Wigeon and fussy toads: How a successful Scottish wetland project has seen species go from zero to thousands


Dabbling ducks and rare natterjack toads are just some of the species that have been reaping the benefits of a nature restoration project under way on the southern coast of Scotland.
The Wilder, Wetter Caerlaverock initiative, in Dumfries and Galloway, is halfway through a three-year project restoring an area to its former wetland and saltmarsh state on the Solway Coast, located between the southern Scottish region and England.
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Already, it seems work to hold water on the land, which the team said previously had drainage networks across it, is proving a success for several species. This includes the wigeon, a migratory duck that winters in Scotland, where the bird is listed as a species of concern.
In some fields where the rewetting has happened, wigeon numbers have gone from zero to in their thousands.


In the last count, between October and December, 2,163 of the birds were counted.
“It’s a sign the system is working,” said Jake Goodwin, a project officer at WWT Caerlaverock, the reserve where the project is taking place.
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Hide AdIn the same section on the reserve, Mr Goodwin said lapwing, a red-listed species in Scotland, which means it is of great conservation concern, were also showing signs of benefitting from the project.
“We had at least one chick fledge from lapwing in a field we’d done work on in a previous year,” he said.
“That wouldn’t have been possible without this project.
“We hadn’t seen them in that field before so it’s is a good sign for wildlife that what we’re doing is working.”


In this same area of the reserve, a brood of teal, a species that are in decline breeding-wise, was spotted with nine ducklings.
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Hide AdOther than the bird life, Mr Goodwin said there has been an impressive number of dragonflies, to the point where the site has been recognised by the British Dragonfly Society (BDS) as a dragonfly hotspot.
“When I look at this specific area where we are seeing these species, I see a thriving ecosystem from bottom to top and that’s what we’ll aim to replicate elsewhere across the site,” he said.
“We’ll also keep our survey and monitoring of those areas so we can record progress.”
The site has also been commended for favouring the rare natterjack toads.
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Hide AdA fussy species, Mr Goodwin said they need a lot of parameters to succeed in life, including ephemeral pools - pools made with heavy rainfall but that also dry out.
Luckily for the toads, the team has made 12 of them in the hope they will support the local population by providing the right breeding environment.


Old fencing at the reserve has been replaced and some removed to allow cattle to graze some of the area. This supports the diversity of grasslands and allows wildflowers a chance to flourish as it helps control areas of thick rush which can take over in certain areas of the reserve. The team has been working with local farmers and contractors to achieve this work.
WWT Caerlaverock is famous for its vast flocks of over-wintering water birds, wildfowl, including around barnacle geese from Arctic Svalbard (the Solway is the only place in the UK where these birds spend their winter – 40,000 in total) and large numbers of wigeon, teal and whooper swans.
The £325,000 WWT Caerlaverock initiative is supported by the Scottish Government’s Nature Restoration Fund, managed by NatureScot.
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