The Story of Caerlaverock National Nature Reserve (2nd edition) For further information about Caerlaverock National Nature Reserve please contact: Reserve manager Scottish Natural Heritage Greystone Park 55/57 Moffat Road Dumfries DG1 1NP Tel: 01387 272440 Email: [email protected] The Story of Caerlaverock National Nature Reserve Foreword Caerlaverock National Nature Reserve (NNR) stretches for 16 kilometres along the north coast of the Solway Firth in Dumfries and Galloway, south west Scotland. There are few places in Scotland like this – a dramatic landscape of mudflats, sandbanks and saltmarsh, which extend beyond the reserve, into the estuary and all the way to England. The reserve is home for tens of thousands of wintering barnacle geese; the entire Svalbard population of barnacle geese, currently approximately 38,0001 birds, return each year to the Solway Firth. Winter also attracts staggering numbers of other wildfowl and waders, such as oystercatcher, pintail and curlew who flock here to feed on the mudflats and roost on the merse (local name for saltmarsh). Summer is quieter, but it is now that one of the reserve’s most unusual inhabitants becomes active. In the shallow pools at the northern edge of the reserve, natterjack toads thrive at their most northerly location in the UK. The saltmarshes are also notable for their landforms, which reveal processes of coastal evolution on an emerging coastline. Caerlaverock is one of a suite of NNRs in Scotland. Scotland’s NNRs are special places for nature, where some of the finest examples of Scotland’s wildlife are managed. Every NNR is carefully managed both for nature and for people. They are great places to experience, enjoy and learn about the best of Scotland’s nature. ‘The Story of Caerlaverock National Nature Reserve’ contains background information about the reserve, describing the wildlife interest, its land use history and management since it became a reserve. How we intend to manage the reserve in future years is outlined in the current management plan. 1Count estimate from winter 2015 The Story of Caerlaverock National Nature Reserve Contents Foreword ii Maps of Caerlaverock NNR iv 1 Introduction to Caerlaverock NNR 1 3 Management of Caerlaverock before it became a NNR 8 4 Management of Caerlaverock NNR 10 5 Document properties 1 iii The Story of Caerlaverock National Nature Reserve Maps of Caerlaverock NNR Location map2 2 Location of other NNRs correct at December 2014 iv Boundary of Caerlaverock NNR The Story of Caerlaverock National Nature Reserve 1 Introduction to Caerlaverock NNR Caerlaverock NNR lies 10 kilometres (km) south of Dumfries on the north shores of the Solway Firth on the Scottish border. Covering approximately 8,000 hectares (ha), the reserve is part of the much larger complex estuary of the Solway Firth. At high tide, only the merse and grasslands are visible fringing the surrounding arable farmland. Low tide however, paints the full picture – with huge expanses of mudflats stretching as far as the eye can see. The reserve has a tremendous diversity of wetland habitats with a natural transition from bare mud and sand to pioneer and established merse (saltmarsh), leading through to neutral grassland. There are also extensive areas of reed bed and brackish and freshwater marshes. The reserve includes the mudflats of Blackshaw Bank and Priestside Bank and part of Carse Bay. The River Nith forms an ever shifting channel through Blackshaw Bank to the Solway Firth. The merse forms part of the largest area of continuous saltmarsh in Scotland. Like the mud and sand flats, it is also part of a dynamic system that is constantly changing shape and size due to the effects of the sea, eroding and accreting as the tides come and go. It sits on bedrock of Permian sandstone that is occasionally exposed in small areas by tidal erosion. As with much of the west coast of Scotland, the Gulf Stream keeps Caerlaverock’s climate mild and damp. Although there has been no climatic data recorded at Caerlaverock itself, average rainfall over the last 50 years at Dumfries, only 10 km north, was approximately 1000 millimetres (mm) per year, much of it falling in the late summer, autumn and winter. The coastal location of the reserve also ensures there are fewer frosts than would be expected this far north. View looking west from the mouth of the Lochar Water 1 The Story of Caerlaverock National Nature Reserve It is the combination and extent of mudflats and merse, together with the milder climate, that makes Caerlaverock NNR such an attraction to wildfowl and waders migrating south for winter. Barnacle geese arrive on the Solway each autumn to escape the harsh Arctic winter. Here, they feed on the merse and roost on both Blackshaw Bank and Priestside Bank. Other birds, such as pintail, oystercatcher and