Castle Espie news
Look who's back!
The last few days of August, saw the first Light-Bellied Brent Geese recorded on Strangford Lough this season. So far more than a dozen completed their epic journey from the Arctic and landed safely on the Lough, lured back by the life giving eelgrass. A
7 September 2018
Recent Sightings €- 3rd September 2018
The following sightings were recorded today at Mid tide from the reserve at Castle Espie. They have returned! After flying over 2500 miles from their breeding grounds in Arctic Canada Brent Geese have returned to their wintering ground in Strangford Lough
3 September 2018
Bank holiday fun at Castle Espie
Join us before our summer of wetland adventures draws to a close! On Saturday, our expert guides will show you to construct a real woodland den, using bendy willow for walls as part we host Den Building sessions b
24 August 2018
Say cheese!
Throughout June and July, our reserve team monitored the numbers of predators on-site, through camera traps. Red Fox These cameras were placed around the woodland, secret swamp, saline lagoon and limestone lake. Thi
10 August 2018
Beautiful butterflies
This year's weather has led to a boom in the numbers of butterflies and moths being recorded at Castle Espie, which was great news for our first ever Butterfly Walk in July! Visitors explored the reserve alongside Reserve Warden Ross. Sightings on the day
30 July 2018
Appeal for missing Mandarin duckling
Earlier this week, a Mandarin duckling was taken from inside our newly renovated outdoor Duckery. Sadly, we believe this happened between 2pm and 3pm on Monday 16 July, just hours after our five Mandarin ducklings had graduated from indoors. We're contin
19 July 2018
Welcome to the world little ones
There are many reasons to love the spring and summer time; sunshine, flowers, butterflies and of course, plenty of fluffy ducklings and gorgeous goslings! Over the past three months, our Avic team have welcomed dozens of new arrivals into our newly renov
8 July 2018
Filming with the BBC
Over the past week, we've been delighted to welcome two separate BBC teams to Castle Espie. Avic Warden Kez and Reserve Manager Maurice spent time showing Ruth Sanderson and her team from 'Home Ground' around the site, explaining some of the vital works
5 July 2018
Join us for a summer of wetland adventures!
Dusty's Wildlife Rangers, Sun 1 July - Fri 31 August This is your chance to become a Wildlife Ranger. There are lots of exciting challenges waiting for you, from bug hunting to bird-feeding. You’re sure to have a quacking time! A great place to start y
25 June 2018
Trapping moths with Ross and Karoline
Every Monday, Ross and Karoline from our reserve team record the numbers of moths caught in a specialist trap at Castle Espie Wetland Centre. The trap is set out on Sunday evening and offers the moths (plus other species), a safe and warm place to spend t
20 June 2018
It's your Tern
During May, our busy reserve team placed two new tern rafts on the main lake and saline lagoon at Castle Espie Wetland Centre. These are specially designed to provide an island habitat for terns, which is both safe from flooding and predation. To encoura
18 June 2018
New arrivals
Exciting news! This week we've welcomed two female Emperor goslings into our newly renovated Duckery. We're pleased to announce they are both doing really well under the watchful eye of mum and dad of course! Emperor geese are one of the favourite breeds
16 June 2018
Gulls just want to have fun
Every Spring hundreds of Black Headed Gulls check-in to Castle Espie to nest. So far, 2018 has been no different! This year our busy reserve team have recorded more than 650 nests on-site, with the lagoon surrounding the Crannog their favourite spot. Alth
14 June 2018
News of the Week from Castle Espie
Summer days are quickly flying by, and our Nature Explorers are coming in their droves! We just can’t believe that August is around the corner, but what a fantastic summer we have had so far. This is the beautiful Harper, getting to know the ducks at Ca
29 July 2016
Solar Day at Castle Espie
Have an ‘Astronomical’ Day Out at Castle Espie Calling all astronomers, adventurers and more! Get ready for an astronomical day out at Castle Espie’s Solar Day on Sunday, 7 August. Join the Irish Astronomical Association and Emerald Garrison Star W
25 July 2016