| Loch Fleet National Nature Reserve | |
|---|---|
IUCN category IV (habitat/species management area)[1] | |
 View from Littleferry looking inland. | |
  Location within Sutherland | |
| Location | Sutherland,Scotland |
| Coordinates | 57°57′N4°4′W / 57.950°N 4.067°W /57.950; -4.067 |
| Area | 1,058 ha (4.08 sq mi)[2] |
| Designation | NatureScot |
| Established | 1998[1] |
| 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 sealoch on the east coast ofScotland, located betweenGolspie andDornoch. It forms the estuary of theRiver Fleet, a small spate river that rises in the hills east ofLairg. The loch was designated aNational Nature Reserve (NNR) in 1998, and is managed by a partnership betweenNatureScot, theScottish 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] The tidal basin of the loch covers over 630 ha, and forms the largest habitat on the NNR.[5]
Loch Fleet is a shallow, bar-built estuary with extensive sand-flats and mud-flats backed by saltmarsh and sand dunes.[6] The loch connects to theDornoch Firth via a narrow channel betweenCoul 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 fromLittleferry toGolspie. At the end of the lastice age Loch Fleet became a was a wide-open bay with a tidal delta reaching inland as far as Rogart. The current gradually dragged shingle across the entrance of the bay, producing a tidal basin linked to the sea by a narrow tidal channel.[7]
The mudflats are an important habitat for many bird species, and over 100 species have been recorded at the reserve, with the highest numbers seen during the spring and autumn migrations. Species that spend the winter at the loch includebar-tailed godwit,greylag goose,wigeon,curlew,dunlin, andteal. Approximately 2% of the entire UK population of greylag geese use the wider Dornoch Firth and Loch Fleet SPA, with Loch Fleet being particularly important during the autumn: as winter progresses many of the geese move on to the Dornoch Firth. The geese spend summers further north, with some heading forIceland and some remaining within Scotland at sites in Caithness and Sutherland.[8]
Breeding birds at Loch Fleet includeArctic terns,common terns,oystercatchers,ringed plovers,wheatears,European stonechats,cuckoos,meadow pipits andskylarks, these species tending to favour thelinks habitat. Thepinewoods hold species includingcrossbills,siskin,common redstart,treecreeper,great spotted woodpecker,buzzard andsparrowhawk. Loch Fleet is a good place to seeosprey fishing, and in the early 1990s there were 10 breeding pairs on the wider SPA.[6][9][8]
The most visible mammals at Loch Fleet are seals:common seals can be seen from the public road at Skelbo year round, andgrey seals visit during the winter months.Otter andpipistrelle bats are also found here, along with other typical Scottish land mammals such asroe deer,fox,pine marten, andweasel.Red squirrels andScottish wildcats have been recorded in the area, but have not been seen in recent years.[8] In 2023 a humpback whale was washed ashore at Loch Fleet.[10]
There are 265 species of vascular plants, over 110 species of lichen, and over 50 species of fungi have been recorded at the Loch Fleet NNR. The most noteworthy flora is that of the pinewood at Balblair Wood, where the nationally important speciesone-flowered wintergreen,twinflower andcreeping lady's-tresses can be found. Other species typically found in native pine forests but otherwise uncommon in Scotland such ascommon wintergreen andlesser twayblade are also found here.[11] Thealder woods around the mouth of the river at the Mound are also significant.[citation needed]
The ruins ofSkelbo Castle are situated on the south side of the loch.[12]
TheBattle of Littleferry was fought a few days before theBattle 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 byThomas Telford and built between 1814 and 1818 to carry what is now theA9 roadArticle stub box, 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.[7]
Loch Fleet became a nature reserve under the management of theScottish Wildlife Trust in 1970 by agreement with the landowners, Sutherland and Cambusmore Estates. In 1975 it was declared aSite of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI): the Loch Fleet SSSI is slightly larger than the NNR, at 1232 ha, and also covers Coul Links.[13] On 24 March 1997, the Dornoch Firth and Loch FleetSpecial Protection Area (SPA) was established for wildlife conservation. The SPA covers 7,836.33 hectares (19,364 acres) of Loch Fleet, theDornoch Firth,Morrich More, the Mound Alderwoods andTarbat Ness, and was also listed as aRamsar site the same year. TheJoint 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".[6][14]
Loch Fleet was made anational nature reserve (NNR) in 1998: the NNR is classified as aCategory IVprotected area by theInternational Union for Conservation of Nature.[1]
