Fairburn Ings RSPB reserve

It was designated a local nature reserve in 1957 under the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act (1949). Since the late 1970s it has been managed by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) on behalf of the local naturalists who set it up.{{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}}

The reserve is in the Lower Aire Valley, south and west of Fairburn, near Castleford.{{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}} It includes the whole of Fairburn & Newton Ings SSSI.{{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}} It is also a Statutory Bird Sanctuary (one of only 10 in England) with a focus mainly on wildfowl and waders, 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 years, 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{{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}} 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 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), water vole (Arvicola terrestris ) and pipistrelle bat (Pipistrellus pippistrellus).

Birds of conservation concern of these habitats include: the black-necked grebe (Podiceps nigrocollis), garganey (Spatula querquedula), Common redshank (Tringa totanus), whooper swan (Cygnus cygnus) and European golden plover (Pluvialis apricalia).

There is a visitor centre and five hides. Entrance to the reserve is free but there is a charge for car parking.{{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}}

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

• St Aidan's

{{Reflist}}

{{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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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