North Uist, Outer Hebrides, 13 to 27 May 2017
Balranald
Nature Reserve incorporates the most westerly point of the island of North
Uist, the Aird an Rùnair peninsula, looking out to the Monach Islands and the magnificent
St Kilda archipelago. It is a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and is
designated as a Wetland of International Importance (Ramsar).
This
beautiful Hebridean reserve comprises 658 hectares [1626 acres] of rocky
headland, islands, sandy bays, dunes, grasslands, freshwater lochs, fen and the
flower-rich species diverse machair. Machair is a rare, bio-diverse coastal
grassland, unique to the north-western fringe of Europe. It is listed on Annex
1 of the EU Habitats Directive, and occurs over a total global area of just
19,000 ha, with 70% of this in western Scotland, mostly on the offshore
islands, and the remainder in western Ireland. These habitats support
internationally important populations of many wading and farmland bird species,
notably the Corncrake Crex crex. They also protect a number of important plant
species and a variety of other wildlife, including the rarest UK bumblebee, the
Great Yellow Bumblebee Bombus distinguendus.
The unmanned RSPB visitor information centre explains the importance of traditional crofting agriculture for rare birds and other important wildlife. A few images from my recent visit above.
The unmanned RSPB visitor information centre explains the importance of traditional crofting agriculture for rare birds and other important wildlife. A few images from my recent visit above.
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