CITATION SITE OF SPECIAL SCIENTIFIC INTEREST HIGHLAND Site Code: 159

NATIONAL GRID REFERENCE: NH580480

OS 1:50,000 SHEET NO: Landranger series 26 1:25,000 SHEET NO: Explorer series 432

AREA: 1,243.36 hectares

NOTIFIED NATURAL FEATURES

Biological

Coastlands: Saltmarsh Vascular plants: Vascular plant assemblage Birds: Goosander Mergus merganser Birds: Greylag goose Anser anser Birds: Red-breasted merganser Mergus serrator

DESCRIPTION:

The Beauly Firth is a shallow estuary located immediately west of , reaching inland as far as the town of Beauly. It is important for its coastal plants, saltmarsh and wintering wildfowl and waders.

Saltmarsh

The estuary comprises the largest saltmarsh area of all the inner estuaries; estuarine marsh and sand and mud flats extend over 1,000 ha in area.

There are extensive areas of lower saltmarsh with nationally scarce eel grasses Zostera angustifolia and Z. noltii, glassworts Salicornia agg and beaked tasselweed Ruppia maritima. The upper reaches of the SSSI also provide a good example of the transition from mudflat and saltmarsh to the wetland and terrestrial habitats comprising common reed Phragmites australis and bulrush Typha latifolia swamp, through to fen and willow scrub and alder carr.

Vascular plants

The SSSI supports a wide range of plant species typical of soft coasts. This includes substantial colonies of the nationally rare estuarine sedge Carex recta. Birds

There are abundant food resources for a great variety and number of wintering waders and wildfowl. Non-breeding populations of greylag geese, red-breasted merganser and goosander are all notified features of the SSSI.

NOTIFICATION HISTORY

First notified under the 1949 Act:: 1974 Re-notified under 1981 Act:: 6 April 1988 Confirmed under 1981 Act: 16 December 1988. The area of the SSSI was amended to include only that land lying above mean low water springs. Notification reviewed under the 2004 Act: 22 January 2008

REMARKS

Measured area of site corrected (from 1,262 ha.). The exact inter-tidal area will vary over time.

The Beauly Firth SSSI is part of the Inner Moray Firth Special Protection Area (SPA) designated for the birds listed below.

Birds: Bar-tailed godwit Limosa lapponica Common tern Sterna hirundo Cormorant Phalacrocorax carbo* Curlew Numenius arquata* Goldeneye Bucephala clangula* Goosander Mergus merganser* Greylag goose Anser anser Osprey Pandion haliaetus Oystercatcher Haematopus ostralegus* Red-breasted merganser Mergus serrator Redshank Tringa totanus Scaup Aythya marila Teal Anas crecca* Wigeon Anas penelope* Waterfowl assemblage

* indicates assemblage qualifier only