A wander at a wild little nature reserve

Meet some very special Scottish wildlife, and a little surprise birdy

This week you’re joining me at a hidden jewel in the Scottish borders: Eskrigg. This tiny reserve on the edge of Lockerbie is absolutely bustling with life! Not least the butterflies that adorn the wildflowers in the picnic area. Every flowerhead wore its own lepidopteran hat - this one a Devil’s-bit Scabious decked out in Painted Lady.

It’s absolutely magical watching them all orient themselves to reach every last bit of the flower before fluttering to the next one and starting again.

This is a Small Tortoiseshell, sadly rapidly declining despite its host plant - the nettle - thriving. It prefers a wet start to the warmer months, and is therefore sensitive to the changes caused by global warming.

We also spot this clumsy Silver Y, so named for the prominent ‘y’ shape on its wings - you can see just the tail of the letter in this photo. I also watched one dancing over the top of the flowers in my aunt’s garden for what felt like hours on end.

We’re not alone at the reserve, as it’s late afternoon. My dad, sister, niece, nephew, aunt and two uncles are also around somewhere, but I’ve always preferred being one-on-one with wildlife. (With an exception made for Dad, when he’s not bashing his knee into the hide furniture or scuffing his feet in the gravel).

So we sneak off up the hidden track down the side of the largest hide. And we’re rewarded almost immediately - a reddish-brown shape hops across the path and up a tree a way off ahead. Could it be one of the Red Squirrels this reserve is known for attracting?

There it is again!

But it’s no squirrel. It’s a little Stoat! It scurries up the tree on the left of the frame, then vanishes completely. That doesn’t stop us creeping up, feet on the wooden edging to avoid that crunch of the gravel. And what a reward we get for doing so…

A gorgeous little Common Redstart flits onto one of the fence posts lining the field on the right. He doesn’t stay long - as soon as he spots us he drops down into the long grass. Hopefully not too close to that Stoat!

The species is in decline across Europe and it’s the first time I’ve seen one in the UK, so I’m absolutely thrilled. He’ll be heading to Central Africa before long.

We see very little else on account of it being ‘bird siesta o’clock’ and quite busy in terms of people. But we’ll sneak back again in the morning… alone.

---

Except the sneaking doesn’t really work. Far overhead, this single, shabby female Bullfinch spots us and calls out her melancholy ‘Fewww, Fewww’ before scarpering.

By contrast, one of the most impeccably groomed Dunnocks I have ever seen watches us from a couple of metres away.

Far off, you can hear the sharp, insistent ‘CHOOP’ of the Chaffinches around the feeders. They’re joined by quieter finches - Siskins, Greenfinches, Goldfinches. And of course, Robins by the bucketload.

But what about those Red Squirrels? For those, we need to go a bit further, to where the pines stretch their long, red trunks up to the sky, topped with a crown of green needles. This is squirrel territory. And right on cue, we hear it - the telltale sound of debris dropping from a great height.

In a small clearing, a Beech tree is loaded with nuts. And there he is.

We stand and watch, transfixed. His red fur is aflame in the morning sun. He is adorable, he’s fragile and threatened - and he’s a very messy eater.

After a short while, another one arrives and they engage in a rapid chase around the tree before disappearing back into the pines.

My feet feel heavy now, because it’s time to trudge back along the path to leave Eskrigg. We don’t even stop to say goodbye to the butterflies on the way out; it would be too easy to lose track of time.

I hope you’ve enjoyed visiting another of my favourite places with me. Please, let me know what you’ve spotted over the past few weeks!

Gem