Caerlaverock was my original intension as I headed down the M74 but that got changed to Mersehead for some reason. It was quite foggy as I approached Dumfries but thankfully by the time I got through it had cleared.
I stopped at Carsethorn and scoped the merse from the car park. It was cold, it never got above about 2 degrees all day, with a light south west wind. The tide was on the ebb and good numbers of waders including Knot, Grey Plover & Bar Tailed Godwit were present. Just beyond the tideline, 10 Scaup, far fewer than I seem to remember from my younger days, were accompanied by c20 Pintail.
I carried on to Mersehead, and was immediately met by a small flock of Barnacle Geese in fields just West of the approach road. Small numbers of Tree Sparrow were present close to the visitors' centre.
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| Small flock of Barnies - part of some 3,600 on the reserve |
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| 1 of the 2 Leucistic birds present |
The floods were largely frozen, but nevertheless held good numbers of duck including Pintail, Shoveler and Wigeon. There were at least 3 Hen Harriers reported to be around, but despite searching I could not locate any. The hedgerows and surrounding farmland held good numbers of finches including a flock of at least 100 Chaffinches. Reed Bunting, Yellowhammer and Linnet were all seen.
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| Tree Sparrow - 1 of at least 5 at the Visitors' Centre |
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