Kirkconnel Flow

 

We last visited Kirkconnel Flow (a National Nature Reserve near Dumfries) in 2019, when I blogged about it seeming to be in decline (see this post). When we visited it during our recent visit to Dumfries, it was obvious that the decline was actively being halted. 

When we visited, large parts of the reserve were full of bog cotton in glorious full bloom

We were very happy to find this Four Spotted Chaser

this Large Red Damselfly 

and this Ringlet Butterfly 

though we were disappointed not to see many Common Lizards, which in previous visits have been a main feature of the reserve. I only caught a very brief glimpse of one lizard, scuttling through the undergrowth. We guessed that it was actually too hot for the lizards to be basking in the sun! It really was unnaturally warm for Scotland.

Away from theboggy areas, part of the reserve is woodland, 

with some magnificent Scots pine trees 

and plenty of bilberries (blaeberries)

It's good to see this important peatland being properly looked after and restored!

Wood of Ae and Loch Ettrick

 While we were in Dumfries and Galloway, we discovered Loch Ettrick, a loch we'd never seen before but which proves to be very popular in the summer!

We had a wee wander round the loch shore, but the path soon became too overgrown and we gave up. We were interested to find this abandoned hut, where at least two pairs of Swallows were nesting

We then went for a walk in part of the Ae Forest. We had hoped that it would be quite shady (the weather was still ridiculously hot) but it turned out to be quite an exposed forest road. We were delighted to find this tree, which was being used as a nest site by Great Spotted Woodpeckers

One of the young woodpeckers was hidden in the grass, you may be able to see it in the photo below 

We turned back after taking this photo, to avoid disturbing the birds. 

We saw more Small Skipper Butterflies 

a Bog Hoverfly (Sericomyia silentis)

and a pool full of toad tadpoles - look carefully at the black specks in the photo below!

Dragonflies and Damselflies at Drumlanrig

 One of the highlights of our recent trip to Dumfries and Galloway was Coldstream Loch in the grounds of Drumlanrig Castle. 

Literally hundreds of damselflies and a few dragonflies were flying around! 

Large Red Dragonflies were mating with blue dragonflies busy in the background

Azure Dragonflies were mating

A few Four Spotted Chasers were chasing each other, defending their territories, though they did stop for long enough for Crafty Green Boyfriend to take their photos

There were also newts in the loch, you'll see two of them in the photo below if you look carefully 

As well as the Loch, the estate has some lovely woodland walks 

and open landscapes too

A lovely place to visit.

Caerlaverock

On our second day of our recent trip to Dumfries and Galloway, we visited Caerlaverock, a wonderful WWT (Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust) reserve. 

 

There are lots of features here that both help wildlife and enable visitors to enjoy the creatures, such as an area of bird feeders, where we saw this Tree Sparrow 

several bug hotels, where we saw several species including this Ruby Tailed Wasp (zoom in for a closer look!)

Of course the reserve is best known for its wetland areas, where we saw these Little Egrets

and this Mute Swan family 

We walked along the mown path that leads through the beautiful wildflower meadows

where we saw Blue Tailed Damselflies 

Azure Damselflies 

Emerald Damselflies 

Banded Demoiseselles

 Meadow Brown Butterflies 

Small Skipper Butterflies 

 Common Blue Butterflies 

Twin lobed Deer flies (we saw lots of these, didn't know what they were at the time, had them crawling over our hands with no ill effect but on looking them up when we got home we found that they can give a horrible bite!)

A snipe fly (Rhagio scolopaceus)

In the visitor centre, there was an exhibition of beautiful felted art by artist and historian Sue Hughes of  Old Toll House Crafts, and Crafty Green Boyfriend bought me this necklace. The exhibition runs until 17 June.