Crook of Baldoon

Super Swifts - guided walk

Alexa — Tue, 11 Jun 2013 14:51:55 GMT

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 be collected for further monitoring of this species. Come and join in and do your bit for nature!

Alexa.

Secret Romance and a sunny day at the beach

Alexa — Tue, 11 Jun 2013 10:47:23 GMT

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 Sunday, Port William hosted the annual World Oceans Week celebrations. Great fun was had by everyone with Galloway Activity Centre providing sea kayaking and archery, and wildfood foraging with Mark Williams of Galloway Wildfoods. The RSPB had a stall highlighting the ever increasing problem of marine litter and on a more light-hearted note ran a popular beach art competition. Enya with her 'Crusty Crab', no.17 scooped 1st prize, a soft toy penguin; Oscar & Leo from Newton Stewart won 2nd prize for their tower of stone; and 3rd Prize went to Maisie Murray from Port William. A full underwater scene by the Patchett family and a mermaid by Abby, Ella & Faith, complete with green seaweed tail came joint 4th place. Well done to everyone who took part, all were fantastic entries with great imagination!

The RSPB has a Marine Protection Areas campaign on the go at the moment. The Scottish government has taken a very positive step to helping the environment by creating Marine Protection Areas, sadly they are ignoring the plight of our seabirds with this landmark move. We need to protect the feeding areas at sea that our seabirds use to ensure that our internationally important seabird colonies around the UK have access to sufficient food to feed their chicks. Each year fewer seabirds return to the cliffs to breed as they are finding it increasing difficult to find enough food to reach breeding condition. We must give them as much help as we can and provide protection for their known feeding areas. If you'd like to help this campaign, check out www.rspb.org.uk/choosesealife

EP got lucky - romance is in the air!

Alexa — Fri, 31 May 2013 09:13:35 GMT

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. Both soared up into the sky together at 9am. More news as it comes. Come down to the Visitor Centre for the latest news and to catch a glimpse of our PAIR!

Camera working once more!! :)

Alexa — Thu, 30 May 2013 14:47:57 GMT

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 the state of our seas. Events will be held at Rockcliffe (2nd June) and at Port William (9th June). The RSPB will be attending both events, drop in for family fun and information about the work of the RSPB in safeguarding our seas.

Litter is a growing problem in the marine environment. The amount of rubbish has increased 10% in the last 20 years. Most of it plastic (between 60 and 90%) which persists for between 100 & 1000 years before breaking down to oil-based chemicals further polluting the seas. The really scary thing is that 64% of the rubbish comes from public land-based activities e.g. beach picnics, bbq's, recreational fishing and rubbish blown into rivers and sewers. 25% of all the rubbish comes from smoking e.g. discarded cigerette ends and lighters. All that means WE are to blame and changing our behaviour will have a HUGE impact on the quantity of rubbish in our seas. But don't be disheartened - YOU CAN HELP. Think about waht happens to your rubbish and reduce, reuse and recycle all that you can. Challenge those who drop litter - peer pressure is the best way to change behaviour. And TAKE PART in any local clear-up operations. Our next big clear-up at the Crook of Baldoon will be held on Saturday 8th June, from 2-4pm. Litter pickers, bags and gloves provided but bring warm, waterfproof clothing, wellies and sun-screen (if we're lucky!)

You could set-up your own beach-clean too; contact Nic Coombey, Coastal Ranger; nic@solwayfirthpartnership.co.uk, 01387 251991. Pick up the latest copy of Tidelines for further details.

Knockengorroch World Ceilidh

Alexa — Tue, 21 May 2013 15:28:18 GMT

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

Super swifts & 2 ospreys

Alexa — Tue, 21 May 2013 11:49:44 GMT

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 around Wigtown. Meet at the Wigtown Bay Visitor Centre, County Buildings at 6pm, or phone for further details 01988 402130. All welcome!

Frustratingly, our osprey camera is still not working :( 2 ospreys have been seen at the nest but seem to be keeping seperate from each other. Could this be a new bird to the area? Or perhaps the young male from last year back in town? Sadly, it is very hard to identify the birds from a distance without the camera. do keep an eye out if you live in the area and let us know your sightings. Keep checking here for updates.

2 ospreys in Wigtown Bay

Alexa — Wed, 08 May 2013 09:10:27 GMT

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.

