Dumfries and Galloway birding

We are thinking of visiting the Dumfries and Galloway area in late spring to get a "Scotland fix" which because of health reasons we missed last year.From here in N.Yorks is is not too long a journey which is fairly important at the moment and has a good selection of both coastal and inland birding sites. We have only visited the area for birding once when we had a winter visit for geese so we were wondering where is the best place to base ourselves for a week.Any suggestions from either resident birders or those who know the area well would be very welcome. We both have a great interest in raptor watching and found the Red Kite trail good for that but would like to get into the hills a bit more this time. Are the Golden Eagles still present in the area ? I remember seeing a pair years ago when doing a mountain marathon in the area but thought I had read somewhere they had been lost to the area.

Pete

Birding is for everyone no matter how good or bad we are at it,enjoy it while you can