a special place for birdsThe Solway Firth

SOLWAY BIRDLIFE

The Solway Firth is a very special and important placefor birds. As one of the biggest areas of intertidalhabitats in the UK it supports nationally and inter-nationally protected populations of waterbirds, over100,000 of which come here in winter to feed andrest. Many have come thousands of miles to be here!

It’s a great place to see and enjoy these birds whilst also making sure we protect them fromdisturbance. Once disturbed birds can take a longtime to settle back down to feeding and resting and this uses up vital energy reserves which candecrease their chance of survival.

In spring and summer some birds such as theoystercatcher and ringed plover nest on theground. Please be careful not to accidentallytrample their well camouflaged eggs or chicks, ordisturb parents away from the nest for so long thateggs and chicks could die.

We can all help by:

• Looking out for birdsfeeding and resting on thecoast

• Taking care not to scare ordisturb them

• Moving further away if abird becomes alert andstops feeding

• Staying on the paths wherethey exist

• Always following requestson signs

• Exercising your dog awayfrom resting or feeding birds

• Keeping your dog in sightand on a short lead if youcannot rely on its obedience

The whooper swan is a large white swanwhich can be identified by the distinctive

yellow patches on its bill. The local muteswan is bigger with an orange bill. Mostwhooper swans in the Solway fly in from

Iceland to spend the winter here.

Did you know?

The yellow patterns on whooperswan bills are unique to each bird,

just like finger prints.

WHOOPER SWAN

PINK-FOOTED GOOSE

This medium sized goose has a pink billand pink feet and legs. The body is greyishwith a darker head and neck. Pink-footedgeese breed in Iceland and Greenland andfly to the Solway to spend the winter in themilder climate.

Did you know?

These are often the geese you seeflying in large Vs and can beidentified by their high pitchedsquawking calls to each other.

The oystercatcher is a large, stocky, blackand white wading bird with a long, orange-

red bill and reddish-pink legs. Its brightcolours make it an easy bird to identify.

There are not many oysters on the Solwayanymore so they feed mainly on musselsand cockles using their long bill to break

into the shells.

Did you know?

Oystercatchers have been knownto live up to 40 years of age.

OYSTERCATCHER

RINGED PLOVER

The ringed plover is a small, dumpy wadingbird with a brown cap, white forehead, ablack mask around the eyes, orange legsand a short orange and black bill. It can beseen all year round on the Solway feedingon insects and crustaceans which it lures tothe surface of the beach by tapping its feeton the ground to mimic raindrops.

Did you know?

If a predator gets too close to itsnest, the ringed plover will pretendto have a broken wing to lure theintruder away.

Knot are a chunky, short wading birdwith silvery-grey plumage on top and

white underneath (red in summer) withshort grey/green legs. Knot spend thewinter on the Solway where they form

large wheeling flocks of many thousands.They feed on shellfish and worms.

Did you know?

Some knot undertake one of the longestmigrations of any animal from their

Arctic breeding grounds to the coasts ofEurope, Africa and Australia.

KNOT

BAR-TAILED GODWIT

Bar-tailed godwits are large, tall wadingbird with a long beak. They havegrey/brown plumage with a barred tailand white wedge on the rump and uponto the back. These birds breed in the farnorth of Scandinavia and Siberia but cometo spend the winter on the Solway.

Did you know?

When they breed, both the maleand female bar-tailed godwits carefor the eggs and the baby godwitsonce they hatch.

The black and white barnacle geese found onthe Solway Firth are the entire population of

geese from an island group in the Arcticcalled Svalbard. These geese fly thousands of

miles every autumn to spend the winter onthe saltmarshes of the Solway, the main areas

being Caerlaverock and Mersehead on theScottish side and Rockcliffe Marsh andNewton Marsh on the Cumbrian coast.

Did you know?

It was thought that barnacle geese hatchedfrom goose barnacles on the beach each yearas the birds were never seen in the summer

but suddenly re-appeared in autumn.

BARNACLE GOOSE

EURASIAN CURLEW

The curlew is the biggest UK wading birdand is easily identified by its long, down-curved bill, mottled brown plumage andlong, bluish legs. The Solway Coast is oneof the top sites in the country to seecurlew as they are found in flocks ofseveral thousands in the winter monthsespecially January / February time.

Did you know?

A group of curlews iscalled a “curfew”.

The goosander is a diving duck which feedson fish in rivers and along the coast. It is a

member of the sawbill family, so named asthey have long, narrow bills with saw-like

teeth for catching fish. The males have a greenhead, black and white body and red beak with

a hooked tip while the females have a redhead with a more grey body but similar beak.

Did you know?

The goosander first colonisedScotland in 1871 but has spread

across the UK since then.

GOOSANDER

CORMORANT

Cormorants are large, black, long neckedwater birds with hooked beaks often seenaround the coast on favourite roostingspots. They hold their wings out to dry in a distinctive pose, as their feathers arenot waterproof. This feature, which seemsa disadvantage, allows them to dive togreater depths to catch fish.

Did you know?

Cormorants can dive up to depthsof 10 metres and hold their breathfor 70 seconds.

