Fairburn Ings
The Fairburn Ings are an extensive area of lakes and wetlands north of the River Aire in the West Riding of Yorkshire. A heartland of the Ings is a protected area noted for its avian biodiversity, and a nature reserve in the care of the Royal Society for Protection of Birds.
The word "ing" is of Old Norse origin and means "damp or marshy land that floods", a reference to the area being flooded regularly by the River Aire.
The reserve has recorded around 280 bird species, remarkable for an inland site in the United Kingdom. This is explained by the site being on migration routes as well as the diversity of habitats.
History
The reserve was designated as a Local Nature Reserve in 1957 under the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act (1949). Since the 1970s it has been managed by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds on behalf of the local naturalists who set it up.[1]
Geography
The nature reserve extends over 1,000 acres and includes a large lake and a number of smaller lakes, ponds and dikes. The area has been the scene of industrial and mining operations for 150 years,[2] and, although the valley floods naturally, the permanent water bodies are the result of subsidence of former coal-mine workings, up to 650 yards underground, providing habitats for wildfowl and many other birds.
The reserve is situated in the Lower Aire Valley, to the south and west of Fairburn, near Castleford.[3] It includes the whole of Fairburn & Newton Ings Site of Special Scientific Interest.[4] It is also a Statutory Bird Sanctuary with a focus mainly on wildfowl and waders, although many other birds can be seen.
The site is bordered by predominantly arable farmland to the north and east, and urban environments to the south and west. One third of the site has been developed from 34 million cubic yards of colliery spoil,[2] which have been landscaped to create a large complex of herb rich grassland, wetlands and woodland.
Habitats at Fairburn Ings include flood meadows, wet fenland, marsh and reed bed, woodland and scrub.
Listed in terms of the United Kingdom Biodiversity Action Plan, the reserve contains:
- UK BAP habitats:
- mesotrophic lakes,
- reedbed,
- lowland meadow.
- BAP species of these habitats include: grey partridge (Perdix perdix), turtle dove (Streptopelia turtur), skylark (Alauda arvense), song thrush (Turdus philatelist), tree sparrow (Passer montanus), linnet (Carduelis cannabina), bullfinch (Pyrrhula pyorrhoea), reed bunting (Emberiza schoeniclus), corn bunting (Milaria calandra), European water vole|water vole (Arvicola terrestris ) and pipistrelle bat (Pipistrellus pippistrellus).
Birds of conservation concern of these habitats include: the black-necked grebe (Podiceps nigrocollis), garganey (Anas querquedula), Common redshank|redshank (Tringa totanus), whooper swan (Cygnus cygnus) and golden plover (Pluvialis apricalia).
Visitor facilities
There is a Visitor Centre and five hides. Entrance to the reserve is free but there is a charge for car parking.[5]
Outside links
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("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Fairburn Ings) |
- Location map: 53°44’27"N, 1°19’18"W
- RSPB: Fairburn Ings
- UK Biodiversity Action Plan 1992–2012: Joint Nature Conservation Committee
- Fairburn Ings on the VisitWoods website
References
- ↑ 'Reserve welcomes its flying visitors' - R Ratcliffe in The Yorkshire Post 7 November 2008
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Fairburn Ings - a nature lover's paradise - Helen Mead in The Telegraph & Argus 27 August 2013
- ↑ Local Nature Reserves: Map of Fairburn Ings - Natural England
- ↑ SSSI listing and designation for Fairburn and Newton Ings
- ↑ About Fairburn Ings - RSPB
