South Uist Machair and Lochs

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South Uist Machair and Lochs
Loch Druidibeg and Hecla (geograph 4662005).jpg
A view across Loch Druidibeg, one of the wetland areas that make up the South Uist Machair and Lochs
Location Outer Hebrides, Scotland
Nearest city Benbecula
Coordinates 57°18′58″N7°20′54″W / 57.3162461°N 7.3483192°W / 57.3162461; -7.3483192 Coordinates: 57°18′58″N7°20′54″W / 57.3162461°N 7.3483192°W / 57.3162461; -7.3483192
Area50.19 km2 (19.38 sq mi) [1]
Established5 January 1976
Governing body Scottish Natural Heritage

The South Uist Machair and Lochs is a protected wetland area on the west coast of South Uist in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland. A total of 5,019 hectares contains blanket bog, oligotrophic lochs, wet and dry machair, fresh and saltwater marsh, coastal dunes and sandy and rocky shores. It includes the estuary waters of the Howmore River, as well as Loch Bi and Loch Druidibeg. It has been protected as a Ramsar Site since 1976. [1]

The area supports nationally or internationally important populations of numerous birds, including corncrake, little tern and sanderling. [2] The site also contains the rare slender naiad. [3]

As well as the South Uist Machair and Lochs being recognised as a wetland of international importance under the Ramsar Convention, [1] it has also been designated a Special Protection Area. [3]

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South Uist

South Uist is the second-largest island of the Outer Hebrides in Scotland. At the 2011 census, it had a usually resident population of 1,754: a decrease of 64 since 2001. The island, in common with the rest of the Hebrides, is one of the last remaining strongholds of the Gaelic language in Scotland. South Uist's inhabitants are known in Gaelic as Deasaich (Southerners). The population is about 90% Roman Catholic.

Berneray is an island and community in the Sound of Harris, Scotland. It is one of fifteen inhabited islands in the Outer Hebrides. It is famed for its rich and colourful history which has attracted much tourism. It lies within the South Lewis, Harris and North Uist National Scenic Area, one of 40 such areas in Scotland which are defined so as to identify areas of exceptional scenery and to ensure its protection from inappropriate development.

Machair Fertile low-lying grassy plain

A machair is a fertile low-lying grassy plain found on part of the northwest coastlines of Ireland and Scotland, in particular the Outer Hebrides. The best examples are found on North and South Uist, Harris and Lewis.

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Flora and fauna of the Outer Hebrides

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South Lewis, Harris and North Uist National Scenic Area

South Lewis, Harris and North Uist is a large national scenic area (NSA) in the Western Isles of Scotland. It is one of 40 such areas in Scotland, which are defined so as to identify areas of exceptional scenery and to ensure its protection from inappropriate development. The designated area covers 202,388 ha in total, of which 112,301 ha is on land, with a further 90,087 ha being marine, making it the largest of the NSAs in both total and marine area. The designated area includes the mountainous south west of Lewis, all of Harris, the Sound of Harris and the northern part of North Uist.

Coongie Lakes

The Coongie Lakes is a freshwater wetland system located in the Far North region of South Australia. The 21,790-square-kilometre (8,410 sq mi) lakes system is located approximately 1,046 kilometres north of the Adelaide city centre. The wetlands includes lakes, channels, billabongs, shallow floodplains, deltas, and interdune swamps. It lies on the floodplain of Cooper Creek, an ephemeral river flowing through a desert landscape in the Lake Eyre Basin which rarely, after occasional large floods, empties into Lake Eyre. The wetland system has been recognised both as being of international importance by designation under the Ramsar Convention with a listing on 15 June 1987 and being nationally important within Australia with a listing in A Directory of Important Wetlands in Australia (DIWA). Its extent includes the regional town of Innamincka, the Malkumba-Coongie Lakes National Park, the Innamincka Regional Reserve, the Strzelecki Regional Reserve and the Coongie Lakes Important Bird Area.

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Loch Druidibeg

Loch Druidibeag is a freshwater loch situated on the island of South Uist, in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland. The loch is near the northern end of the island, to the north-east of Howmore and to the east of the A865 road and south of the B890.

