Solway Firth RSPB nature reserve to expand after raising £285,000 in one month

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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Critical bird habitat in Peru expanded to protect 23 threatened species

Land acquisitions to help protect one of world's rarest birds 

August 2013. Two new key properties have been acquired in northern Peru that will expand Abra Patricia Reserve to over 25,000 acres and help protect habitat for one of the world's rarest birds, the Long-whiskered Owlet, along with 23 other globally threatened species.

Critical habitat

The acquisitions were funded by American Bird Conservancy (ABC) and completed by Asociación Ecosistemas Andinos (ECOAN), ABC's partner in Peru. When combined with three other properties purchased by the two groups in January and February 2013, the newly acquired lands total 1,261 acres. The Abra Patricia area is recognized by the Alliance for Zero Extinction as a critical site for both the endangered Long-whiskered Owlet as well as the endangered Ochre-fronted Antpitta.

The Long-whiskered Owlet - discovered in 1976,

The Long-whiskered Owlet, which was only discovered in 1976, is one of the tiniest owls in the world, measuring only five inches tall. The bird's long, wispy facial feathers extend out past its head, creating the appearance of long whiskers.

The reserve at Abra Patricia consists of land privately owned by ECOAN as well as a 40-year conservation concession on forestry lands. When added to the recent acquisitions, the reserve now totals more than 25,000 acres managed by ECOAN for conservation.

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