The Loch of Strathbeg (also known as Loch Strathbeg; ''historically "Strathbeg Water"; "Water of Strathbeg"; "Rattray Water" or "Water of Rattray"'') is a designated
Special Protection Area
A Special Protection Area (SPA) is a designation under the European Union Directive on the Conservation of Wild Birds. Under the Directive, Member States of the European Union (EU) have a duty to safeguard the habitats of migratory birds and cert ...
for wildlife conservation purposes. It is located near to
Rattray and
Crimond
Crimond is a village in Aberdeenshire, in the northeast of Scotland, located northwest of the port of Peterhead and just over from the coast.
Geography
The main A90 road runs through Crimond and is lined by Crimond Church with a villag ...
in
Aberdeenshire
Aberdeenshire ( sco, Aiberdeenshire; gd, Siorrachd Obar Dheathain) is one of the 32 Subdivisions of Scotland#council areas of Scotland, council areas of Scotland.
It takes its name from the County of Aberdeen which has substantially differe ...
,
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
.
The loch is maintained by the
RSPB
The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) is a Charitable_organization#United_Kingdom, charitable organisation registered in Charity Commission for England and Wales, England and Wales and in Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator, ...
and around the loch there are three hides from which visitors may watch the birds and other wildlife. Access to the loch is through
Crimond airfield
Royal Navy Air Station Rattray or RNAS Rattray (HMS ''Merganser'') and also known as Crimond Airfield, Crimond Aerodrome or Rattray Aerodrome was a Royal Naval Air Station near Crimond, Aberdeenshire.
History
The station started to be built f ...
where there is a car park at the edge of the reserve. There is also the 'Starnafin Centre' from which visitors may also watch the birds from and find out more information about which birds and animals are present locally.
The RSPB has recorded over 260 species of bird, 280 species of insect and 26 species of mammal at the reserve.
Formation
The loch is a very recent creation of geological times, forming naturally in a massive storm in 1720. The lagoon, where the loch is now, its small harbour ''Starny Keppie'' and the village of Rattray, were cut off from the sea and engulfed by shifting sands.
A historical account says that the storm blocked ''"the outlet of the stream called the burn of Strathbeg into the sea"''
after which it flowed directly into the loch.
There is another stream, the "Burn o’ Rattra"
flowing into the loch.
Ordnance Survey
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mapping of the Loch shows four streams ("burns" in Scots) and one exit point into the north sea.
1854 study
In 1854 the loch was estimated at ''"550
Scotch acres"''
(2.9 km² ) of which ''"more than three-fourths"''
were to be found in the Parish of Crimond and to have an ''"average depth is about 3½ feet"'' (approx. 1.1 metres) ''"its greatest depth does not exceed 6½ feet"'' (approx. 2 metres).
This does not necessarily correspond with conditions today, as the same source also notes that the nearby beach head was at the time saturated and ''"oozing water"'' indeed it says that the loch had dropped at least since 1817, only 37 years earlier.
1943
In 1943, Loch of Strathbeg was used by the Luftwaffe as an area to drop supplies to spies in the area. The area to the North of the loch was normally the drop point.
One drop in 1943 was set up by the British to use a double agent to drop a radio, money and some sabotage equipment in a case.
1945
At the end of World War 2, there was a large beach Minefield at Rattray. During land mine clearance, high pressure water pumps were used at the Loch of Strathbeg to provide a supply of water to jetting nozzles used to wash out land mines from the sand dunes. This work was carried out by 11th Coy Bomb disposal led by Major W.M. Hewitt. During clearance into 1946, a number of Royal Engineer personnel were killed in the minefield.
Maps
Historical maps of the area are available online that show the transition of Strathbeg Bay into Loch Strathbeg ''(links are provided rather than the image for copyright reasons):''
References
External links
Official Tourism Web SiteSpecial Protection Area designationRSPB webpage on Loch Strathbeg
{{RSPB sites in Scotland
Royal Society for the Protection of Birds reserves in Scotland
Special Protection Areas in Scotland
Protected areas of Aberdeenshire
Strachbeg
Ramsar sites in Scotland
Strathbeg