The Curraghs or Ballaugh Curraghs are a

wetland A wetland is a distinct ecosystem that is flooded or saturated by water, either permanently (for years or decades) or seasonally (for weeks or months). Flooding results in oxygen-free (anoxic) processes prevailing, especially in the soils. The ...

in Ballaugh parish in the north-west of the

Isle of Man ) , anthem = "O Land of Our Birth" , image = Isle of Man by Sentinel-2.jpg , image_map = Europe-Isle_of_Man.svg , mapsize = , map_alt = Location of the Isle of Man in Europe , map_caption = Location of the Isle of Man (green) in Europe ...

. The area has a rich and varied

biodiversity Biodiversity or biological diversity is the variety and variability of life on Earth. Biodiversity is a measure of variation at the genetic (''genetic variability''), species (''species diversity''), and ecosystem (''ecosystem diversity'') l ...

and is also the location of the

Curraghs Wildlife Park Curraghs Wildlife Park is a wildlife park in The Curraghs (also known as the Ballaugh Curraghs), an area of wetland in the north-west of the Isle of Man. The park is owned by the Isle of Man Government and is administered by the Department of ...

, a zoo and nature reserve that incorporates the wetlands.

History

During the last ice age the area was covered in sheets of ice. When this ice retreated, a depression was left at the bottom of the northern hills and the wetlands were formed in this basin. Over the years the land has been used to graze animals and grow

hay Hay is grass, legumes, or other herbaceous plants that have been cut and dried to be stored for use as animal fodder, either for large grazing animals raised as livestock, such as cattle, horses, goats, and sheep, or for smaller domesticated ...

, one of the few exploitable crops suited to the conditions of the wetlands. The Curraghs has also been a valuable resource for humans, as well as providing aesthetic appeal; the area is rich in

peat Peat (), also known as turf (), is an accumulation of partially decayed vegetation or organic matter. It is unique to natural areas called peatlands, bogs, mires, moors, or muskegs. The peatland ecosystem covers and is the most efficien ...

, which was used as a

fuel A fuel is any material that can be made to react with other substances so that it releases energy as thermal energy or to be used for work. The concept was originally applied solely to those materials capable of releasing chemical energy but ...

in the island's homes. The nearby village of

Kirk Michael Michael ( gv, Maayl) is one of the six sheadings of the Isle of Man. It is located on the west of the island (part of the traditional ''North Side'' division) and consists of the three historic parishes of Ballaugh, Jurby and Michael. Histo ...

was a great consumer of the peat in the Curraghs. It was the exploitation of peat that made the land slightly drier than it is today. When the practice of peat cutting was discontinued, the ditches in the area filled with water and bogs were formed. In the 1930s, the Manx government intended to make a profit by growing

New Zealand flax New Zealand flax describes the common New Zealand perennial plants ''Phormium tenax'' and ''Phormium colensoi'', known by the Māori names ''harakeke'' and ''wharariki'' respectively. Although given the common name 'flax' they are quite distinc ...

on the Curraghs. This plan failed, but in the 1950s the government pressed ahead with another plan to drain the Curraghs, so that the area could be extensively farmed. However, with the land 15 m above sea level, it was decided that it was not economically viable to drain the wetlands. In 1963, much of the area came under the control of the Manx government, and two years later the

was opened. In 1990, protection of the government-controlled area was transferred to

Manx National Heritage Manx National Heritage ( gv, Eiraght Ashoonagh Vannin) is the national heritage organisation for the Isle of Man. The organisation manages a significant proportion of the island’s physical heritage assets including over 3,000 acres of coastlin ...

; and in 2006 about 477 acres, or 193 hectares, of the Curragh became a designated

Ramsar site A Ramsar site is a wetland site designated to be of international importance under the Ramsar Convention,8 ha (O) *** Permanent 8 ha (P) *** Seasonal Intermittent < 8 ha(Ts) **

hen harrier The hen harrier (''Circus cyaneus'') is a bird of prey. It breeds in Eurasia. The term "hen harrier" refers to its former habit of preying on free-ranging fowl. It migrates to more southerly areas in winter. Eurasian birds move to southern Eur ...

s in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

; a bird that descends on the area during the winter months. Other birds include

peregrine falcon The peregrine falcon (''Falco peregrinus''), also known as the peregrine, and historically as the duck hawk in North America, is a Cosmopolitan distribution, cosmopolitan bird of prey (Bird of prey, raptor) in the family (biology), family Falco ...

s, merlins,

robins Robins may refer to: Places United States *Robins, Iowa, a small city * Robins, Ohio, an unincorporated community * Robins Township, Fall River County, South Dakota *Robins Island, of the coast of New York state *Robins Air Force Base, Georgia *Ro ...

willow warbler The willow warbler (''Phylloscopus trochilus'') is a very common and widespread leaf warbler which breeds throughout northern and temperate Europe and the Palearctic, from Ireland east to the Anadyr River basin in eastern Siberia. It is strongly ...

