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Birds

Tufted duck, Coot, Mallard, Mute Swan, Great Crested Grebe, Grey Heron, Cormorant, Kingfisher, Pochard, Shoveler, Bullfinch, Common Gull, Crow, Dunlin, Goldcrest, Goldfinch, Goosander, Lapwing, Shelduck, Tree Sparrow, Wigeon, Wren, Canada Goose, Moorhen

Butterflies and moths

Speckled wood, Small White, Large White, Gatekeeper, Cinnabar moth, Small Skipper, Ringlet, Peacock, Red Admiral, Comma

Dragonflies and Damselflies

Brown Hawker, Common Blue Damselfly, Blue-tailed Damselfly, Banded demoiselle damselfly

Insects

Soldier Beetle, Green Bottle, Speckled Bush-Cricket,  

Other Vertibrates

Grass Snake, Grey Squirrel

The visitor can view many species of seabirds at Sumburgh Head including Shag and Northern Fulmar, Kittiwake, Common Guillemot and Black Guillemot, Razorbill and the Atlantic Puffin. In late summer there is a large number of Common Eider and scarce seabirds such as the Sooty Shearwater and Long-tailed Skua, which may be seen during seawatches. Regularly seen from Sumburgh Head are Divers, European Storm-petrel, Long-tailed Duck and the Little Auk. It is also an excellent place for viewing cetaceans with Common Porpoise, White-beaked Dolphin, Risso's Dolphin, Killer Whale, Minke Whale and Humpback Whale all possible.

The diverse birdlife includes water rail, bittern, reed buntings, green sandpipers and yellowhammers. The meadows attract waders, ducks, snipe, golden plover and teal. In summer, the breeding birds include common tern, lapwing, little ringed plover, redshank and several species of duck. Both species of whitethroats can be seen, and occasionally grasshopper warblers and yellow wagtails. The tall fen vegetation provides nesting sites for sedge and reed warblers, as well as numerous cuckoos. Water voles, water shrews and harvest mice are abundant, and otters have returned to breed. Other wildlife includes a rich variety of invertebrates, as well as frogs, toads, newts and grass snakes.

Corncrake, Curlew, Lapwing, Snipe, Chough, Peregrines, Golden Eagle, Barnacle, White Fronted, Brent Geese can all be seen at the reserve while Seals lie on the beach and Otters can be seen hunting in the shallows and Red and Roe Deer can be spotted grazing on the seaweed at low tide, especially during winter.

Vast flocks of around 20,000 Barnacle Geese return to Caerlaverock every October from the Arctic to feed on the reserve until the following April when they return to their breeding grounds. Other migratory visitors include Whooper Swans, Pintail Ducks and Pink Footed Geese. Barn Owls nest on the reserve and can be viewd via CCTV at the visitors centre. Osprey can be seen fishing in the Solway Firth and several varieties of bird of prey hunt on the reserve and the rare White Tailed Plover is a rare visitor. The Solway coast is the only place in Scotland where the Natterjack Toad can be found, though it is more commonly heard than seen. The rare Tadpole Shrimp, thought to be extinct in the U.K. has recently been discovered thriving in the pools on the shoreline.