Caerlaverock NNR Wildfowling Permit Scheme

www.nature.scot www.nnr.scot

Visitors at Castle Corner viewing platform viewing Corner Castle at Visitors

merse close to the mud. the to close merse

and is best seen between Castle Corner and the Hollands Hollands the and Corner Castle between seen best is and

increased over time to almost 40,000 individuals. 40,000 almost to time over increased established around the landward edge of the estuary estuary the of edge landward the around established

in winter in the 1950s are now protected and have have and protected now are 1950s the in winter in plants locally called ‘merse’. This plant community is is community plant This ‘merse’. called locally plants

The 1,000 barnacle geese that arrived on the Solway Solway the on arrived that geese barnacle 1,000 The species can grow to form the full assortment of saltmarsh saltmarsh of assortment full the form to grow can species

mix. successful a be to proven has it contradictory of this pioneer plant bind the mud together so that other other that so together mud the bind plant pioneer this of

Although other visitors may find this range of activities activities of range this find may visitors other Although or samphire, glow green against the dull silt. The roots roots The silt. dull the against green glow samphire, or

glasswort, of stems fragile the shore the to Closer

Geese on the wing the on Geese

Iconic Belted Galloway cattle at Fishers’ Bush (near Scar Point) Scar (near Bush Fishers’ at cattle Galloway Belted Iconic

Caerlaverock NNR Wildfowling Permit Scheme. Scheme. Permit Wildfowling NNR Caerlaverock

dusk in the autumn and winter to enjoy the benefits of the the of benefits the enjoy to winter and autumn the in dusk

Firth. Wildfowlers also come to the Reserve by dawn and and dawn by Reserve the to come also Wildfowlers Firth.

was brought over by Viking settlers along the Solway Solway the along settlers Viking by over brought was

murky saltmarsh pools. saltmarsh murky catch salmon and other fish. This traditional way of fishing fishing of way traditional This fish. other and salmon catch

a glimpse of a prehistoric tadpole shrimp in the the in shrimp tadpole prehistoric a of glimpse a netters’ still wade into the River Nith on the falling tide to to tide falling the on Nith River the into wade still netters’

catch or distance the in toad natterjack croaking a short for the geese and toads. Fishermen known as ‘haaf ‘haaf as known Fishermen toads. and geese the for short

hear may you lucky, are you if evening, summer graze the merse in the summer months to keep the grass grass the keep to months summer the in merse the graze

for invertebrates and amphibians. On a warm warm a On amphibians. and invertebrates for harmonious way. Continuing the Duke’s vision, cattle still still cattle vision, Duke’s the Continuing way. harmonious

conditions ideal provide habitats water open and and wildfowling to work together in a sustainable and and sustainable a in together work to wildfowling and

pools ponds, of variety a months summer the During recognising the need for conservation, farming, fishing fishing farming, conservation, for need the recognising

up the Reserve in 1957, was ahead of his time in in time his of ahead was 1957, in Reserve the up

on nearby fields at first light. light. first at fields nearby on

set and land the owned who Norfolk, of Duke The

mudflats during night time before commuting to feed feed to commuting before time night during mudflats wintering birds like pintail, shelduck and oystercatcher. and shelduck pintail, like birds wintering

pink-footed geese from Iceland, they roost on the the on roost they Iceland, from geese pink-footed a unique combination of land uses. land of combination unique a and worms, providing food for nearly 140,000 140,000 nearly for food providing worms, and

north of Norway, in the Arctic Circle. Together with with Together Circle. Arctic the in Norway, of north through people by influenced also is landscape at high tide. Its shifting mud banks are full of shellfish shellfish of full are banks mud shifting Its tide. high at

as it gets too cold in their summer home of Svalbard, Svalbard, of home summer their in cold too gets it as of the Lochar Water and Nith Estuary. This dynamic dynamic This Estuary. Nith and Water Lochar the of happens twice a day: 90% of the Reserve is flooded flooded is Reserve the of 90% day: a twice happens

of barnacle geese spend the winter on the Reserve Reserve the on winter the spend geese barnacle of channels numerous the of tides estuarine the by the seasons. At Caerlaverock, a dramatic transformation transformation dramatic a Caerlaverock, At seasons. the

numbers huge May, early to September late From driven are Caerlaverock of banks mud shifting The with change Reserves Nature National Scotland’s All

Getting there Welcome to Caerlaverock National Caerlaverock NNR is on the north shore of the Solway Firth, south-east of Dumfries. Take the B725 south Nature Reserve, managed by from Dumfries to Glencaple/Bankend, following the Scottish Natural Heritage. east bank of the River Nith. From Annan-Gretna, turn left along the A75 towards Clarencefield then right onto the B725 before Ruthwell. The car parks at Hollands Caerlaverock Mudflats stretch away under wide skies, shifting with (DG1 4RS) and Castle Corner (DG1 4RU) are signposted each tide. Along the shore, plants that can stand the Caerlaverock NNR and both have cycle racks. National Nature Reserve wash of sea water build a fringe of saltmarsh. Wading birds delve for food in the mud in autumn and winter. Need to know In summer flowers and glasswort contrast with the blue Permitted wildfowling takes place within the and grey tones of the Nith Estuary National Scenic designated area shown on the map at dawn and Area. Caerlaverock is a place of constant change, and dusk from Monday to Saturday between 1 October part of an international conservation success story. and 20 February each year. No wildfowling takes place on Sundays during this period. Please keep dogs under control at all times, particularly between March and August during the bird breeding season, and don’t forget to clean up after them. Avoid any cattle you see on the merse: they are unused to people and can be dangerous. All paths are liable to flooding during the highest tides of the year so please check the local tide tables also displayed on the Reserve.

For more information please contact: Scottish Natural Heritage, Greystone Park, 55/57 Moffat Road, Dumfries DG1 1NP. Tel: 0300 067 3200. VISIT Support this NNR at www.nature.scot/donate-nnr

www.nnr.scot Sanquhar Hawick A708 0 10mls Moffat 0 10 20kms A7 Thornhill A7 13 Scotland’s National 1 A7 Nature Reserves A7 A70 4(M) A702 6 Lockerbie A712 Dumfries Castle B725 A75 Newton Douglas Gretna Stewart 10 Annan

A7 Glasswort A75 Caerlaverock NNR Carlisle M6

Photographs by Lorne Gill/SNH, Nick Gedge/SNH, Annelise Clebant/SNH, James Carter. Map by Ashworth Maps and Interpretation. Photographs by Lorne Gill/SNH, Nick Gedge/SNH, Annelise Clebant/SNH, James Carter. Kirkcudbright Leaflet © SNH 2017. ISBN: 978-1-78391-302-2.