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NatureScot Renewed Seasonal Water Restrictions at Loch Kinord to Protect Breeding Goldeneye

Female common goldeneye swimming with ducklings
Conservation · Management

NatureScot renewed seasonal restrictions on water access at Loch Kinord in Muir of Dinnet National Nature Reserve, Scotland, for the 2026 breeding season. From 1 March to 31 August, visitors are asked not to take paddleboards, kayaks, canoes, inflatables or other vessels onto the loch in order to reduce disturbance to breeding waterbirds including common goldeneye (Bucephala clangula).

The measures were introduced in 2021 after a sharp rise in recreational use of the water. NatureScot states that disturbance at this stage can displace breeding birds and may separate ducklings from their parents. Loch Davan, the reserve’s smaller loch, remains closed to water sports throughout the year because its size makes disturbance difficult to avoid.

NatureScot reported that breeding fortunes for several waterbirds, including goldeneye, have improved in recent years. A 2023 update recorded more than 25 young goldeneyes fledging at Muir of Dinnet—the best breeding return there in more than a decade—compared with one brood of four ducklings in 2020 before the stricter water-access guidance was introduced.

The agency does not present the access measures as the only cause of improved breeding, but regards reduced disturbance as an important factor that can be managed locally. Muir of Dinnet receives more than 70,000 visitors a year, so the seasonal restrictions are intended to protect sensitive nesting and brood-rearing periods while keeping paths and land-based access available.

Sources and image credit

  1. NatureScot. (2026, February 26). Visitors asked to help birds by staying off the water at Muir of Dinnet.Primary 2026 management announcement setting seasonal water-access restrictions at Loch Kinord from 1 March to 31 August to protect breeding waterbirds, including common goldeneye.
  2. NatureScot. (2023, August 1). Goldeneye breeding success at Muir of Dinnet.Official historical context reporting more than 25 young goldeneyes fledged in 2023, compared with one brood of four ducklings in 2020, and describing disturbance-reduction measures introduced from 2021.

Image: MKFI / Wikimedia Commons — female common goldeneye (Bucephala clangula) with ducklings at Seurasaari, Finland, 22 May 2010; representative brood image; cropped to 16:9 · Public domain · Source

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