Bird Watching -  The area is very popular with twitchers and with 3 of our rooms offering a superb view of the loch, Cairnryan House is a popular place to stay. Two of our bedrooms have seating areas making birdwatching from the bedroom very easy with the shore just some 20 metres away on the other side of the road. Watch a Heron inspecting the shore, Gannets diving for fish, the opportunities are endless. Seating in the garden also allows for birdwatching and dine in our restaurant in the evening and again, you can overlook Loch Ryan.

Here are just a few details of what you might see in and around the Cairnryan area. Birds often spotted at Cairnryan include Red Throated Divers and Red Breasted Mergansers and Eider Ducks.
You also may see the Slavonian Grebe and Long Tailed Duck here.

There are often Black Guillemot on the loch and many Oyster Catchers. A frequent visitor to the shore in front of our house is a Heron.
Other birds include the Black Necked Grebe, Red Necked Grebe and a Black Throated Diver as well as common Scoters, Greylags and Goldeneye.

Scaup are often seen feeding alongside Grebes, Divers, Auks and various specis of sea ducks. A rare visitor at spring time that attracts many Twitchers is the King Eider. Go to the layby by the Lighthouse, a ten minute walk from our house.

Other birds spotted on and near the loch include Brent Geese and the Rock Pipit which likes the rocky coastline.

The old Pier attracts Shags, Ringed Plovers, Cormorants, Turnstones, Dunlins, Sanderling and Gannets that during the summer months circle above the loch in front of our house before diving for Mackerel or other fish in the loch.

Visitors to our garden include the Long Tail Tit, Goldfinch, Greater Spotted Woodpecker, Jays, Mistle Thrush, Pied Wagtail, Goldcrest, Sparrowhawks, Kestrels and we have a resident Hen and Cock Pheasant.

Many Gulls are always spotted including Lesser black backed Gulls. Also seen are Pintail, Mallards, Wigeon down towards the Cockle shore of Stranraer which also has a large resident flock of Whooper Swans that like the salt water loch.

On the opposite side of Loch Ryan at Wig Bay (Kirkcolm) you should see a number of Twite and the occasional Reed Bunting and Jack Snipe.

The harbour at nearby Portpatrick is another good place to spot birds, as Wigtown, the Isle of Whithorn and the Mull of Galloway, Scotland’s most southerly point and one of its best kept secrets.

Further afield at the Loch Ken Reserve is another good place to watch birds with a number of recently built hides.

Glentrool Forest Park – making up part of the largest forest park in Britain, Glentrool should not be missed. Just 12 miles north of Newton Stewart, there’s a Visit, walks to Loch Trool, Bruces Stone, walking trails cycle routes and birdwatching.

Galloway Kite Trail – follow the trail through impressive scenery and expect to see sightings of Red Kites, Buzzards, Greenland White Fronted Geese, Icelandic Greylag Geese, Pied Flycatchers and more Visit www.gallowaykitetrail.com for more information.

Mull of Galloway – Scotland’s most southerly point with spectacular views east to Cumbria, south to the Isle of Man and West to Ireland. The area is also home to thousands of seabirds including Puffins, Fulmars, Shags, Kittiwakes and Guillemots. That nest on the many crevices and ledges. There’s a Visitor Centre with a turf roof so allowing it to blend in with surroundings houses a number of audio and visual displays, and the nearby heathland is home to many rare plants, butterflies and moths. Bring binoculars for a close up view of some of the birds and of seals frequently seen offshore. www.mull-of-galloway.co.uk

New Galloway, Loch Ken – this 9 mile long loch created by the Galloway Hydro Electric scheme is an important bird watching area with facilities for watersports and fishing. In the vicinity of the loch you’ll find mountain bike trails, off-road quad biking, archery, rafting, a water ski school and more. www.lochken.co.uk

Newton Stewart, Wood of Cree Nature Reserve – This RSPB reserve is home to many birds. There’s a picnic area and nature trails through wood and water filled areas.

Palnure, Newton Stewart, Cree Valley Community Woodlands Trust – A restored woodland accessed by many paths. www.cvcwt.org.uk

Wigtown, Ospreys - You can view nesting Ospreys that have successfully returned to the area to breed on live video pictures in the Wigtown County Buildings every weekday from May to September between 10am and 5pm. Ospreys then leave our shores in September flying to Africa before returning the following May. For other times and further information telephone 01988 402401 or email Elizabeth.tindal@dumgal.gov.uk

Wigtown Bay Nature Reserve - a fantastic area to watch birds, this is Britain’s largest local nature reserve and home to thousands of wintering birds. It is an important area for wildlife where the waters of the Rivers Bladnoch and Cree mix with sea water, creating large areas of salt marshes and mud flats. This is now the largest local nature reserve in Britain.