song thrush The song thrush (''Turdus philomelos'') is a Thrush (bird), thrush that breeds across the West Palearctic. It has brown upper-parts and black-spotted cream or buff underparts and has three recognised subspecies. Its distinctive Birdsong, song, ...

es and

dunnock The dunnock (''Prunella modularis'') is a small passerine, or perching bird, found throughout temperate Europe and into Asian Russia. Dunnocks have also been successfully introduced into New Zealand. It is by far the most widespread member of th ...

s among others. There is also a subspecies of

wren Wrens are a family of brown passerine birds in the predominantly New World family Troglodytidae. The family includes 88 species divided into 19 genera. Only the Eurasian wren occurs in the Old World, where, in Anglophone regions, it is commonly ...

, possibly unique to the island. The area is also notable for its diversity of butterflies, and the Wildlife Park, whilst home to over 100 animals from around the world (including

pelicans Pelicans (genus ''Pelecanus'') are a genus of large water birds that make up the family Pelecanidae. They are characterized by a long beak and a large throat pouch used for catching prey and draining water from the scooped-up contents before s ...

gibbon Gibbons () are apes in the family Hylobatidae (). The family historically contained one genus, but now is split into four extant genera and 20 species. Gibbons live in subtropical and tropical rainforest from eastern Bangladesh to Northeast India ...

otters Otters are carnivorous mammals in the subfamily Lutrinae. The 13 extant otter species are all semiaquatic, aquatic, or marine, with diets based on fish and invertebrates. Lutrinae is a branch of the Mustelidae family, which also includes wea ...

and

penguins Penguins ( order Sphenisciformes , family Spheniscidae ) are a group of aquatic flightless birds. They live almost exclusively in the Southern Hemisphere: only one species, the Galápagos penguin, is found north of the Equator. Highly adapt ...

), also features a butterfly walk, an opportunity for visitors to see the insects in an environment designed for them. One notable species is the orange tip. Ballaugh Curraghs has a persistent breeding colony of wild

wallabies A wallaby () is a small or middle-sized macropod native to Australia and New Guinea, with introduced populations in New Zealand, Hawaii, the United Kingdom and other countries. They belong to the same taxonomic family as kangaroos and so ...

, said to be the largest in the British Isles, descended from two that escaped from the wildlife park some years ago. They seem to occupy a similar ecological niche to hares.Harby, A.P.B.: " An Assessment of the Ballaugh Curragh Wallaby Population", 2008.

Flora

The Curraghs are a tapestry of

scrubland Shrubland, scrubland, scrub, brush, or bush is a plant community characterized by vegetation dominance (ecology), dominated by shrubs, often also including grasses, Herbaceous plant, herbs, and geophytes. Shrubland may either occur naturally or ...

, including willow and bog myrtle scrub.

Sphagnum moss ''Sphagnum'' is a genus of approximately 380 accepted species of mosses, commonly known as sphagnum moss, peat moss, also bog moss and quacker moss (although that term is also sometimes used for peat). Accumulations of ''Sphagnum'' can store wa ...

, a common species, is responsible for the high levels of

in the area. The peat and wetland topography of the area combine to create a series of

bog A bog or bogland is a wetland that accumulates peat as a deposit of dead plant materials often mosses, typically sphagnum moss. It is one of the four main types of wetlands. Other names for bogs include mire, mosses, quagmire, and muskeg; a ...

s. The abundance of peat has had a direct effect on the island's human inhabitants over the years, with the peat being used as fuel in people's homes. The Curraghs are also home to six different species of

orchid Orchids are plants that belong to the family Orchidaceae (), a diverse and widespread group of flowering plants with blooms that are often colourful and fragrant. Along with the Asteraceae, they are one of the two largest families of flowering ...

, including the

heath spotted orchid ''Dactylorhiza maculata'', known as the heath spotted-orchid or moorland spotted orchid, is an herbaceous perennial plant of the family Orchidaceae. It is widespread in mountainous regions across much of Europe from Portugal and Iceland east to ...

Etymology

Manx Gaelic Manx ( or , pronounced or ), also known as Manx Gaelic, is a Gaelic language of the insular Celtic branch of the Celtic language family, itself a branch of the Indo-European language family. Manx is the historical language of the Manx peo ...

, a ''curragh'' refers to the

willow Willows, also called sallows and osiers, from the genus ''Salix'', comprise around 400 speciesMabberley, D.J. 1997. The Plant Book, Cambridge University Press #2: Cambridge. of typically deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist s ...

scrub

habitat In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...

found in the

References

{{Reflist

External links

Manx National Heritage informationIsland guide to the Wildlife ParkPiece on the Curraghs as part of a BBC nature series
Environment of the Isle of Man Fauna of the Isle of Man Ramsar sites in the Isle of Man