Muir of Dinnet is a national nature reserve (NNR) situated close to the village of Dinnet 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. The reserve extends 1166 hectares from the River Dee to Culbean hill, and encompasses a wide range of habitats including dry heath, raised bog, woodland, and two lochs:

Loch Kinord Loch Kinord is a small, freshwater loch at Muir of Dinnet, Aberdeenshire, Scotland just north of the River Dee and east of Ballater. The loch is also known as ''Loch Ceander'' and ''Loch Cannor''. It is approximately in length and was for ...

and

Loch Davan Loch Davan is a small, triangular, freshwater loch approximately northeast of Ballater, Scotland and lying immediately north of Loch Kinord. It is approximately in length and was formed from a glacial kettle hole. The loch sits within the ...

. Muir of Dinnet was first declared a NNR in 1977 due to its value as a habitat for flora and fauna, and its important geomorphological features,The Story of Muir of Dinnet National Nature Reserve. p. 26. the most striking of which is the

Burn O'Vat Burn O'Vat is a pothole located close to Loch Kinord near the village of Dinnet in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. Formation Around 16,000 years ago, the area surrounding Burn O'Vat was covered by a glacial ice sheet. As the area warmed around 14 000 y ...

.The Story of Muir of Dinnet National Nature Reserve. p. 1. Muir of Dinnet is owned by Dinnet Estate and managed by NatureScot, who provide a visitor centre and a range of other facilities including waymarked paths and a car park.The Story of Muir of Dinnet National Nature Reserve. p. 7. As of 2012 it was estimated that approximately 40,000 people visited Muir of Dinnet each year.The Story of Muir of Dinnet National Nature Reserve. p. 23.

Geology and geomorphology

Most of the area is underlain by pink-coloured granite, which formed around 425 million years ago by the slow cooling of rocks that had been melted by heat during the formation of a large chain of mountains. The area around and to the south of Loch Kinord consists of an older group of rocks, known as the Dalradian series, that were laid down as layers of sand and mud on the floor of an ancient ocean around 600 million years ago. During the formation of the mountain range around 460 million years ago, they underwent

metamorphosis Metamorphosis is a biological process by which an animal physically develops including birth or hatching, involving a conspicuous and relatively abrupt change in the animal's body structure through cell growth and differentiation. Some inse ...

. At Muir of Dinnet, this metamorphic rock, known as gneiss, is pale in colour with dark stripes.The Story of Muir of Dinnet National Nature Reserve. p. 10. The landscape of the Muir of Dinnet has been heavily influence by the movement and subsequent melting of ice during periods of glaciation; at times the area was covered by ice sheets up to one kilometre thick. The climate warmed rapidly at the end of the last ice age, following which huge quantities of water were released, washing silts, sands, gravels and rocks across the landscape, leading to the formation of many discernible glacial features across the Muir of Dinnet, including kettle hole lochs,

kame A kame, or ''knob'', is a glacial landform, an irregularly shaped hill or mound composed of sand, gravel and till that accumulates in a depression on a retreating glacier, and is then deposited on the land surface with further melting of the g ...

s and

eskers An esker, eskar, eschar, or os, sometimes called an ''asar'', ''osar'', or ''serpent kame'', is a long, winding ridge of stratified sand and gravel, examples of which occur in glaciated and formerly glaciated regions of Europe and North Ameri ...

. One of the most impressive features at the Muir of Dinnet is the gorge and giant pothole known as the Burn O'Vat (or simply 'the Vat'), which was carved when a meltwater river encountered an area of hard bedrock, leading to the formation of a whirlpool.The Story of Muir of Dinnet National Nature Reserve. p. 11.

