RSPB nature reserve to expand
after raising £285,000 in one month
A nature reserve which is home to
an extremely rare toad and other wildlife is to expand following a successful
fundraising drive.
RSPB Scotland
Mersehead will expand by 112 hectares, the equivalent of 80 football pitches,
after £285,000 was raised in just one month in an appeal launched by the
charity in October.
The reserve, located on the
Solway Firth close to Dumfries, is a sanctuary for around 10,000 barnacle geese
that make the epic 1,000-mile migration from the Arctic island of Svalbard
every year.
It is also home to the only
Scottish population of the natterjack toad, while in the summer the songs of
yellowhammers, linnets and lapwings fill the air.
The autumn brings pintails, teals
and widgeons to the reserve, and waders such as oystercatchers, golden plovers
and increasingly rare curlews join the geese during the colder months of the
year.
Mersehead was previously two
different parts of land separated by arable farmland, however they will now be
joined together after the charity bought the land.
David Beaumont, RSPB Scotland
reserves manager in south and west Scotland, said: "A huge thank-you to
everyone who donated money to this urgent appeal. It really was a race against
time when we launched our campaign to secure this site for nature.
"Thanks to the overwhelming
public response, Mersehead has now been made whole, which is wonderful news for
the special wildlife of the Solway Firth.
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