Loch Fleet facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Loch Fleet National Nature Reserve |
|
|---|---|
|
IUCN Category IV (Habitat/Species Management Area)
|
|
View from Littleferry looking inland.
|
|
 Loch Fleet National Nature Reserve
Location in Sutherland
|
|
| Location | Sutherland, Scotland |
| Area | 1,058 ha (4.08 sq mi) |
| Designation | NatureScot |
| Established | 1998 |
| Loch Fleet NNR | |
| Official name: Dornoch Firth and Loch Fleet | |
| Designated: | 24 March 1997 |
| Reference #: | 897 |
Loch Fleet (which is Loch Fleòid in Scottish Gaelic) is a sea loch on Scotland's east coast. It's found between the towns of Golspie and Dornoch. This loch is where the River Fleet, a small river from the hills east of Lairg, meets the sea.
In 1998, Loch Fleet became a National Nature Reserve (NNR). This means it's a special place protected for nature. It's looked after by NatureScot, the Scottish Wildlife Trust, and Sutherland Estates. The reserve covers a huge area of 1058 hectares (about 2600 acres). This includes the loch's tidal basin, sandy dunes, shingle beaches, and nearby pine woods like Balbair Wood. The tidal basin itself is over 630 hectares, making it the biggest part of the NNR.
Contents
Discovering Loch Fleet's Geography
Loch Fleet is a shallow estuary, which is where a river meets the sea. It has wide sand and mud flats. Behind these flats are saltmarshes and sand dunes. The loch connects to the Dornoch Firth through a narrow channel. This channel is located between Coul Links and Ferry Links.
How Loch Fleet Was Formed
Underneath the sand dunes, you'll find old Red Sandstone rock. On top of this are shingle ridges. These ridges stretch from the reserve's western edge to the current coastline. They also go north from Littleferry to Golspie.
After the last ice age, Loch Fleet was a wide-open bay. A tidal delta reached far inland, almost to Rogart. Over time, ocean currents slowly moved shingle across the bay's entrance. This created the tidal basin we see today. It's now linked to the sea by a narrow channel.
Wildlife at Loch Fleet
Loch Fleet is a fantastic place for many animals. The mudflats are especially important for birds. Over 100 different bird species have been seen here. The best times to spot them are during spring and autumn migrations.
Birds of Loch Fleet
Many birds spend the winter at Loch Fleet. These include the Bar-tailed godwits, greylag geese, wigeons, curlews, dunlins, and teals. About 2% of all the greylag geese in the UK use the wider Dornoch Firth and Loch Fleet area. Loch Fleet is very important for them in autumn. As winter goes on, many geese move to the Dornoch Firth. In summer, these geese travel north. Some go to Iceland, while others stay in Scotland.
Birds that breed at Loch Fleet include Arctic terns, common terns, oystercatchers, ringed plovers, wheatears, stonechats, cuckoos, meadow pipits, and skylarks. These birds like the sandy links habitat.
The pinewoods are home to other birds. You might see crossbills, siskins, redstarts, treecreepers, great spotted woodpeckers, buzzards, and sparrowhawks. Loch Fleet is also a great spot to watch ospreys fishing. In the early 1990s, there were 10 pairs of ospreys breeding in the wider area.
Mammals of Loch Fleet
The most common mammals you'll see at Loch Fleet are seals. Common seals can be seen all year from the public road at Skelbo. Grey seals visit during the winter months.
Other mammals found here include otters and pipistrelle bats. You might also spot typical Scottish land mammals. These include roe deer, foxes, pine martens, and weasels. While red squirrels and Scottish wildcats have been seen in the past, they haven't been recorded recently.
Plants and Fungi
Loch Fleet NNR is home to many different plants and fungi. There are 265 types of vascular plants, over 110 types of lichen, and more than 50 types of fungi.
The most special plants are found in the pinewood at Balblair Wood. Here, you can find rare species like one-flowered wintergreen, twinflower, and creeping lady's-tresses. Other plants that are rare in Scotland but common in native pine forests are also here. These include common wintergreen and lesser twayblade. The alder woods near the mouth of the River Fleet are also very important.
Loch Fleet's Past
Loch Fleet has an interesting history.
Skelbo Castle Ruins
The old ruins of Skelbo Castle are located on the south side of the loch.
The Battle of Littleferry
A famous battle, the Battle of Littleferry, happened here in 1746. This was just a few days before the big Battle of Culloden. The Sutherland militia, a local army, came down from the hills. They attacked about 500 men led by the Earl of Cromarty. Cromarty's men were trapped on the Littleferry peninsula, on the northeast side of the loch. Many were killed, captured, or drowned in the loch.
The Mound Causeway
Between 1814 and 1818, a large causeway called the Mound was built. It was designed by Thomas Telford and now carries the A9 road. This causeway is almost 1 kilometer long. It acts like a barrier, stopping the sea about 2.5 kilometers short of where the tide used to reach.
The Mound causeway also has special gates called sluices. These allow salmon and sea-trout to swim upstream to their spawning areas. They also let the River Fleet flow out to the sea. The building of the Mound reduced the size of the loch.
Protecting Loch Fleet's Nature
Loch Fleet is a very important place for nature. It has several special protections.
Nature Reserve Status
In 1970, Loch Fleet became a nature reserve. It was managed by the Scottish Wildlife Trust with permission from the landowners. In 1975, it was named a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). The Loch Fleet SSSI is a bit bigger than the NNR, covering 1232 hectares. It also includes Coul Links.
On March 24, 1997, the Dornoch Firth and Loch Fleet Special Protection Area (SPA) was created. This area is protected for wildlife conservation. The SPA covers a huge area of 7836 hectares. It includes Loch Fleet, the Dornoch Firth, Morrich More, the Mound Alderwoods, and Tarbat Ness. It was also listed as a Ramsar site in the same year. A Ramsar site is a wetland of international importance. The Joint Nature Conservation Committee called it "one of the best examples in northwest Europe of a large complex estuary." They noted it has not been much affected by industrial development.
Finally, Loch Fleet was made a National Nature Reserve (NNR) in 1998. The NNR is classified as a Category IV protected area. This classification is given by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
Images for kids
-
View from Littleferry looking inland.
See also
In Spanish: Loch Fleet para niños
