Site of the Month: Wigtown Bay (February 2023)

Wigtown Bay is the estuary of the River Cree and the River Bladnoch. It consists of extensive areas of saltmarsh and mudflats, which are best known for large wintering flocks of wildfowl and waders, but is also important for salt tolerant plants and for its fish, notably Salmon Salmo salar in the Bladnoch and the rare Sparling Osmerus eperlanus in the Cree. In 1996, most of the bay was designated a Local Nature Reserve, the largest in Britain.

Thousands of wild geese, primarily Pinkfoot Anser brachyrhynchus, Greylag Anser anser and Barnacle Branta leucopsis, winter on the salt marshes, whilst there are also good numbers of Pintail Anas acuta, Shoveler Anas clypeata, Wigeon Anas penelope, Curlew Numenius arquata and Oystercatcher Haematopus ostralegus. There are freshwater wetlands and hides at Wigtown harbour and at the RSPB’s Crook of Baldoon Reserve. In Wigtown, the County Buildings has information on the reserve, as well as a viewing room with magnificent views over the Bay.

Peter Norman

SWSEIC Project Officer