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Wildlife around Loch Ken & River
Dee
The open water and wetlands of Loch Ken and the
River Dee comprise the largest freshwater body in Southern Scotland and are
home to some incredible wildlife.
Wetland Wonders Large areas of the loch are designated as internationally important
winter roosting sites for Greenland white-fronted and Icelandic greylag geese
These birds breed in the far north in summer but fly to this area to escape the
harsh Arctic winters. They can often be seen at the RSPB’s Ken-Dee Marshes Nature Reserve, or
the National Trust for Scotland’s Threave Wildfowl Reserve between October and
April. Both of these sites have parking
and viewing facilities. Other
wildfowl that spend the winter here include whooper swans, wigeon, goldeneye
and pintail duck, whilst mallard, goosander, teal and tufted duck are here
throughout the year.
Great-crested
grebes are also quite common; look out for their spectacular courtship displays
in springtime.
Otters
are more elusive, but you may be lucky enough to spot them swimming on the
loch.
Woodland Wildlife
Woodlands are great places for red kites, which both breed and roost
here. You might also spot breeding pied flycatchers, great–spotted woodpeckers,
nuthatches, wood warblers and our shier willow tits. The hides at Ken-Dee Marshes are good places to see and hear all these
birds in the spring, and you should look out for red squirrels there throughout
the year. Ghostly-white barn owls can be found in good numbers in this part of
Galloway, often seen at dusk as they leave roosts in woodlands and farm
buildings.
In summer, purple hairstreak butterflies inhabit the oak woodland canopy,
whilst ringlets, meadow browns and small pearl-bordered fritillaries can be
seen around some woodland edges. A
Galloway speciality is the near-black Scotch argus butterfly, which appears
along sheltered roadside verges in late July/early August, during sunny
weather. Summer
sunshine also brings out reptiles, often hidden as they hunt for insects,
spiders or, in the case of adders, mice and voles.
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