First Tarras Valley Skydancer Day Tour Event a Big Success with Fantastic Views of Male and Female Hen Harriers
The first Skydancer Day guided tours, to observe Hen Harriers returning for the breeding season at Tarras Valley Nature Reserve, proved to be a big success. More than 30 visitors, accompanied by guides from the local Dumfries & Galloway Raptor Study Group, enjoyed spectacular views of Hen Harriers, some for the very first time.
According to Reserve Manager Jenny Barlow, the event could become an annual feature at Tarras Valley.
“We wanted to say huge thanks to everyone who came to support our first Skydancer Day on Tarras Valley! The weather was very kind to us in the morning (not so much in the afternoon) and we got some fantastic clear views of male and female Hen Harriers across the Valley. Our local raptor group were on hand to point out the birds to everyone, answer questions and help with scopes so people could get a good glimpse of these amazing birds.
It was an excellent chance welcome new visitors to the area to come and experience our Hen Harriers, which are a rare sight in the region. We loved witnessing people seeing their very first Hen Harrier and we are looking forward to hosting the tours again next year!”
The Story of Tarras Valley Nature Reserve
In May 2019, Buccleuch Estates announced its decision to sell 25,000 acres of Langholm Moor. This news came as a surprise and a shock to the local community who have deep cultural connections with the land. For over 250 years, the community have marked the boundaries of the land through the annual Common Riding, much of this land within the sale area.
Following extensive local consultations, the Langholm Initiative Trust agreed to launch a fundraising campaign on behalf of the community, attempting to raise over £6m to purchase 10,500 acres of this very special landscape. Community ownership of land was a chance to help support wider regeneration of the town through new nature-based enterprises and make a meaningful contribution to the climate and ecological emergency.
At the start, this seemed like an impossible dream but with a huge dedicated effort across the community with an army of volunteers and support from partner organisations, the campaign quickly gained momentum. A fundraising campaign attracted a huge £3.8m in just 6 months. This enabled the initial purchase of 5,200 acres of the Tarras Valley to go ahead, the first half of the land officially transferred to the community in March 2021.
This included the land which has been marked for hundreds of years by many generations of the community of Langholm in the annual Common Riding – a historic achievement and a very powerful symbol. The final 5,300 acres of land was held off the open market in agreement with Buccleuch to enable the community to fundraise the final £2.2m to secure the Northern half of the Tarras Valley.
The buyout’s second stage was launched in October 2021. In 9 months, the community defied the odds and “achieved the impossible” for a second time in two years raising the total needed to double the size of the landholding and bring it into community hands. This truly epic journey for a small community would not have been possible without the unwavering support of so many wonderful donors and volunteers from all walks of life, who have helped to make history.