Reedbed reboot leads to rare raptor return

A four‑year habitat restoration project at NatureScot’s Caerlaverock National Nature Reserve has successfully encouraged the return of marsh harriers, a rare raptor in Scotland, to the site.

Conservation staff improved and expanded seven hectares of reedbed (marsh harriers’ preferred breeding habitat) by raising the water table, cutting old reeds, creating open water, and extending reed‑edge areas.

Dragonflies and snipe have also thrived. In summer 2025 a pair of marsh harriers nested in the restored reedbed.