| Curry and Hay Moors | |
|---|---|
| Area of Search | Somerset |
| Grid Reference | ST323273 |
| Interest | Biological |
| Area | 472. Areas of Search (AOSs are geographical areas used in the selection of Sites of Special Scientific Interest. Grid references define locations on Maps using Cartesian coordinates. 8 hectare (1168. Explanation The hectare is commonly used in most countries around the world especially in domains concerned with land planning and management such as Agriculture, 1 acre) |
| Notification | 1992 |
| Location Map | English Nature |
Curry and Hay Moors (grid reference ST323273) is a 472. A Site of Special Scientific Interest or SSSI is a Conservation designation denoting a Protected area in the United Kingdom. The British national grid reference system is a system of geographic grid references commonly used in Great Britain, different from using Latitude and Longitude 8 hectare (1168. Explanation The hectare is commonly used in most countries around the world especially in domains concerned with land planning and management such as Agriculture, 1 acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Somerset, notified in 1992. A Site of Special Scientific Interest or SSSI is a Conservation designation denoting a Protected area in the United Kingdom. Somerset ( or) is a county in south west England The County town is Taunton, which is in the south of the county A Site of Special Scientific Interest or SSSI is a Conservation designation denoting a Protected area in the United Kingdom.
Curry and Hay Moors form part of the complex of grazing marshes known as the Somerset Levels and Moors. The Somerset Levels (or Somerset Levels and Moors as they are less commonly but more correctly called is a sparsely populated Wetland area of central Somerset The low-lying site is situated adjacent to the River Tone which annually overtops, flooding the fields in winter. The River Tone is a river in Somerset, that flows through Taunton and joins the River Parrett. Soils are predominantly alluvial clays overlying Altcar series peats. The flora and fauna of the ditches and rhynes is of national importance. In Botany, flora ( Plural: floras or florae has two meanings The first meaning flora of an area or of time period, refers to all Fauna is all of the Animal life of any particular region or time Over 70 aquatic and bankside vascular plants have been recorded including Frogbit (Hydrocharis morsus-ranae), Flowering Rush (Butomus umbellatus), Wood Club-rush (Scirpus sylvaticus) and Lesser Water-plantain (Baldellia ranunculoides). The plant Genus Scirpus consists of a large number of aquatic grass-like species in the family Cyperaceae (the sedges many with the common names Baldellia is a Genus of aquatic plants commonly known as lesser water-plantains. Over 100 species of aquatic invertebrates inhabit the ditches including one nationally rare soldier fly, (Odontomyia ornata) and 13 nationally scarce species including the water beetles Agabus uliginosus, Hydaticus transversalis and Helophorus nanus. An aquatic animal is an Animal which lives in water for most or all of the time An invertebrate is an Animal lacking a Vertebral column. The group includes 98% of all animal Species — all animals except those in the Chordate The soldier flies ( Stratiomyidae, sometimes misspelled as Stratiomyiidae) are a family of Diptera (historically placed in the now-obsolete group A water beetle is a Beetle adapted to living in water several different types are known most in or on Fresh water.
In winter the flooded fields provide food for large numbers of waterfowl with several thousand Lapwing (Vanellus vanellus), hundreds of Snipe (Gallinago gallinago) and smaller numbers of Golden Plover (Pluvialis apricaria) and Dunlin (Calidris alpina) regularly present. Vanellinae are a Subfamily of medium-sized wading Birds belonging to the family Charadriidae, which also includes the Plovers A snipe is any of nearly 20 wading bird species in three genera in the family Scolopacidae. The Eurasian Golden Plover, Pluvialis apricaria, is a largish Plover. The Dunlin, Calidris alpina, is a small Wader, sometimes separated with the other " Stints quot in Erolia. Over two hundred Bewick's Swans (Cygnus bewickii) have been recorded, making the site an internationally important wintering ground for this species. The Tundra Swan ( Cygnus columbianus) is a small Holarctic Swan. Raptor species such as Short-eared Owl (Asio flammeus), Merlin (Falco columbarius) and Peregrine (Falco peregrinus) regularly hunt over the site in winter. The Short-eared Owl ( Asio flammeus) is a species of Typical owl (family Strigidae) The Merlin ( Falco columbarius) is a smallish Falcon that breeds in northern North America, Europe and Asia. The Peregrine Falcon ( Falco peregrinus) also known simply as the Peregrine, and historically as the "Duck Hawk" in North America is a Vertebrate species present include Grass Snake (Natrix natrix) and Common Frog Rana temporaria. This article is about the European Grass Snake or Ringed Snake Natrix natrix The Common Frog, Rana temporaria also known as the European Common Frog or European Common Brown Frog is found throughout much of Europe Otters (Lutra lutra) are regularly recorded on the site. Otters are semi- aquatic (or in one case aquatic) fish-eating Mammals The otter subfamily Lutrinae forms part of the family [1]