RSPB Fairburn Ings is a flagship RSPB nature reserve in the county of West Yorkshire, England; established in 1968. It is managed by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds in conjunction with the local council. A flagship is the ship used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships. ... The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) is Europes largest wildlife conservation charity. ... It has been suggested that Reserve design be merged into this article or section. ... A county is generally a sub-unit of regional self-government within a sovereign jurisdiction. ... Coat of Arms of South Yorkshire West Yorkshire is a metropolitan county within the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England, that has a population of 2. ... For other uses, see England (disambiguation). ... The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) is Europes largest wildlife conservation charity. ...

Situated in the Lower Aire Valley, and forming part of Fairburn & Newton Ings SSSI, RSPB Fairburn Ings is a Local Nature Reserve (LNR), with a focus mainly on wildfowl and waders, although many other birds can be seen. It lies 1.5 miles (2.5 km) west of Fairburn, near Castleford. The word "ing" (from "ings") is of Old Norse origin and means "damp or marshy land", a reference to the area being flooded regularly by the River Aire. A Site of Special Scientific Interest or SSSI is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom. ... , Fairburn is a small village in West Yorkshire, approximately 10 miles (16 km) to the east of Leeds, lying close to the A1(M) motorway and 4 miles (6 km) from the M62 motorway. ... Arms of the former Castleford Borough Council Castleford is one of the five towns in the Wakefield borough, in the county of West Yorkshire, England, near to Pontefract, with a population of 37,525 according to the 2001 Census. ... Gordale Beck flows out of Gordale Scar to join the Aire. ...

Lying alongside the River Aire, the 286 hectare site includes a large loch and a number of smaller water bodies; the area has been the scene of industrial and mining operations for 150 years, and all the water bodies are the result of subsidence of former coal-mine workings, up to half a kilometre underground, providing habitats for wildfowl and many other birds. Gordale Beck flows out of Gordale Scar to join the Aire. ... A hectare (symbol ha) is a unit of area, equal to 10 000 square metres, commonly used for measuring land area. ... Habitat (which is Latin for it inhabits) is the place where a particular species live and grow. ... Falcated Duck at Slimbridge Wildfowl and Wetlands centre, Gloucestershire, England Wildfowl or waterfowl, also waterbirds, is the collective term for the approximately 147 species of swans, geese and ducks, classified in the order Anseriformes, family Anatidae. ... For other uses, see Bird (disambiguation). ...

The site is bordered by predominantly arable farmland to the north, and industrial and urban environments to the south and west. One third of the site has been developed from 26 million cubic metres of colliery spoil which have been landscaped to create a large complex of herb-rich grassland, wetland and woodland.

Habitats include flood meadows, wet fenland, marsh and reedbed, woodland and scrub. The reserve has the highest number of species recorded at any site, at 274.

UK BAP^[clarify] habitats at Fairburn Ings: mesotrophic lakes, reedbed, lowland meadow. BAP species of these habitats include: grey partridge (Perdix perdix), turtle dove (Streptopelia turtur), skylark (Alauda arvense), song thrush (Turdus philatelist), tree sparrow (Passer montanus), linnet (Carduelis cannabina), bullfinch (Pyrrhula pyorrhoea), reed bunting (Emberiza schoeniclus), corn bunting (Milaria calandra), water vole (Arvicola terrestris ) and pipistrelle bat (Pipistrellus pippistrellus).

Birds of conservation concern of these habitats include: the black-necked grebe (Podiceps nigrocollis), Garganey (Anas querquedula), redshank (Tringa totanus), whooper swan (Cygnus cygnus) and golden plover (Pluvialis apricalia).

External links

• Official site