Stock Photography: Dumfriesshire

Caerlaverock WWT

*Page under construction*

I have amassed a large collection of Stock Photography images which previously could be accessed via a link to Photographers Direct.com. This was a well-established website with well over one million images on record, supplied by thousands of photographers worldwide. However, in early 2019 the site folded 
without warning or explanation, I suspect as the result of a downturn in the Stock Photography market. As an alternative means of displaying my stock images, I am in the early stages of creating a series of thumbnail gallery pages featuring shots previously held by PD in addition to those included in the main posts. Due to the large number of JPEG files I have not attempted to re-keyword individual files as before but have grouped them under general headings so that they can be accessed via a general search. Larger categories will be sub-divided and some subjects may be duplicated on one or more pages. 

The Wildlife and Wetlands Trust (WWT) Reserve at Caerlaverock on the Scottish side of the Solway Firth is worth a look at any time of the year but each October sees the first vast flocks of Barnacle Geese return from the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard to overwinter until April. The reserve is a place of open coastal flats, wide skies and very little human disturbance. 

It encompasses expansive salt marshes, tidal pools and fields for grazing with the fells of the English Lakeland forming a fine backdrop in the views southward across the Solway. Despite there being a population of less than 500 Barnacle Geese in 1940, the species has recovered well with numbers now in excess of 40,000 birds. This means that the whole Svalbard breeding population of Barnacle Geese have spent the winter on the Solway in recent years. Other species of geese including Canada (below) and Pink-footed, Mute and Whooper Swans and various types of wader join them as they feed on the nutrient-rich salt flats and merses. 

Caerlaverock Castle

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