Easkey Bog is a blanket bog, national nature reserve, and Ramsar site of approximately in

County Sligo County Sligo ( , gle, Contae Shligigh) is a county in Ireland. It is located in the Border Region and is part of the province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the an ...

Features

Easkey or Easky Bog was legally protected as a national nature reserve by the Irish government in 1990. In 1990, the site was also declared Ramsar site number 471. A large portion of the bog has been deemed to be of international scientific interest. The reserve contains the Cowagh River headwaters, a large plateau of highland

blanket bog Blanket bog or blanket mire, also known as featherbed bog, is an area of peatland, forming where there is a climate of high rainfall and a low level of evapotranspiration, allowing peat to develop not only in wet hollows but over large expanses o ...

, with wet heath and mountain blanket bog set on the steep slopes of the

Ox Mountains The Ox Mountains or Slieve Gamph () are a mountain range in County Sligo on the west coast of Ireland. They are also known as Saint Patrick's Mountains after the saint who built churches on its slopes and left his name to some of its wells. Ge ...

. There is a wide variety of diverse habitats, from quaking areas, stream, pool, flushes, heath slopes, and rock and peat lakes. Easkey Bog is one of only a small number of large areas of intermediate blanket bogs in Ireland, encompassing lowland and mountain blanket bog. It is rare in that it contains all three types of blanket bogs within close proximity. The reserve is home to red grouse and curlews, with the

European golden plover The European golden plover (''Pluvialis apricaria''), also known as the European golden-plover, Eurasian golden plover, or just the golden plover within Europe, is a largish plover. This species is similar to two other golden plovers: the America ...

overwintering there. There is also a population of

Irish hare The mountain hare (''Lepus timidus''), also known as blue hare, tundra hare, variable hare, white hare, snow hare, alpine hare, and Irish hare, is a Palearctic hare that is largely adapted to polar and mountainous habitats. Evolution The mountai ...

. A small flock of Greenland white-fronted geese migrate to the area in the winter.

References

{{Reflist Bogs of the Republic of Ireland Landforms of County Sligo Protected areas of County Sligo Tourist attractions in County Sligo Nature reserves in the Republic of Ireland Protected areas established in 1990 1990 establishments in Ireland Ramsar sites in the Republic of Ireland