Watchtree Habitats
Habitats
Most of the habitats found at Watchtree Nature Reserve are the result of a large ecological restoration project that followed the sites use as the mass burial site during the Foot and Mouth outbreak in 2001. With the exception of the two existing semi-natural woodlands in addition to small parcels of agricultural land to the south of the reserve and the remaining runways, each habitat is the result of engineering, planting and reseeding following the Foot and Mouth burial process.
Established Woodland
(Liz Still)
The resulting habitats were designed to cater for the widest diversity of wildlife, focusing in particular on species of local, and even national conservation significance. Watchtree’s habitats in many respects reflect the history, flora and fauna of the Solway Plain and thus wider countryside surrounding Watchtree.
Meadow Flowers (Liz Still)
Watchtree Nature Reserve, covering an area of over 200acres (83 Hectares), consists of a mosaic of semi-natural and created habitats. The principle habitats to be found at Watchree include; Woodland, Scrub, Hay meadows, Species rich pasture and wetlands. All habitats are managed primarily for nature conservation with the exception of the wetlands which have dual purpose: water treatment and water storage in addition to associated habitat value.