Book Weekend events

Alexa — Thu, 02 May 2013 14:38:48 GMT

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 are having otter themed craft and quiz activities, all day Sunday & Monday. On Sunday, I will be telling the story of the Hunger Otter, by Mark Ezra, and well-known local story-teller and songstress, Renita Boyle will be bringing local animals to life with stories and songs at 3pm. The Utterly Otterleys, by Mairi Hedderwick, is the story for Monday at 3pm. Hope to see you in the Visitor Centre over the weekend.

Also in the programme are 2 Dawn Chorus guided walks - Saturday, 5.30-7.30am at the Crook of Baldoon; and Monday, 5.30-7.30am at the Wood of Cree. Please contact the Wigtown office to book a place on either of these lovely walks - 01988 402130.

Dawn Chorus across Dumfries and Galloway

Paul Tarling — Thu, 18 Apr 2013 19:58:00 GMT

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’s the time of day when their song will travel the
furthest. When you hear all these different birds singing their hearts out and competing
with each other from all different directions, with the sun just coming up… the
only description I can think of is magical.”

At all the events, an RSPB Scotland officer will be on hand
to help pick out the different songs from the chorus, which could include
dozens of species.

The events are running at:

Crook of Baldoon nature reserve, from 5.30-7.30 (Saturday 27
April and 4 May) 01988 402130 www.rspb.org.uk/crookofbaldoon

Mersehead nature reserve, from 5am-7am followed by a Continental
breakfast (Saturday 5 May) www.rspb.org.uk/mersehead

Wood of Cree nature reserve, from 5.30am-7.30am (Monday 6
May) 01988 402130 www.rspb.org.uk/woodofcree

There is a small charge for the walks, and booking is
essential. You can find out more by phoning the reserves, or visiting their
individual pages on the RSPB website.

If you have any binoculars, please bring them along, and it’s
always advisable to wear stout shoes and come prepared for the unpredictable
Scottish climate.

Notes

International Dawn
     Chorus Day 2013 will be the biggest and most interactive ever, with
     participates worldwide using the hashtag #idcd on Twitter to share their
     experiences of the event and upload images of the array of birds in
     chorus.
RSPB Scotland’s work in the Dumfries
& Galloway area is supported by Scottish Natural Heritage. Mersehead
reserve receives support from the European Community, Dumfries & Galloway
LEADER 2007-2013 programme.

Open Day at the Crook

Paul Tarling — Tue, 16 Apr 2013 20:01:09 GMT

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

EP is back!!

Alexa — Wed, 10 Apr 2013 12:44:18 GMT

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 EP has been busy scrapping a nest hollow to make the nest look spic and span for any prospecting females in the area. He has been being mobbed by crows, but is seeing them off. Great to see him spending so much time on the nest. Just have to hope that he find a new mate soon!

Ospreys

Paul Tarling — Sun, 07 Apr 2013 19:25:40 GMT

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

We survived!

Alexa — Mon, 25 Mar 2013 18:03:51 GMT

After 3 days of no electricity, I was MIGHTY glad when the lights popped back on last night. We even had our first barbeque of the year!! Wasn't the warmest but at least the sun was shining. The wind is still bitterly cold here but that hasn't detered some hardy ospreys returning to the UK. Reports are in of a male osprey at Loch of the Lowes, Perthshire, and also a possible sighting much closer to home at Castle Douglas. Keep a look out everyone, they're on their way!

Assuming we don't get the snow again this coming weekend. Drop in to the Visitor Centre this Saturday to see if the ospreys have returned and win a chocolate egg, if you spot the signs of Spring. Happy Easter everyone! Spring is here, it's just hiding.

Wigtown Bay Visitor Centre, County Buildings easter opening times - Friday 29th 12-5pm; Saturday 30th 10-4pm; Sunday closed; Monday 31st 12-5pm.

What a weekend

Paul Tarling — Sun, 24 Mar 2013 22:50:21 GMT

Well glad the sun came out today and started the thaw.

Have attached some photos of what it was like at home on Friday.

All eyes to the sky!! Spring is here!

Alexa — Fri, 15 Mar 2013 17:25:50 GMT

It's with baited breath that I go into the Visitor Centre these days. Any day now an osprey could appear on the nest. Already there has been an osprey sighted at Annan. Could this be the Caerlaverock birds returning? We will just have to wait and see. 3 other opsreys have been seen further south, so it really could be any day now. So here's my request - get out there and get your eyes to the sky. You might just be the first person to spot them returning to the Bay. Even if you don't spot an osprey winging it's way home, you are sure to see plenty of pink-footed and barnacle geese, shelduck and curlews. And of course the sweet singing of the birds in the hedgerows. Get out there, enjoy yourself and breath in the fresh Spring air!!