Follow trails to spot rare wildlife
Caerlaverock National Nature Reserve
Kirkconnell Flow National Nature Reserve
a red admiral butterfly
see rare red squirrels in Dumfries & Galloway
See unexpected species in Dumfries & Galloway, which is home to some rare and endangered animals from home and overseas.
You can glimpse red squirrels at various sites across Dumfries & Galloway. Dalbeattie Forest is home to a fifth of the Scottish red squirrel population so make sure you visit for a high chance of spotting these animals in their natural habitat.
Follow the waymarked Red Squirrel Walk, the first of its kind in southern Scotland, to find some of the best places to observe them in the wild. Along the 4-mile route you should also look out for fantastic flora and fauna. Keep your eyes peeled for otters, herons and fabulous fungi, to name just a few examples.
Discover more about the life of the osprey in Dumfries & Galloway, now back in the region after 100 years. You can see live CCTV coverage of the birds and their young in a room dedicated to wildlife watching on the top floor of the County Buildings in Wigtown. Watch the spectacular birds at this remarkable resource in the spring and summer months before they leave for warmer climes.
You can also watch CCTV footage of osprey at Caerlaverock Wetland Centre, a 1400 acre wild reserve on the Solway coast. Caerlaverock is most famous for the tens of thousands of barnacle geese that return to the reserve in October every year from the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and stay until April.
The reserve is also home to a variety of ducks, wintering whooper swans and barn owls to name but a few. You can join a warden for a guided walk around the reserve and learn more about the park and its intriguing wildlife.
Five miles south of Dumfries, you'll discover the Kirkconnell Flow National Nature Reserve, one of the most threatened habitats in the world. Explore the unique bog environment and find colourful sphagnum mosses and bog flowers which attract many intriguing wildlife species.
Follow the Butterfly Walk and look out for red admiral, peacock, orange tip and green hairstreak butterflies. In the warmer months, movements in the grasses reveal common lizards darting around and adders basking in the heat.
Dumfries & Galloway boasts an exciting number of places where you can get closer to wildlife and there are also a number of fantastic countryside ranger events and wildlife festivals. Keep your eyes peeled and you never know what you might encounter.
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