Flora and fauna

The variety of habitats at Muir of Dinnet culminate in an impressive range of wildlife and plant species being recorded at the reserve. Approximately 470 ha of the reserve is woodland, with birch dominating the lower ground and Scots pine forest on the higher slopes. Isolated examples of

rowan The rowans ( or ) or mountain-ashes are shrubs or trees in the genus ''Sorbus ''Sorbus'' is a genus of over 100 species of trees and shrubs in the rose family, Rosaceae. Species of ''Sorbus'' (''s.l.'') are commonly known as whitebeam, r ...

, willow, alder, and

juniper Junipers are coniferous trees and shrubs in the genus ''Juniperus'' () of the cypress family Cupressaceae. Depending on the taxonomy, between 50 and 67 species of junipers are widely distributed throughout the Northern Hemisphere, from the Arcti ...

s are also found, along with 4.5 ha of aspen woodland. This woodland, which lies between Old and New Kinord, is one of the largest stands of aspen in Scotland, and supports Scotland's largest population of the rare aspen bristle-moss, as well as rare fungi such as

aspen bracket fungus Aspen is a common name for certain tree species; some, but not all, are classified by botanists in the section ''Populus'', of the ''Populus'' genus. Species These species are called aspens: *''Populus adenopoda'' – Chinese aspen (China ...

and

Junghuhnia nitida ''Junghuhnia nitida'' is a widespread species of crust fungus in the family Steccherinaceae. Taxonomy Originally described as ''Poria nitida'' in 1800 by Christian Hendrik Persoon, the fungus has undergone several name changes in its taxonomic ...

.The Story of Muir of Dinnet National Nature Reserve. p. 15.The Story of Muir of Dinnet National Nature Reserve. p. 20. Dry heathland consisting chiefly of heather and bearberry covers 42 ha of the reserve; this habitat also supports plant species such as intermediate wintergreen,

petty whin ''Genista anglica'', the petty whin, needle furze or needle whin, is a shrubby flowering plant of the family Fabaceae which can be found growing in Cornwall, Wales and eastern Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the Unite ...

and stone bramble as well as over 30 species of Cladonia

lichen A lichen ( , ) is a composite organism that arises from algae or cyanobacteria living among filaments of multiple fungi species in a mutualistic relationship.raised bog, which support plants such as sedges and many species of

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 ...

.The Story of Muir of Dinnet National Nature Reserve. p. 13. 140 bird species have been recorded at the Muir of Dinnet, 13 of which are United Kingdom Biodiversity Action Plan (UKBAP) species. The lochs of the reserve are of international importance for wintering wildfowl including whooper swans, goldeneye, wigeon, teal,

mallard The mallard () or wild duck (''Anas platyrhynchos'') is a dabbling duck that breeds throughout the temperate and subtropical Americas, Eurasia, and North Africa, and has been introduced to New Zealand, Australia, Peru, Brazil, Uruguay, Arge ...

and tufted duck. Large numbers of Icelandic

greylag geese The greylag goose or graylag goose (''Anser anser'') is a species of large goose in the waterfowl family Anatidae and the type species of the genus ''Anser (bird), Anser''. It has mottled and barred grey and white plumage and an orange beak and ...

also historically overwintered at Muir of Dinnet, however since 2000 a trend for milder winters has led to these birds no longer travelling as far south, and numbers have declined dramatically whilst numbers at more northerly locations have increased.The Story of Muir of Dinnet National Nature Reserve. p. 16. Of the overwintering species, mallards, teals, tufted ducks, wigeons, greylag geese, mute swans and goldeneyes remain at Muir of Dinnet to breed, being joined by other breeding species such as moorhen, water rail, sedge warbler and reed bunting. There are also summer migrants, with

common redstart The common redstart (''Phoenicurus phoenicurus''), or often simply redstart, is a small passerine bird in the genus ''Phoenicurus''. Like its relatives, it was formerly classed as a member of the thrush family, (Turdidae), but is now known to be ...

