Powfoot and Caerlaverock

The Solway Firth has long been one of my favourite winter birding areas yet despite being a regular visitor for over 40 years, it was only last year that I first visited the coastal village of Powfoot just a couple of miles outside Annan. I loved it so much that it was my first choice when I was looking for a holiday cottage to stay for a few nights this week. The cottage I booked is ideal, right on the estuary, I can birdwatch from my front room window and watch the thousands of waders as they come and go with the tide, whilst in the evening shortly after dusk I can stand outside and hear the evocative calls of geese as they fly over the village to roost. A very atmospheric place.

It's also only a 20 minute drive to Caerlaverock National Nature reserve which is the jewel in the crown of this area. Right in the heart of the NNR is Caerlaverock Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust reserve which is always the place I head for first. However today the hides were very quiet and I didn't stay long because all of the action seemed to be in the surrounding area, plus I've really gone off hides especially in these post covid days. I want to be out in wide open spaces not cooped up in a hide with other birders who may or may not take Covid seriously.

However, on the approach road to the WWT centre I came across a flock of around 5000 barnacle and 300 pink-footed geese and in total I estimated about 7000 barnacles in the area. Then I parked just past Caerlaverock castle and walked along the coast for a couple of miles back towards the WWT centre. It was a tremendous experience with wide open views and the wild calls of waders, and best of all I saw two hen harriers, a female and a young male, plus a merlin and some twite.

There were two roe deer asleep at the back of the flock but eventually the stood up and walked off, and this was the result, a deafening cacophony of goose calls. 

I think that I could make a strong argument for this being the most beautiful of all geese. What a great  spectacle they are!

Pink-footed geese.

Magnificent and evocative it may be, but saltmarsh is often not the most photogenic of habitats and it's difficult to capture the wildness of the place, so thank goodness for well positioned gates!

Looking towards Criffel from near Glen Capel.

Powfoot beach this morning.

Criffel from Powfoot.

Little egrets are now a common sight even in south west Scotland, this one was at Powfoot.

Waders on Powfoot beach as the tide approaches. Mainly dunlin, redshanks, oystercatchers and lapwings.

This is the view from my front room window.

Even at 9:30pm, nearly five hours after it went dark I could still hear pink-footed geese flying over.