Auchen Castle, a Wildlife and Bird Watching Oasis in Scotland
Over
the past few decades the Moffat district has seen
a demise of much of its wader breeding habitat through
deforestation and changes in farming policy. The hill
moors were planted and are now largely covered with
Sitka Spruce and the valley, in most part, is grazing
for cattle and sheep.
Fortunately, one type of habitat is still practically as it was, our mixed woodlands, and these support a good variety of birdlife - in fact the past few decades has seen increases in woodpeckers, Buzzards, doves, warblers, flycatchers and latterly the Nuthatch. Unfortunately, opinion differs on one increase, the Goshawk, as many species of birds fall prey to this predator.
The
building of Auchen Castle in 1849
by Henry Butler-Johnstone resulted in the formation
of a mixed broadleaved large area of shrubs and
undergrowth - the entire estate is rich in flora
and fauna. Birdlife abounds and we are deeply indebted
to the proprietor Ann Skinner for allowing us access
to the grounds in pursuit of our interests.
After reading this article I am sure that a number of the readers will wish to pay a visit to the woodlands. Before enjoying the woods a quick stop at the hotel reception should be made to make sure that there are no "activities" being carried out which may affect your bird watching. The staff will also know that people wandering around the grounds are there for a legitimate reason.
Throughout Spring and Summer well defined paths
edge along masses of colourful rhododendrons, azaleas,
etc. and the sylvan glades are dotted with nest boxes. Great, Blue and Coal
Tits are all regular occupants
and
though Pied Flycatchers are also regular
breeders,
the colourful Redstarts have yet to occupy one despite
being in the area. On the other hand, Nuthatches are now established breeding birds.
Practically all the nest boxes are viewable from the pathways, so there is no need to wander from the "beaten track", from where, incidentally, most of our breeding warblers can also be seen and heard. Woodland species like Tree creeper, Wren and Robin are plentiful. Great Spotted Woodpeckers are constantly in evidence and on occasion the Green Woodpecker puts in an appearance.
The Green Woodpecker is the emblem of Moffat and District Wildlife Club on account of the fact that the first recorded breeding for Dumfriesshire was in 1960 in Moffat Water valley just prior to the formation of the club.
Sparrowhawks reside in nearby conifers, Buzzards quarter the open fields ready to pounce on any unsuspecting rabbit and occasionally Peregrines can be seen circling high above the valley.
Both the Pied and Spotted
Flycatchers are summer
visitors to Scotland. The Pied Flycatcher choosing
either a tree-hole or a closed nest box in which
to nest, but the Spotted Flycatcher is more catholic
in its choice and we have photographed them in
a hole in a wall, a ventilation pipe, an old
thrush nest and a split tree- all in the Auchen
Castle
area.
Spotted Flycatchers will also accept an open
fronted nest box as a nest site. Unlike the more
conspicuous
Pied, the Spotted Flycatcher is insignificant
in its greyish-brown plumage, but its method of
feeding
is unmistakable. From a vantage point it darts
into the air, twists and turns as it catches
flying insects,
then returns to the point of departure or close
to it.
When well grown, the young woodpeckers in their nest chamber in a tree are quite noisy, thus are fairly easy to locate and can be observed from a safe distance as the parents flit to and from the nest with food.
Occupants of nest boxes can also be viewed in a similar manner, without undue disturbance, but remember not to attempt to remove the box lid as a wrongly replaced lid could result in tragedy !
The three leaf warblers, the Willow and Wood
Warbler and Chiffchaff,
can all be heard in late Spring as can the Garden
Warbler, Blackcap and Common
Whitethroat as
they define their breeding territories from various
song perches. Chiffchaffs and Wood Warblers call
from high up in the topmost branches with the Willow
Warbler choosing a lower situation. Although the
Chiffchaff and the Willow Warbler
closely resemble each other in plumage, the repetitive "chip-chap,
chip-chap" call of the Chiffchaff differs greatly
from the more melodious song of the Willow Warbler
as its notes trickle down the scale.
The third and the largest as well as the scarcest of the leaf warblers, the Wood Warbler, not only differs from the others in its much more yellowish plumage, but its song is also distinctive, a series of single notes which accelerate to a trill interspersed with a second phase- a plaintive "pew-pew-pew".
Two
other closely related warblers found in the vicinity
are the Garden Warbler and the Blackcap.
Garden Warblers do not visit "well kept" gardens,
but prefer "unkempt" bramble and scrubby
type thickets, as does the Blackcap. Both birds are
accomplished songsters, in fact they are two of our
finest, their songs
being difficult to differentiate. However, in this
case, when observed the birds themselves are easier
to identify which is which, as both sexes of the
Garden Warbler are plain sombre plumaged, whereas
the male Blackcap has a distinctive black cap, while
the females is reddish-brown.
Our final warbler is the Common Whitethroat. It is only really Common in name only, as this little warbler's numbers have dropped dramatically since the days when practically every substantial nettle patch supported a breeding pair- hence its local name of "nettle creeper". (The population plunged by three quarters due to a severe drought in the birds wintering zone in the Southern Sahara in 1968.) The song of the Common Whitethroat is often delivered from the top of a bush, when the grey head, white throat and reddish-brown wings of the singing male point to its identification. All of our garden songbirds can be found in varying numbers within the hotel grounds and amidst the mixed broadleaves such as Beech, Oak, Lime, Poplars, Ash, Chestnut, etc, etc, most of our local arboreal species also find sanctuary.
As well as providing an ideal habitat for birds, the whole estate and the equally impressive bordering Garpol Glen, also shelter families of most of our local mammals. Among some of the larger mammals are both the Fallow and Roe Deer which may be spotted at all times of the year. Badgers are far more plentiful than they used to be and can be seen any night on your way home as the car headlights light up their black and white fur as they cross the road in front of you and their sets can be found in the wooded glens, while the Red Fox can be glimpsed as they go about their unwelcome daily business.
Brown Hares and Rabbits are commonplace and the latter is in constant danger from two small predatory mammals, namely the Stoat and the Weasel which seem to be as numerous as ever. The Red Squirrel population is fairly healthy in the Auchen Castle area at the present, with a good number of sightings recently and the Garpol Glen is also extremely good for this attractive little mammal which we should all try to help to maintain, if not increase its numbers. There is also plenty of evidence of moles and voles, with wood mice harvesting the hazels along the railway bank during the Autumn.
We have also learned that their is a healthy population of Bats in the area and we hope to be able to get some bat experts to help us to identify them. There are Pipistrelle Bats, but there could well be other species.
Flying insects attract feeding birds such as Swallows, House Martins (which have a breeding colony on the hotel) and Sand Martins, and is also the main reason for such a healthy population of Spotted Flycatchers. We hope to increase the flycatcher population by erecting more open fronted nest boxes and we are also placing owl and bat boxes in strategic positions. Existing nest boxes are regularly maintained.
In 2003 the nest boxes
were quite successful with the following birds
rearing the following:
- 11
pairs
of Blue Tits reared 78 young,
-
7 pairs of
Great Tits reared 42 young,
-
1 pair of Coal Tits
reared 7 young,
-
2 pairs of Pied Flycatcher reared 10 young,
- the pair of Nuthatches
reared 8 young.
Since 1996 when the first 12 nest boxes were erected the magnificent total of 832 young birds have fledged from the nest boxes.
All in all, just as the hotel is a magnet, drawing in people from all points by providing excellent cuisine and accommodation - the estate, in bird terms, provides similar services.
Article and photographs by EMILIO DICERBO, MOFFAT AND DISTRICT WILDLIFE CLUB, PRESIDENT