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 ...

s and tree pipits nesting and feeding in the woods, and curlew, skylark and meadow pipit found on the heaths.The Story of Muir of Dinnet National Nature Reserve. p. 17. Otters are also regularly seen at Muir of Dinnet NNR, along with seven other UKBAP mammal species, such as

red squirrel The red squirrel (''Sciurus vulgaris'') is a species of tree squirrel in the genus ''Sciurus'' common throughout Europe and Asia. The red squirrel is an arboreal, primarily herbivorous rodent. In Great Britain, Ireland, and in Italy numbers ...

s and pipistrelle,

Daubenton's Daubenton's bat or Daubenton's myotis (''Myotis daubentonii'') is a Eurasian bat with rather short ears. It ranges from Ireland to Japan (Hokkaido) and is considered to be increasing its numbers in many areas. This bat was first described in 181 ...

and brown long-eared bats. The reserve is also important for invertebrates, especially moths and water beetles, with at least 349 species of moth having been recorded here.The Story of Muir of Dinnet National Nature Reserve. p. 18.

History

The Muir of Dinnet has been inhabited since

Mesolithic The Mesolithic (Greek: μέσος, ''mesos'' 'middle' + λίθος, ''lithos'' 'stone') or Middle Stone Age is the Old World archaeological period between the Upper Paleolithic and the Neolithic. The term Epipaleolithic is often used synonymous ...

times, and archaeological remains have been found throughout the area. During the Iron Age a crannog was built on Loch Kinord, and this continued to be used through to the 10th century; a logboat has been found on the bed of the loch just offshore. A 9th-century Pictish stone stands on the north shore of the loch. The remains of a medieval moated homestead can be seen on the north shore of Loch Davan. This building, known as The Heugh, is thought to have been the headquarters of Andrew Moray during the Battle of Culblean in 1335.The Story of Muir of Dinnet National Nature Reserve. p. 21. During the 17th century the Burn O'Vat was used as a hide-out by cattle-rustler Gilderoy Macgregor before he was caught and hanged in 1658.The Story of Muir of Dinnet National Nature Reserve. p. 22. Loch Kinord was partially drained during the early 19th century, leading to level of the loch being lowered by about 1 metre. In 1888 Loch Kinord was further altered in order to provide hydro-electric power for Dinnet House. In 1949 the Muir of Dinnet was identified as a potential national nature reserve by the Scottish Wildlife Conservation Committee, however this was not acted upon at the time. During the early 1970s it was suggested that the area be made a

country park A country park is a natural area designated for people to visit and enjoy recreation in a countryside environment. United Kingdom History In the United Kingdom, the term ''country park'' has a special meaning. There are around 250 recognised coun ...

, however the area was instead designated as a

Site of Special Scientific Interest A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle of ...

in 1971. In 1977 the Muir of Dinnet became a national nature reserve as part of the celebrations surrounding the Silver Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth. ''Six Striped Rustic'', a film which heavily features Muir of Dinnet, was made in 2013 by artist Chris Dooks. It was commissioned by Woodend Barn Arts in Banchory as part of their ''Atomic Doric'' season of cultural works about the area.Six Striped Rustic
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Conservation designations

In addition to being a national nature reserve Muir of Dinnet holds a number of other designations for its important natural heritage interests.

and

are designated as a Special Protection Area (SPA), as well as being a

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) **

Special Areas of Conservation (SACs), including the Muir of Dinnet SAC and the River Dee SAC also overlap the reserve. The reserve also forms part of the Muir of Dinnet

, and includes three scheduled monuments and one Geological Conservation Review site.The Story of Muir of Dinnet National Nature Reserve. p. 8. The national nature reserve is classified as a Category II

protected area Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural, ecological or cultural values. There are several kinds of protected areas, which vary by level of protection depending on the ena ...

by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

References

Citations

Bibliography

External links

Scotland's National Nature Reserves
{{National Nature Reserves of Scotland National nature reserves in Scotland Ramsar sites in Scotland Protected areas of Aberdeenshire Moorlands of Scotland