Editing Fairburn Ings RSPB reserve

{{Short description|Protected area in West Yorkshire, England}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Use British English|date=February 2024}}
{{More citations needed|date=December 2013}}
{{Infobox protected area
| name            = Fairburn Ings RSPB Reserve
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| photo           = Fairburn Ings.jpg
| photo_caption   = Flotilla of [[mute swan]]s with Fairburn village on the horizon
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| location        = West Yorkshire, England
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| operator        = Royal Society for the Protection of Birds
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| website         = http://www.rspb.org.uk/reserves/guide/f/fairburnings/index.asp
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'''Fairburn Ings Nature Reserve''' is a [[protected area]] in [[West Yorkshire]], England, noted for its avian [[biodiversity]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.lnr.naturalengland.org.uk/special/lnr/lnr_details.asp?C=0&N=Fairburn%20Ings&ID=150 |title=Fairburn Ings |series=Local Nature Reserves |publisher=Natural England |access-date=23 July 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304051609/http://www.lnr.naturalengland.org.uk/special/lnr/lnr_details.asp?C=0&N=Fairburn%20Ings&ID=150 |archive-date=4 March 2016 }}</ref>
The reserve has recorded around 280 bird species, remarkable for an inland site in the United Kingdom.<ref name="YP" /> This is explained by the site being on [[Flyway|migration route]]s as well as the diversity of [[habitat]]s.

==History==
It was designated a [[local nature reserve]] in 1957 under the [[National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949|National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act (1949)]].<ref name="pdf" /> Since the late 1970s it has been managed by the [[Royal Society for the Protection of Birds|Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB)]] on behalf of the local naturalists who set it up.<ref name="YP">{{Cite news |url=http://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/reserve-welcomes-its-flying-visitors-1-2324449 |title=Reserve welcomes its flying visitors |last=Ratcliffe |first=R |date=7 November 2008 |newspaper=[[The Yorkshire Post]]|access-date=10 November 2016}}</ref>

==Geography==
The reserve is in the Lower [[River Aire|Aire Valley]], south and west of [[Fairburn, North Yorkshire|Fairburn]], near [[Castleford]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://magic.defra.gov.uk/MagicMap.aspx?startTopic=Designations&activelayer=lnrIndex&query=REF_CODE%3D%271008888%27 |title=Map of Fairburn Ings|series=Local Nature Reserves|publisher=Natural England|access-date=23 July 2013}}</ref> It includes the whole of Fairburn & Newton Ings [[Site of Special Scientific Interest|SSSI]].<ref name="pdf">{{cite web|title=Fairburn and Newton Ings|url=http://www.sssi.naturalengland.org.uk/citation/citation_photo/1004115.pdf|website=Natural England|access-date=31 May 2016|page=1|format=PDF}}</ref> It is also a Statutory [[Bird Sanctuary]] (one of only 10 in England) with a focus mainly on wildfowl and [[wader]]s, although many other birds can be seen.

The word ''[[ings]]'' (singular ''ing'') is of Old Norse origin and means "damp or marshy land that floods", a reference to the area being flooded regularly by the [[River Aire]]. Lying alongside the River Aire, the {{convert|657|acre|adj=on}} nature reserve includes a large lake and a number of smaller lakes, ponds and dikes. The area has been the scene of industrial and mining operations for 150&nbsp;years,<ref name="Telegraph" /> and, although the valley floods naturally, the permanent waterbodies are the result of subsidence of former coal-mine workings, up to {{convert|600|m}} underground, providing habitats for [[wildfowl]] and many other birds.

The site is bordered by predominantly arable farmland to the north and east, and urban environments to the south and west. One third of the site has been developed from 26 million cubic metres<ref name="Telegraph">{{Cite news |url=http://www.thetelegraphandargus.co.uk/lifestyle/taleisuredaysout/10635394.Fairburn_Ings___A_nature_lover_s_paradise/ |title=Fairburn Ings - a nature lover's paradise |last=Mead |first=Helen |date=27 August 2013 |newspaper=[[Telegraph & Argus]] |access-date=31 May 2016}}</ref> of colliery spoil which have been landscaped to create a large complex of herb rich grassland, wetlands and woodland.

Habitats at Fairburn Ings include flood meadows, wet fenland, marsh and [[reed bed]], woodland and scrub. Listed in terms of the [[United Kingdom Biodiversity Action Plan]], the reserve contains: 
* UK BAP habitats:
**[[Mesotrophic lake#Mesotrophic|mesotrophic lakes]],
**reedbed, 
**lowland meadow. 
* BAP species of these habitats include: [[grey partridge]] (''Perdix perdix''), [[European turtle dove]] (''Streptopelia turtur''), [[Eurasian skylark]] (''Alauda arvense''), [[song thrush]] (''Turdus philatelist''), [[Eurasian tree sparrow]] (''Passer montanus''), [[linnet]] (''Carduelis cannabina''), [[Eurasian bullfinch]] (''Pyrrhula pyorrhoea''), [[reed bunting]] (''Emberiza schoeniclus''), [[corn bunting]] (''Milaria calandra''), [[European water vole|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''), [[Common redshank]] (''Tringa totanus''), [[whooper swan]] (''Cygnus cygnus'') and [[European golden plover]] (''Pluvialis apricalia'').

==Visitor facilities==
There is a visitor centre and five [[Bird hide|hide]]s.  Entrance to the reserve is free but there is a charge for car parking.<ref>{{cite web|title=About Fairburn Ings|url=http://www.rspb.org.uk/discoverandenjoynature/seenature/reserves/guide/f/fairburnings/about.aspx|website=RSPB|access-date=31 May 2016}}</ref>

==Gallery==
<gallery>
File:Fairburn Ings RSPB reserve 01.jpg|Looking out across the ings
File:Fairburn Ings RSPB reserve 02.jpg|Looking down towards the River Aire
File:Fairburn Ings RSPB reserve 03.jpg|The walk across the disused coal mining area
</gallery>

== See also==
* [[St Aidan's]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Fairburn Ings}}
*[http://www.rspb.org.uk/reserves/guide/f/fairburnings/index.asp Official site]
*[http://jncc.defra.gov.uk/default.aspx?page=5155 UK Biodiversity Action Plan 1992–2012], [[Joint Nature Conservation Committee]].
*[http://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/visiting-woods/wood/26455/fairburn-ings/ Fairburn Ings] on the VisitWoods website
{{Lakes in Yorkshire}}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Fairburn Ings}}
[[Category:Royal Society for the Protection of Birds reserves in England]]
[[Category:RSPB visitor centres in England]]
[[Category:Birdwatching sites in England]]
[[Category:Tourist attractions in the City of Wakefield]]
[[Category:Geography of the City of Wakefield]]
[[Category:Protected areas established in 1957]]
[[Category:Local Nature Reserves in West Yorkshire]]
[[Category:River Aire]]