Look out for...
Red Squirrels
Still common
throughout
Dumfries and
Galloway,
red squirrels
can be
encountered in most of the
region’s woodlands and
forests. They are probably
easiest to see at locations
where they are regularly fed.
Red Kites
Around
100
kites have
been reintroduced
to Dumfries
and Galloway
since 2001, with the first pair
breeding in 2003. They can
secretive during the breeding
season, but relatively easy to
see at other times.
Barnacle Geese
The entire Svalbard breeding population, once down to a few hundred birds but now numbering over 23,000 geese, winter on the Solway Firth between October and the end of April. Massed feeding flocks form a spectacular sight.
Black Grouse
Although Dumfries and Galloway supports around 7% of the UK population, the birds are thinly spread throughout the region and are best seen in the company of a local guide at their spectacular early morning display sites, known as leks.
www.blackgrouse.info/recovery/dumfriesgall.htm
Ospreys
The first pair of Ospreys returned to breed in Dumfries and Galloway in 2001 and can now be watched on CCTV. They normally return from their African wintering grounds during the first half of April.
www.dumgal.gov.uk/dumgal/miniweb.aspx?id=193
Peregrines
Over 80 pairs breed in Dumfries & Galloway on sea cliffs and inland crags. They can be seen hunting at many sites, but CCTV at Grey Mare’s Tail gives the best view of nesting birds.
Other wildlife to see in Spring
includes Otters, Badgers, Mountain Hares, Pine Martens, Red, Roe and Fallow Deer, Wild Goats, Grey Seals, Porpoises, Black Guillemots, Goosanders, Barn Owls, Dippers and Crossbills. For more information contact the Biodiversity Officer Peter Norman on 01387 260172 peter.norman@dumgal.gov.uk
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Financial assistance for this project has been received from:
