Loch Fleet: Difference between revisions
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'''Loch Fleet''' ({{lang-gd|Loch Fleòid}}) is a sea [[loch]] on the east coast of [[Scotland]], located between [[Golspie]] and [[Dornoch]]. It forms the estuary of the '''River Fleet''', a small spate river that rises in the hills east of [[Lairg]]. The loch was designated a [[National nature reserve (Scotland)|National Nature Reserve]] (NNR) in 1998, and is managed by a partnership between [[Scottish Natural Heritage]] (SNH), the [[Scottish Wildlife Trust]] (SWT) and Sutherland Estates. The NNR extends to 1058 hectares, including the Loch Fleet tidal basin, sand dunes, shingle ridges and the adjacent pine woods, including Balbair Wood and Ferry Wood. |
'''Loch Fleet''' ({{lang-gd|Loch Fleòid}}) is a sea [[loch]] on the east coast of [[Scotland]], located between [[Golspie]] and [[Dornoch]]. It forms the estuary of the '''River Fleet''', a small spate river that rises in the hills east of [[Lairg]]. The loch was designated a [[National nature reserve (Scotland)|National Nature Reserve]] (NNR) in 1998, and is managed by a partnership between [[Scottish Natural Heritage]] (SNH), the [[Scottish Wildlife Trust]] (SWT) and Sutherland Estates. The NNR extends to 1058 hectares, including the Loch Fleet tidal basin, sand dunes, shingle ridges and the adjacent pine woods, including Balbair Wood and Ferry Wood.<ref name=p5>The Story of Loch Fleet National Nature Reserve. p. 5.</ref> |
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==Geography and geology== |
==Geography and geology== |
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Loch Fleet is a shallow, bar-built estuary with extensive sand-flats and mud-flats backed by saltmarsh and sand dunes.<ref name="SPA">{{citation|url=http://www.jncc.gov.uk/default.aspx?page=1877 | title=Dornoch Firth and Loch Fleet SPA description | date=2001 | publisher=[[Joint Nature Conservation Committee]] | accessdate=2009-04-14}}</ref> |
Loch Fleet is a shallow, bar-built estuary with extensive sand-flats and mud-flats backed by saltmarsh and sand dunes.<ref name="SPA">{{citation|url=http://www.jncc.gov.uk/default.aspx?page=1877 | title=Dornoch Firth and Loch Fleet SPA description | date=2001 | publisher=[[Joint Nature Conservation Committee]] | accessdate=2009-04-14}}</ref> The loch connects to the [[Moray Firth]] via a narrow channel between Coul Links and Ferry Links.<ref name=p5/> |
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Beneath the sand dunes lies a bedrock of old Red Sandstone, overlain by shingle ridges, which extend from the western NNR boundary to the current coastline and north from [[Littleferry]] to [[Golspie]]. At the end of the last [[ice age]] Loch Fleet became a was a wide-open bay with a tidal delta reaching inland as far as Rogart. Overtime currents dragged shingle across the entrance of the bay, producing a tidal basin linked to the sea by a narrow tidal channel.<ref name=p7/> |
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| ⚫ | On 24 March 1997, the Dornoch Firth and Loch Fleet [[Special Protection Area]] (SPA) was established for wildlife conservation. |
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Loch Fleet, along with the neighbouring [[Dornoch Firth]], hosts significant populations of the following birds: |
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*Breeding: [[osprey]] (''Pandion haliaetus'') - in the early 1990s there were 10 breeding pairs.<ref name="SPA" /> |
*Breeding: [[osprey]] (''Pandion haliaetus'') - in the early 1990s there were 10 breeding pairs.<ref name="SPA" /> |
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*Overwintering: [[bar-tailed godwit]] (''Limosa lapponica''), [[greylag goose]] (''Anser anser''), [[wigeon]] (''Anas penelope''), [[curlew]] (''Numenius arquata''), [[dunlin]] (''Calidris alpina alpina''), [[oystercatcher]] (''Haematopus ostralegus'') and [[common teal|teal]] (''Anas crecca''). |
*Overwintering: [[bar-tailed godwit]] (''Limosa lapponica''), [[greylag goose]] (''Anser anser''), [[wigeon]] (''Anas penelope''), [[curlew]] (''Numenius arquata''), [[dunlin]] (''Calidris alpina alpina''), [[oystercatcher]] (''Haematopus ostralegus'') and [[common teal|teal]] (''Anas crecca''). |
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The [[Battle of Littleferry]] was fought a few days before the [[Battle of Culloden]] in 1746. The Sutherland militia came down from the hills above Golspie and fell upon around 500 men led by the Earl of Cromarty. Cromarty's men were cornered in the Littleferry peninsula on the northeast side of the loch, and were either killed, captured, or drowned in the loch. |
The [[Battle of Littleferry]] was fought a few days before the [[Battle of Culloden]] in 1746. The Sutherland militia came down from the hills above Golspie and fell upon around 500 men led by the Earl of Cromarty. Cromarty's men were cornered in the Littleferry peninsula on the northeast side of the loch, and were either killed, captured, or drowned in the loch. |
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The building of the Mound causeway, designed by [[Thomas Telford]] and built between 1814 and 1818 to carry what is now the [[A9 road]], reduced the size of the loch. The causeway, which is nearly 1 km long, acts as a tidal barrier, stopping the sea some 2.5 km short of the former tidal limit. Sluices in the causeway allow salmon and sea-trout to continue to migrate upstream to spawning areas, as well providing an outflow for the River Fleet.<ref name=p7>The Story of Loch Fleet National Nature Reserve. p. 7.</ref> |
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==Conservation designations== |
==Conservation designations== |
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Loch Fleet became a nature reserve under the management of the [[Scottish Wildlife Trust]] in 1970 by agreement with the landowners, Sutherland and Cambusmore Estates. In 1975 it was declared a |
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* Loch Fleet [[Site of Special Scientific Interest]] (SSSI) |
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| ⚫ | [[Site of Special Scientific Interest]] (SSSI). On 24 March 1997, the Dornoch Firth and Loch Fleet [[Special Protection Area]] (SPA) was established for wildlife conservation. The SPA covers {{convert|7836.33|ha|acres|0}} of Loch Fleet, the [[Dornoch Firth]], [[Morrich More]], the Mound Alderwoods and [[Tarbat Ness]], and was also listed as a [[RAMSAR]] Site the same year. The [[Joint Nature Conservation Committee]] described it as "one of the best examples in northwest Europe of a large complex estuary which has been relatively unaffected by industrial development".<ref name="SPA" /><ref name=p18>The Story of Loch Fleet National Nature Reserve. p. 18.</ref> |
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* Dornoch Firth and Loch Fleet [[Special Protection Area]] (SPA) |
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* Dornoch Firth and Loch Fleet [[RAMSAR]] Site |
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| ⚫ | Loch Fleet was made a [[national nature reserve (Scotland)|national nature reserve]] (NNR) in 1998: the NNR is classified as a [[Protected_area#IUCN_Protected_Area_Management_Categories|Category IV]] [[protected area]] by the [[International Union for Conservation of Nature]].<ref name=planet>{{cite web|url=https://protectedplanet.net/loch-fleet-national-nature-reserve|title=Loch Fleet in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland|publisher=Protected Planet|accessdate=2019-02-25}}</ref> |
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* [[National Nature Reserve (United Kingdom)|National Nature Reserve]] (NNR) |
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==References== |
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==Notes and references== |
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===Citations=== |
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{{reflist}} |
{{reflist}} |
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===Bibliography=== |
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*{{cite web|url=https://www.nature.scot/sites/default/files/2018-02/The%20Story%20of%20Loch%20Fleet%20National%20Nature%20Reserve.pdf|title=The Story of Loch Fleet National Nature Reserve|date=2015|accessdate=2019-02-25}}</ref> |
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== External links == |
== External links == |
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Revision as of 13:31, 25 February 2019
| Loch Fleet National Nature Reserve | |
|---|---|
IUCN category IV (habitat/species management area) | |
 View from Littleferry looking inland. | |
  Location within Sutherland | |
| Location | Sutherland, Scotland |
| Coordinates | 57°57′N 4°4′W / 57.950°N 4.067°W |
| Area | 1,058 ha (4.08 sq mi)[1] |
| Designation | Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) |
| Established | 1998[2] |
| Loch Fleet NNR | |