knot feed on the mud and sand flats at low tide, the wading birds using the merse as a roost when the sea returns to cover their feeding grounds. As well as birds, the reserve is also home to natterjack toads. At their most northerly location in the UK, Caerlaverock has a small population. In recent years the curious and extremely rare tadpole shrimp has also appeared in shallow pools in wet summers. The merse and associated wetlands also support a number of scarce plant species such as holy grass. These huge populations of birds, rare amphibians and wetland habitats share the Solway Firth with farmers, fisherman and wildfowlers. From the beginning, when the Duke of Norfolk was instrumental in establishing Caerlaverock as a NNR, he was keen to ensure the needs of wildlife could exist in harmony with the interests of farming, fishing and wildfowling. This philosophy is still at the heart of Caerlaverock’s management today. Visitors have been enjoying the reserve since it was declared in 1957. It can be accessed at Castle Corner, close to the mouth of the River Nith or further east at Hollands Farm. At both car parks there are paths that provide visitors with opportunities to gain access to the reserve. From Hollands Farm a core path links from the NNR through to the neighbouring Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust reserve at Eastpark. Caerlaverock has been designated for its wildlife interest at UK, European and world- wide level. It falls within the larger Upper Solway Flats and Marshes Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), Special Protection Area (SPA) and Ramsar site; and the Solway Firth Special Area of Conservation (SAC). The recognition as a European site of international importance (SPA and SAC) means that Caerlaverock is part of a Europe wide suite of areas referred to as Natura sites. This extremely important group of sites includes other high profile wetlands such as The Waddenzee in Holland, the Camargue in the South of France and the Ebro Delta in Spain. The inclusion of Caerlaverock in such company confirms its importance as one of the best estuarine sites in Europe. The reserve also forms part of the Nith Estuary National Scenic Area (NSA). Further details of these designations can be found through the Scottish Natural Heritage sitelink website. 2 The Story of Caerlaverock National Nature Reserve Table 1 Designations and qualifying features at Caerlaverock NNR Feature Protected Area Atlantic salt meadows Solway Firth SAC Upper Solway Flats and Marshes RAMSAR Bar-tailed godwit (Limosa lapponica), Upper Solway Flats and Marshes SPA non-breeding Upper Solway Flats and Marshes SSSI Breeding bird assemblage Upper Solway Flats and Marshes SSSI Coastal Geomorphology of Scotland Upper Solway Flats and Marshes SSSI Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo), Upper Solway Flats and Marshes SPA non-breeding Upper Solway Flats and Marshes RAMSAR Curlew (Numenius arquata), non- Upper Solway Flats and Marshes SPA breeding Upper Solway Flats and Marshes SSSI Dunlin (Calidris alpina alpina), non- Upper Solway Flats and Marshes SPA breeding Upper Solway Flats and Marshes SSSI Estuaries Solway Firth SAC Glasswort and other annuals Solway Firth SAC colonising mud and sand Golden plover (Pluvialis apricaria), Upper Solway Flats and Marshes SPA non-breeding Upper Solway Flats and Marshes SSSI Goldeneye (Bucephala clangula), Upper Solway Flats and Marshes SPA non-breeding Upper Solway Flats and Marshes SSSI Great crested grebe (Podiceps Upper Solway Flats and Marshes SPA cristatus), non-breeding Grey plover (Pluvialis squatarola), Upper Solway Flats and Marshes SPA non-breeding Upper Solway Flats and Marshes SSSI Intertidal mudflats and sandflats Solway Firth SAC Upper Solway Flats and Marshes RAMSAR Knot (Calidris canutus), non-breeding Upper Solway Flats and Marshes SPA Upper Solway Flats and Marshes SSSI Lapwing (Vanellus vanellus), non- Upper Solway Flats and Marshes SPA breeding Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos), non- Upper Solway Flats and Marshes SPA breeding Mudflats Upper Solway Flats and Marshes SSSI Natterjack toad (Epidalea calamita) Upper Solway Flats and Marshes SSSI Oystercatcher (Haematopus Upper Solway Flats and Marshes RAMSAR ostralegus), non-breeding Upper Solway Flats and Marshes SPA 3 The Story of Caerlaverock National Nature Reserve Feature Protected Area Upper Solway Flats and Marshes SSSI Pink-footed goose (Anser Upper Solway Flats and Marshes RAMSAR brachyrhynchus), non-breeding Upper Solway Flats and Marshes SPA Upper Solway Flats and Marshes RAMSAR Pintail (Anas acuta), non-breeding Upper Solway Flats and Marshes SPA Upper Solway Flats and Marshes SSSI Redshank (Tringa totanus), non- Upper Solway Flats and Marshes SPA breeding Upper Solway Flats and Marshes SSSI Ringed