The Inner Solway.

The Inner Solway offers many sites to observe waders and wildfowl on the Dumfries & Galloway coast. Timing is the key here and generally a couple of hours either side of high tide is the optimum period to visit.

The Annan Estuary from the Seafield Viaduct, December 2007.

Birding starts just after crossing the border near Gretna. The Solway shore at Old Graitney is worth a check although birds do tend to be distant here and there is a fair bit of disturbance from local dog walkers.


The shore at Old Graitney is best accessed by the minor road road at NY316659. From this point views can be obtained across to Rockliffe Marsh on the Cumbrian side of the Solway and also the saltmarsh west towards Redkirk Point. Waders can be found on the marsh once flooded by the spring tides with Barnacle Geese and Whooper Swans present later in the autumn and winter.
Redkirk Point NY302650 is reached via a heavily rutted unmade road (sign posted "Redkirk"). The saltmarsh to the east can be viewed from the point as well as the mud flats of the estuary towards Browhouses. Cackling Goose has occurred with the Barnacles here (the raised vantage point here offers better views for scanning the marsh), with Yellow Wagtail recorded in the pasture. Little Gulls can sometimes be found at passage periods in the low tide channels. Golden Plovers gather on the mud flats here at low tide but are often best seen from Browhouses.

Browhouses NY281647 is one of the best sites on the D&G Solway for passage waders. The area is easily worked by parking sensibly away from the small residential area near the shore (check posts for Kingfisher here) and viewing from the parking area and footpaths heading east and west from that point. A walk westwards along the shore to Torduff Point can be most rewarding just before high tide (about an hour or so) but I have seen interesting species such as Little Stint, Curlew Sandpiper, Greenshank and Spotted Redshank at low tide. In September 2008 we saw the Pacific Golden Plover previously found at nearby Dornock here with a flock of Golden Plovers. An Otter scurrying around on the mud flats during one of our Timed Tetrad Visits in January 2009 was a pleasant surprise!



Proceeding west from Browhouses the shore at Dornock Cottage can be worth checking. There is limited parking space on the coast at NY218649 but once again the track can be muddy here. We located Dumfries & Galloway's first Pacific Golden Plover here in September 2008 on our first visit and we rarely drive past nowadays "just in case". High tide (when many waders find refuge in the fields) or just as the tide ebbs is a good time to be here.

Seafield Bay near Annan, Dumfries & Galloway October 2007.

Arguably the best site on the Inner Solway in D&G is Seafield Bay near Annan. Seafield's record for attracting rare and scarce birds is second to none in this area and boasts Whiskered Tern, American Golden Plover and Green-winged Teal to my knowledge with reports of Roseate and White-winged Black Tern as well. The bay is easily viewed from the small car park at Whinnyrig south of Annan. The overland passage of skuas can be witnessed from here or from the old viaduct just to the west after south westerly winds in late April and May. Pomarine Skuas sometimes pass in large numbers (often in flocks of double figures) accompanied by Arctic Skuas with Bonxies less frequent and Long-tailed Skuas rare in mid - late May.

Drake Green-winged Teal (centre) at Seafield Bay, December 2007.

The Annan estuary can also be viewed from the viaduct (watch for Scaup at high tide in winter) with Barnkirk Point to the west. Barnkirk Point NY190642 near Newbie is best known for its high tide wader roost, although there is some disturbance here from local dog walkers. Some observers favour the car park here for watching the spring skua passage as the open bay can be seen from Newbie Mains. The birds do tend to be more distant here than at Seafield as the crossing to the Cumbrian side is greater however.