Fife
Ness Muir Wildlife
Reserve is a small area of scrub and trees on
the most
easterly point of the Fife coast. It is excellent for migrant and
breeding birds
Access
to the Reserve
Fife Ness Muir Wildlife Reserve can
be reached by
taking the Balcomie
Road out of Crail to the Balcomie Links Golf Course. Keep going until
you come to the entrance to the golf course where you will find a
signposted car with a request to pay a fee at the Club House.
The track to the reserve is on the
right as you
enter the small car
park.
Blue
Throat being ringed
The reserve can also be reached by
using the Fife
Coastal Path and one
way to visit Fife Ness Muir is to follow the directions for parking at
the Kilminning Coast Wildlife
Reserve and
walk along the Fife Coastal Path from Kilminning to Fife Ness.
PRINT OUT a copy of this Web page
and take it
with you when you visit the reserve.
The main importance of the reserve is for people to
enjoy the
fascinating spectacle of bird migration. During the spring and autumn
periods of migration numerous small paths allow visitors to move
quietly round the reserve or better still strategically placed seats
allow observers to watch birds undisturbed.
Approaching 150 species of birds have been seen from
the
reserve including 17 species of warbler. During spring and autumn
recording is carried out on a daily basis and the reserve is now a
ringing station with permanent traps similar to those on the Isle of
May.
Birds have been recorded travelling to or from 14
different
countries of Europe. A log is maintained in the hut on the reserve and
the latest news posted on a display board.
Visitors are welcome at all times and the ringing
station is
run such that bird watchers can still enjoy the freedom of the reserve.
Flowering shrubs have been planted and the reserve is an
excellent place for looking at migrant butterflies. There is a good
breeding population of birds but during the breeding season many of the
small paths are allowed to grow over to reduce disturbance.
Historical Perspective
Ringing of migrant birds was carried out on Fife Ness
Muir
from the
early 1960s. In 1971 in recognition of International Conservation Year
the area known as Fife Ness Muir was declared a nature reserve by Crail
Town Council. It became a Scottish Wildlife Trust reserve at that time
under the management of Dr. J. Cobb.
The original vegetation was stunted gorse but over the
last
three decades a wide range of shrubs and trees have been established
and as shelter has increased so the vegetation has matured and been
diversified. There are more than 30 species planted. Some of these
shrubs have been specifically planted to provide food for migrant
birds. Long term it will be largely hazel and oak that predominate.
There are two small artificial pools.
Dr. Cobb later purchased the reserve for the SWT and it
has
become established as a Ringing Station for migrant birds and a focus
for visiting bird watchers.
Management
The paths are maintained to combat erosion and the gorse
is
kept cut back to maintain a balanced environment with sheltered open
spaces. All the planting requires protection against rabbits and
particularly roe deer which are now semi-resident.
As shelter increases more oak trees are being planted.
The
best oak trees are now nearly twenty foot high and demonstrate well
that many things will grow even in such a hostile environment if enough
time and patience are expended. There is now a database relating to
migration that dates back more than thirty years.
Why not visit
another of our reserves?
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and click on your choice.
