It's wilder than you might think.

About Us

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As members of the National Trust for Scotland Dumfries and Galloway Countryside Team, we manage properties across Dumfries and Galloway, including Threave Estate and Nature Reserve; Rockcliffe Property; Venniehill; The Murray's Isles and Bruce's Stone. Our task is to conserve and maintain the variety of habitats and species present, at the same time managing the sites for the education and enjoyment of current and future generations.

17 August 2013

Threave Osprey Update:

It’s been an exciting week at the Threave Osprey nest. On Wednesday the 14th a female hen harrier swooped into the osprey territory and got chased off by both the male (Ozzie) and female (Olivia). It was an incredible sight and the female hen harrier took refuge in the thick foliage of an Ash tree 250 metres in front of the osprey platform. It was an incredible experience for a new volunteer called Samuel, his first ever hen harrier sighting.

Later on that day, two very lucky members of the public saw the male osprey dive for a fish from Castle Hide. They even had the photo to prove it. Sam and I missed it by 10 minutes, we were very envious.

We have had some great sightings of fish being brought in, and the juveniles and adults feeding on the perches to the left of the nest. You could even see the tail still flicking on a couple of the fish. Awesome!

Other Wildlife sightings:

The female hen harrier was seen again on Friday. Kingfishers have been seen on numerous occasions this week along the river by the osprey platform. Karl Munday (Head Ranger) saw a female Goshawk flying over Meikle wood.

45 Greylag geese (local feral population) in stubble field along road entrance to Threave Nature reserve.

An Otter on Threave Island to the left of Threave Castle.

Have a good weekend.

Osprey Ranger




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