The shelduck is one of the largest ducks inthe UK, growing as big as a small goose. It has a distinctive dark green head and

neck, a red bill and a mostly white body withchestnut and black markings. They can be

spotted all year round along the Solwayfeeding on invertebrates in the mud and

sand but numbers rise significantly in winter.

Did you know?

Shelduck will nest in rabbit burrows ortree holes rather than on the ground.Young shelduck are often placed in a

Crèche supervised by one or two adults.

SHELDUCK

GOLDEN PLOVER

Adult golden plovers have a summerplumage of black front surrounded by aband of white with a spotted-gold and blackback and cap. In winter, the adults lose theblack and have a yellow front. Golden ploverspend the summer in the uplands but formlarge flocks in winter on the coast, often inthe company of lapwings.

Did you know?

The Guinness Book of Records was foundedin 1955 with one of the first records being agolden plover having flown at 60 miles perhour during a shooting party in Ireland.

A small, plump wading bird with grey backand white belly, black legs and a short black

bill. They are characteristically light silvery greyin winter which helps distinguish from the

similar dunlin.This bird doesn’t breed in theSolway but fly from the Arctic breeding

grounds to spend the winter here. They can befound on the long sandy beaches of the

Solway, running up and down the shore witheach passing wave, feeding on small marine

worms, crustaceans and molluscs.

Did you know?

The sanderling is unique within wading birdspecies as it has no hind toe, giving it a

distinctive running action.

SANDERLING

DUNLIN

The dunlin, a small wader, forms large flockson the Solway coast in winter, often mixedwith ringed plover. They fly here from theirbreeding grounds in the uplands ofScotland and northern England. The smalldull grey brown bird looks similar to thesanderling in winter plumage with a greyback and white belly but it can be identifiedby its bill which is slightly longer and curvesdownwards. They prefer the mud of theSolway to the sandy beaches.

Did you know?

There are at least 11 different races of dunlinsin the world with three of them visiting theUK each year, each one at a different time.

The redshank is a resident breeder andwinter visitor to the Solway. It is a medium

sized wader with distinctive red-orangelegs, a medium-length bill with an orangebase, brown speckled back and wings andpaler belly. They are nervous birds and soare often the first to panic and give noisy

alarm calls to other nearby waders.

Did you know?

The redshank find their food bysight and only rarely probe into

the mud or sand.

REDSHANK

TURNSTONE

The turnstone is a medium sized wadingbird with brown / black upperparts and abrown and white or black and white headpattern. They can be seen along the UKcoast in small numbers on shingle or rockyshores for most of the year but don’t breedhere and are more commonly seen in winterpicking over rocks looking for food.

Did you know?

The turnstone got its name from the habitof turning over stones, some as big as itself,to find insects, crustaceans and molluscs.

The grey plover is a winter visitor to theSolway, arriving in late summer / autumnfrom their breeding ground in the Arctic

tundra. The pigeon sized bird has abrowny/grey plumage with a white rumpand black armpits under the wings which

become obvious in flight. They are prone todisturbance and are usually the first shore

birds to take flight.

Did you know?

Away from their breeding groundthe grey plover can be found onall six continents during winter.

GREY PLOVER

LAPWING

Lapwing have black and white plumagewith shiny green on the upper part of thebody and a black crest on top of the head.They are easily recognised by their ‘peewit’call and their round winged, wheeling flightpattern. They are resident around theSolway and so can be seen all year round.

Did you know?

Lapwings are nocturnal, preferring to huntduring the night to avoid black headedgulls which often steal their food.

PLOVERKnotCURLEW

TELLInWORM

LUGWORM

5 CM

10 CM

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DIFFERENT SIZED BILLS FOR DIFFERENT FOOD

At high tide water covers the birdsfeeding areas so they are forced to move

to drier ground along the edges of theestuary. Birds flock together in their

hundreds or thousands in certain areasalong the Solway; these are called hightide roosts. The birds need to conserve

their energy so enjoy watching them at adistance without disturbing them.

TURNSTONE

COCKLE

15 CM

Insects

A

BD

F

HG

CE

B724

A710B793

A75A75

A74(M)

M6

A711

A711

A595

A595 A591

A596

A66

A66

B

DUMFRIES

ANNAN

GRETNANEWABBEY

DALBEATTIE

MARYPORT

SILLOTH

KESWICK

WORKINGTON

WHITEHAVEN

KIRKCUDBRIGHT

CASTLEDOUGLAS

CARLISLE

A

B

C

D

E

F

G

H

RSPB MERSEHEAD

CAERLAVEROCK NNR

WWT CAERLAVEROCK RESERVE & VISITOR CENTRE

BOWNESS-ON-SOLWAY

RSPB CAMPFIELD MARSH

SILLOTH PUBLIC CAR PARK BY LIFE BOAT STATION

SIDDICK POND LOCAL NATURE RESERVE

WORKINGTON HARBOUR

Design: Findlay DesignPhotography: Edmund Fellowes, Keith Kirk, Tom Langlands,© Natural England Allan Drewitt, RSPB-Images Andy Hay

This publication was commissioned and funded by Natural England

WHERE TO WATCH BIRDS