Cameron Reservoir

Cameron Reservoir is an artificial loch in the parish of Cameron in east Fife, Scotland. Covering an area of 69 hectares, it serves as a domestic water supply and contains beds of aquatic and marginal vegetation.

Caithness Lochs Series of lochs in northern Scotland

Caithness Lochs is a protected wetland area in the historic county of Caithness in the far north of Scotland. With a total area of 1,379 hectares, it covers six freshwater lochs and a complex area of fen and swamp, and has been protected as a Ramsar Site since 1998.

Kintyre Goose Roosts Series of lochs in western Scotland

The Kintyre Goose Roosts are a group of five oligotrophic hill lochs on the Kintyre peninsula in Argyll and Bute, western Scotland. With a total area of 312 hectares, they have been protected as a Ramsar Site since 1998.

The East Sanday Coast is a protected wetland area on and around the island of Sanday, the third-largest of the Orkney islands off the north coast of Scotland. With a total protected area of 1,515 hectares, the 55 kilometre stretch of coast includes rocky and sandy sections, sand dunes, machair habitats, intertidal flats, and saltmarsh. It has been protected as a Ramsar Site since 1997.

Cairngorm Lochs Series of lochs in upland Scotland

Cairngorm Lochs is a protected wetland area in the Cairngorms, in the Grampian and Highland regions of Scotland. With a total area of 173 hectares, it covers five freshwater lochs which are among the highest areas of standing water in the UK. It has been protected as a Ramsar Site since 1981.

Loch an Duin is a complex system of freshwater, brackish and sea lochs, tidal channels and islands, on and close to North Uist off the west coast of Scotland. An area of 2,621 hectares has been protected since 1990 as a Ramsar Site.

Loch of Lintrathen Loch in Angus, Scotland

Loch of Lintrathen is a man-made loch occupying a glacial basin at the southern end of Glen Isla, approximately 13 kilometres (8.1 mi) west of town of Kirriemuir in Angus, Scotland.

Loch of Kinnordy Loch in Angus, Scotland

Loch of Kinnordy is a small loch located just west of town of Kirriemuir in Angus, Scotland, which is an important wildlife habitat. The loch itself is approximately 22 hectares, though this has varied over time with drainage attempts and the silting up of the outflow stream. Including surrounding fen, swamp and mire, 85 hectares are protected as a Ramsar Site.

Loch Spynie Loch in Moray, Scotland

Loch Spynie is a small loch located between the towns of Elgin and Lossiemouth in Moray, Scotland. Close to Spynie Palace, the ancient home of the bishops of Moray, it is an important wildlife habitat which is protected as a Ramsar Site.

South Tayside Goose Roosts Series of lochs in central Scotland

South Tayside Goose Roosts is a composite wetland site to the west of Perth in central Scotland, covering a total of 331 hectares, which has been protected as a Ramsar Site since 1993. Incorporating three disconnected sections, separated by several kilometres, the site contains seven freshwater lochs along with other wetland habitats, including one of the largest raised bogs in the region.

North Uist Machair and Islands Protected wetland area in the Outer Hebrides, Scotland

The North Uist Machair and Islands is a protected wetland area in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland. A total of 4,705 hectares comprises seven separate areas: four sites on the west and north coasts of North Uist, as well as the whole of the island of Boreray and parts of Berneray and Pabbay in the Sound of Harris. The site primarily contains machair areas, with a range of habitats including sand dunes, acid grassland and freshwater wetlands, including nutrient-rich marshes and fens, wet and dry machair and saltmarsh. It has been protected as a Ramsar Site since 1999.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "South Uist Machair and Lochs". Ramsar Sites Information Service. Retrieved 18 October 2019.
  2. "3UK006 RIS South Uist Machair and Lochs" (PDF). Ramsar Sites Information Service. Retrieved 18 October 2019.
  3. 1 2 "South Uist Machair and Lochs". Joint Nature Conservation Committee . Retrieved 18 October 2019.