RSPB Scotland Forsinard Flows Nature Reserve
RSPB Forsinard Flows, Flows Field Centre, Forsinard KW13 6YT(View on Map)
Parking
About RSPB Scotland Forsinard Flows Nature Reserve
- Open All Year Round
- Family Friendly
Adventure slightly off route from the North East part of the NC500 and you will find Forsinard Flows reserve – part of a vast expanse of blanket bog, sheltered straths and mountains known as the Flow Country. The Flow Country is one of Scotland’s most important natural treasures and the RSPB looks after more than 21,000 hectares of it.
Our blanket bog is one of the world’s rarest habitats. It’s taken thousands of years for the deep peat to develop and the range of wildlife that lives here is pretty special too. Peat bogs like ours are an important defence against climate change because they store carbon and as long as they remain wet, this carbon stays locked up rather than being released as carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. The Flow Country’s blanket bogs alone store more than three times the amount of carbon found in all of Britain’s woodlands.
What will you see:
Forsinard Flows is an exciting place to visit all year round. Get a bit closer by exploring the trails or visit the Flows Lookout to get a great view of how vast the Flow Country truly is. During the spring and summer, golden plover, native greylag geese, dunlins, greenshanks, skylark and meadow pipits are common around the trails and main road. You’ll likely see wheatears, stonechats, cuckoos and if you are lucky, short-eared owls, merlins and hen harriers. Lizards lurk along the edge of the boardwalk while dragonflies, frogs and a host of aquatic invertebrates live in the pools. Carnivorous plants, such as sundew and butterwort, are scattered across the landscape. Sphagnum mosses which have created this landscape are at their most colourful in autumn. They range from rich clarets, apple greens, browns and yellows. A visit in winter is a good time to get close to wild red deer herds or have a chance to see the blue/mountain hare in its white winter coat. In the snow, you can brush up on identification of animal and bird tracks like red deer, hares and otters.
Images by: Ben Andrew, Paul Turner, RSPB Images, Andy Hay, Mark Thomas, Chris Gomersall, Ben Andrew (rspb-images.com)
