.  At 1.30pm, EP landed on the microphone next to the nest.  He was just by himself it seemed and he re-arranged some twigs and grass before disappearing, only to return with a big new stick for the nest.  When he was satisfied with his handiwork he flew up to perch on the branches above the nest…

Saturday 29th June @ the Crook of Baldoon nature reserve is the place to be to discover the beauty of moths that frequent our gardens under cover of darkness.  Drop in to the big barn at the Crook to meet the moths that have been caught overnight in a local garden.  Learn ways to attract moths to your garden and tips on how to see them without splashing out on an expensive moth trap.  Bring along any of your moth photographs…

Join Wigtown's wildlife officer to survey swifts around Wigtown.  Meet at Wigtown County Buildings tomorrow, Wednesday 12th at 6pm.  These enigmatic master flyers are in decline across the UK.  Fidn out way and waht you can do to help them.  Make a valuable contribution to their survival by helping to survey these beautiful birds.  This allows breeding sites to be identified and protected and for valuable information to…

It looks like our ospreys are rather camera shy.  While there is evidence that they are still using the nest in the evening and through the night to roost, there is no activity at the nest during the day.  Extra dry grass keeps appearing in the nest bowl so our new female is adding the finishing touches but where do they go during the day?  If you have seen an osprey locally please do let us know.

This past beautifully sunny 

…

Despite seeing nothing on the nest yesterday; early morning watching revealed that a female has arrived at the nest!!!  Love is definitely in the air, a brief mating was seen at 7am.  A fish was brought into the nest and the female was seen eating it near the nest.  She's been spending more time perching on the branches round the tree rather than on the nest.  Maybe she's not too happy with his nest-building work.…

Great news everyone!  Our osprey camera is back working again - so we now have a love picture back in the Visitor Centre, Wigtown County Buildings.  Our male, EP was seen yesterday in the vicinity of the nest, sitting on a fence post.  Looks like he's still on his own at the nest, although there could be 2 males in the area.

2nd June sees the start of World Oceans Week, highlighting the plight of our maine animals and…

Big shout out to all music fans.  The RSPB will be having a stand at Knockengorroch World Ceilidh this year.  We'll be getting mucky with paints and glue, making masks and hats and paper kites.  Join us for the bird quiz on Saturday afternoon for a bit of fun and some brilliant prizes!!  Get you tickets now if you haven't already.  www.knockengorroch.co.uk

Hello everyone,

Do you love the scream of swifts on warm summer evenings?  I find there is nothing that evokes relaxed summer evenings with a cold G&T better, than the sound of their calls over the town.  But swifts are in trouble.  Fewer are returning to their nest sites and these secret places where they come to land are under threat from development.  Join me tomorrow evening (6-7.30pm) to survey these special birds…

2 Ospreys were seen yesterday near the nest.  One sitting on the nest, the other on the ground nearby.  There was no interaction seen between them, so obviously not a pair yet..... Could it be the young male from last year?  Or perhaps a bird from another pair in the area?  Pop down to Wigtown Bay Visitor Centre to find out what will happen next.

Hello everyone,

Spring has finally arrived.  The first swallows are swooping through Wigtown and the male osprey EP, is spending every morning at the nest, searching the skies and tidying, hoping a female osprey will take an interest.

This weekend is the Wigtown Book Weekend - visit this website, www.wigtownbookfestival.com to see the full programme and ticket booking information.  In the Wigtown Bay Visitor Centre, we…

 Be an early bird

Experience the Dawn Chorus at an RSPB Scotland
nature reserve

Getting up at dawn on a Sunday isn’t everyone’s idea of a
lazy weekend.

But as part of International Dawn Chorus Day on May 5, RSPB
Scotland is offering visitors in Dumfries and Galloway, the rare chance to
enjoy one of the wonders of nature.

 “Birds tend to sing at dawn in the spring, probably because
it’s so quiet, and it…

A big thank you to all our visitors on Sunday a pity the weather was not a bit better but at least the rain stopped in time for the guided walk. A thank you to our volunteers and stand holders for coming have good feed back and hope to welcome you all back next year.

We saw our first Swallow of the year on the guided walk and lots of geese and golden plovers.

Thanks Again All

Paul  

Great news everyone!  Today the town bells in Wigtown rang to welcome back our male (leg ring white EP) to the nest.  We'd had reports of an osprey since Sunday, but with the camera not working we could not see what was going on.  Camera is fully functional again as of 4pm yesterday and straight away it was obvious that the nest had been disturbed.  New sticks have been brought in to replace ones pinched by ravens and…

Good Evening all

We have a report of and Osprey back at the nest today no identification as yet but will keep you all posted.

Paul