| Official name | Dornoch Firth and Loch Fleet |
| Designated | 24 March 1997 |
| Reference no. | 897[3] |
Loch Fleet (Scottish Gaelic: Loch Fleòid) is a sea loch on the east coast of Scotland, located between Golspie and Dornoch. It forms the estuary of the River Fleet, a small spate river that rises in the hills east of Lairg. The loch was designated a National Nature Reserve (NNR) in 1998, and is managed by a partnership between Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH), the Scottish Wildlife Trust (SWT) and Sutherland Estates. The NNR extends to 1058 hectares, including the Loch Fleet tidal basin, sand dunes, shingle ridges and the adjacent pine woods, including Balbair Wood and Ferry Wood.[4]
Geography and geology
Loch Fleet is a shallow, bar-built estuary with extensive sand-flats and mud-flats backed by saltmarsh and sand dunes.[5] The loch connects to the Moray Firth via a narrow channel between Coul Links and Ferry Links.[4]
Beneath the sand dunes lies a bedrock of old Red Sandstone, overlain by shingle ridges, which extend from the western NNR boundary to the current coastline and north from Littleferry to Golspie. At the end of the last ice age Loch Fleet became a was a wide-open bay with a tidal delta reaching inland as far as Rogart. Overtime currents dragged shingle across the entrance of the bay, producing a tidal basin linked to the sea by a narrow tidal channel.[6]
Flora and fauna
Loch Fleet, along with the neighbouring Dornoch Firth, hosts significant populations of the following birds:
- Breeding: osprey (Pandion haliaetus) - in the early 1990s there were 10 breeding pairs.[5]
- Overwintering: bar-tailed godwit (Limosa lapponica), greylag goose (Anser anser), wigeon (Anas penelope), curlew (Numenius arquata), dunlin (Calidris alpina alpina), oystercatcher (Haematopus ostralegus) and teal (Anas crecca).
Heading inland, the alder woods around the mouth of the river at the Mound are significant.
History
The ruins of Skelbo Castle are situated on the south side of the loch.
The Battle of Littleferry was fought a few days before the Battle of Culloden in 1746. The Sutherland militia came down from the hills above Golspie and fell upon around 500 men led by the Earl of Cromarty. Cromarty's men were cornered in the Littleferry peninsula on the northeast side of the loch, and were either killed, captured, or drowned in the loch.
The building of the Mound causeway, designed by Thomas Telford and built between 1814 and 1818 to carry what is now the A9 road, reduced the size of the loch. The causeway, which is nearly 1 km long, acts as a tidal barrier, stopping the sea some 2.5 km short of the former tidal limit. Sluices in the causeway allow salmon and sea-trout to continue to migrate upstream to spawning areas, as well providing an outflow for the River Fleet.[6]
Conservation designations
Loch Fleet became a nature reserve under the management of the Scottish Wildlife Trust in 1970 by agreement with the landowners, Sutherland and Cambusmore Estates. In 1975 it was declared a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). On 24 March 1997, the Dornoch Firth and Loch Fleet Special Protection Area (SPA) was established for wildlife conservation. The SPA covers 7,836.33 hectares (19,364 acres) of Loch Fleet, the Dornoch Firth, Morrich More, the Mound Alderwoods and Tarbat Ness, and was also listed as a RAMSAR Site the same year. The Joint Nature Conservation Committee described it as "one of the best examples in northwest Europe of a large complex estuary which has been relatively unaffected by industrial development".[5][7]
Loch Fleet was made a national nature reserve (NNR) in 1998: the NNR is classified as a Category IV protected area by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.[2]
References
Citations
- ^ "Site Details for Loch Fleet NNR". Scottish Natural Heritage. Retrieved 2019-02-25.
- ^ a b "Loch Fleet in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland". Protected Planet. Retrieved 2019-02-25.
- ^ "Dornoch Firth and Loch Fleet". Ramsar Sites Information Service. Retrieved 25 April 2018.
- ^ a b The Story of Loch Fleet National Nature Reserve. p. 5.
- ^ a b c Dornoch Firth and Loch Fleet SPA description, Joint Nature Conservation Committee, 2001, retrieved 2009-04-14
- ^ a b The Story of Loch Fleet National Nature Reserve. p. 7.
- ^ The Story of Loch Fleet National Nature Reserve. p. 18.
Bibliography
- "The Story of Loch Fleet National Nature Reserve" (PDF). 2015. Retrieved 2019-02-25.</ref>
External links
