The birds, while no longer a rare bird in the UK, remain a scarce sight in Scotland
Marsh harriers have successfully bred for the first time at a wetland reserve after restoration work restored water to a landscape predominately drained for agriculture.
The breeding success at WWT Caerlaverock, on the Solway Firth in Dumfries and Galloway, is a significant milestone following work to reconnect the reserve’s wetlands with the surrounding saltmarsh and peatlands.
The birds, which hunt low over wetlands in search of prey, were previously persecuted to near extinction then faced significant declines after recolonising due to organochlorine pesticide use. While conservation of the species has been a huge success in recent decades, with numbers removing the species’ rare status, they still remain a scarce sight in Scotland.
Another bird rarely spotted in Scotland yet confirmed to have successfully reproduced at the reserve this year was the Cetti’s warbler, which has also bred there for the first time.
The changes are part of Wilder, Wetter Caerlaverock, a project supported by £300,000 from the Scottish government’s Nature Restoration Fund, awarded through NatureScot. The first phase has made 250 hectares of grassland wetter, created five hectares of open water and established 32 new ponds for the natterjack toad, the UK’s rarest toad species.
David Pickett, the centre and reserve manager at WWT Caerlaverock, said the arrival of breeding marsh harriers is evidence that restoring the landscape’s natural water systems can deliver results.
“This area used to be a continuous transition from saltmarsh to wet grassland and lowland raised bogs, but years of agriculture and water-diverting efforts fragmented it,” he said.
“By just adding water to the land, the WWT team and the community have reversed much of these changes, and the effects were almost immediate.”
The 1,400-acre reserve between the Solway estuary, coastal saltmarsh and the Lochar Mosses peatlands, lies where wetlands once formed a more continuous landscape.
Over time, Mr Pickett said drainage and changes in land management disrupted these connections. He said the restoration project has sought to reverse some of that fragmentation, allowing water to spread across the land and creating a greater variety of habitats for wildlife.
Other species have been benefitting from the project, including wigeon, teal and lapwing, which the team said have also successfully bred at the reserve since the restoration work began. A glossy ibis, usually a rare visitor to the UK and is more commonly found in the hot climates of Asia, Africa, South America, Australia and warmer parts of Europe, has recently been recorded at the reserve. Its presence was attributed by the WWT to a combination of hotter summer weather and the greater diversity of wetland habitats.
WWT said the project has also brought economic benefits to the surrounding area. By working with neighbouring farmers and local contractors over three years, some £250,000 of the project funding has been spent in the local economy.
Mr Pickett said the work demonstrated that restoring nature could support rural livelihoods as well as wildlife.
“This shows that nature and wetlands can really pay,” he said.
Mr Pickett added: “The successful breeding of marsh harriers is testament to what a deliberate and dedicated wetland restoration project can achieve and is exactly what makes a nature reserve’s manager’s job so worthwhile. We have never recorded breeding marsh harriers in this reserve before and now have the perfect evidence to show that our work in supporting and enhancing the local wildlife here is working.”