Glenluce and surrounding areas are great for Bird Watching

The Solway Coast

The whole of the northern coast of the Solway, as far along as the Mull of Galloway, is an excellent place for watching wildfowl in the winter and should not be missed by anyone interested in seeing huge flocks of geese and waders. The birds are attracted here by the vats tracts of intertidal mud and sand, with large areas of salt marsh and fields lining the coast, which provide excellent feeding areas.

Mull of Galloway

This is an RSPB clifftop reserve,consisting of a small nesting seabird colony on the granite ledges. There are guillemots, razorbills, fulmars and shags breeding on the cliffs and black guillemots among the the shoreline boulders. From the cliff, where there is a car park, views of feeding gannets off Scar Rocks are frequent in summer, and it is a good vantage point for passing seabirds, including Manx shearwaters.

Location: 20 miles south of Stranraer. Take A716 to Drumore and then B7041. Unclassified road leads to the lighthouse and cliffs.

Wood of Cree

Set alongside the River Cree, this reserve consist largely of old coppice. It is one of the largest broadleaved woods in the south of Scotland, its trees mostly oak, birch and hazel. Nesting birds here include sparrowhawks, buzzards, woodcocks, garden warblers, tree pipits, wood warblers and red starts. Several small streams tumble through the wood, and dippers, common sandpipers and grey wagtails are likely to be seen along these. As well as birds, this is a place to watch for otters, and there is a good butterfly population.

Location: 4 miles north-west of Newton Stewart. Reached from unclassified road from Minnigaff running north parallel with A714.

Glen Trool

The glen is part of the Galloway Forest Park, owned by the Forestry Commission. Much of the area is afforested and here the usual conifer-loving birds appear: siskins, goldcrests and coal tits, as well as crossbills. There is also old oak woodland, and here there are wood warblers, redstarts and pied flycatchers breeding, as well as woodcocks. Various birds of prey appear, including the elusive peregrine and hen harrier - buzzards are common, as they are throughout western Scotland. Summer is the best time to visit. It is possible to walk right round the loch, on the 4½ mile Loch Trool Trail, which begins at Caldon, but the more adventurous may prefer hillwalking to the top of 2,764ft Merrick, the highest mountain in the Southern Uplands. To the south-west is Clatteringshaws Loch, with fine scenery and reasonable birdwatching, and the added bonus of the Galloway Deer Museum. Both red and roe deer are common throughout the park, but, despite their size, can be difficult to spot on the open hillsides.

Location: north of Newton Stewart, signposted from A714 at Bargrennan.