The Curragh or Ballaugh Curragh is a

wetland A wetland is a distinct semi-aquatic ecosystem whose groundcovers are flooded or saturated in water, either permanently, for years or decades, or only seasonally. Flooding results in oxygen-poor ( anoxic) processes taking place, especially ...

in Ballaugh parish in the north-west of the

Isle of Man The Isle of Man ( , also ), or Mann ( ), is a self-governing British Crown Dependency in the Irish Sea, between Great Britain and Ireland. As head of state, Charles III holds the title Lord of Mann and is represented by a Lieutenant Govern ...

. The area has a rich and varied

biodiversity Biodiversity is the variability of life, life on Earth. It can be measured on various levels. There is for example genetic variability, species diversity, ecosystem diversity and Phylogenetics, phylogenetic diversity. Diversity is not distribut ...

and is also the location of the Curraghs Wildlife Park, a zoo and nature reserve that incorporates the wetlands.

History

During the last ice age the area was covered in sheets of ice. When this ice retreated, a depression was left at the bottom of the northern hills and the wetlands were formed in this basin. Over the years the land has been used to graze animals and grow

hay Hay is grass, legumes, or other herbaceous plants that have been cut and dried to be stored for use as animal fodder, either for large grazing animals raised as livestock, such as cattle, horses, goats, and sheep, or for smaller domesticate ...

, one of the few exploitable crops suited to the conditions of the wetlands. The Curraghs has also been a valuable resource for humans, as well as providing aesthetic appeal; the area is rich in

peat Peat is an accumulation of partially Decomposition, decayed vegetation or organic matter. It is unique to natural areas called peatlands, bogs, mires, Moorland, moors, or muskegs. ''Sphagnum'' moss, also called peat moss, is one of the most ...

, which was used as a

fuel A fuel is any material that can be made to react with other substances so that it releases energy as thermal energy or to be used for work (physics), work. The concept was originally applied solely to those materials capable of releasing chem ...

in the island's homes. The nearby village of

Kirk Michael Michael () is one of the six sheadings of the Isle of Man. It is located on the west of the island (part of the traditional ''North Side'' division) and consists of the three historic parishes of Ballaugh, Jurby and Michael. Historic pa ...

was a great consumer of the peat in the Curraghs. It was the exploitation of peat that made the land slightly drier than it is today. When the practice of peat cutting was discontinued, the ditches in the area filled with water and bogs were formed. In the 1930s, the Manx government intended to make a profit by growing

New Zealand flax New Zealand flax describes the common New Zealand perennial plants ''Phormium tenax'' and '' Phormium colensoi'', known by the Māori names ''harakeke'' and ''wharariki'' respectively. Although given the common name 'flax' they are quite disti ...

on the Curraghs. This plan failed, but in the 1950s the government pressed ahead with another plan to drain the Curraghs, so that the area could be extensively farmed. However, with the land 15 m above sea level, it was decided that it was not economically viable to drain the wetlands. In 1963, much of the area came under the control of the Manx government, and two years later the Curraghs Wildlife Park was opened. In 1990, protection of the government-controlled area was transferred to

Manx National Heritage Manx National Heritage () is the national heritage organisation for the Isle of Man. The organisation manages a significant proportion of the Island’s physical heritage assets including over 3,000 acres of coastline and landscape. It holds pro ...

; and in 2006 about 477 acres, or 193 hectares, of the Curragh became a designated

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) **

hen harrier The hen harrier (''Circus cyaneus'') is a bird of prey. It breeds in Palearctic, Eurasia. The term "hen harrier" refers to its former habit of preying on free-ranging fowl. It bird migration, migrates to more southerly areas in winter. Eurasian ...

s in

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

; a bird that descends on the area during the winter months. Other birds include

peregrine falcon The peregrine falcon (''Falco peregrinus''), also known simply as the peregrine, is a Cosmopolitan distribution, cosmopolitan bird of prey (raptor) in the family (biology), family Falconidae renowned for its speed. A large, Corvus (genus), cro ...

s, merlins, robins,

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 strongl ...

song thrush The song thrush (''Turdus philomelos'') is a Thrush (bird), thrush that breeds across the West Palearctic. It has brown upper-parts and black-spotted cream or buff underparts and has four recognised subspecies. Its distinctive Birdsong, song, w ...

es and

dunnock The dunnock (''Prunella modularis'') is a small passerine, or perching bird, found throughout temperate Europe and into Asian Russia. Dunnocks have also been successfully introduced into New Zealand. It is the most widespread member of the acce ...

s among others. There is also a subspecies of

wren Wrens are a family, Troglodytidae, of small brown passerine birds. The family includes 96 species and is divided into 19 genera. All species are restricted to the New World except for the Eurasian wren that is widely distributed in the Old Worl ...

, possibly unique to the island. The area is also notable for its diversity of butterflies, and the Wildlife Park, whilst home to over 100 animals from around the world (including

pelicans Pelicans (genus ''Pelecanus'') are a genus of large water birds that make up the family Pelecanidae. They are characterized by a long beak and a large throat pouch used for catching prey and draining water from the scooped-up contents before ...

gibbon Gibbons () are apes in the family Hylobatidae (). The family historically contained one genus, but now is split into four extant genera and 20 species. Gibbons live in subtropical and tropical forests from eastern Bangladesh and Northeast Indi ...

otters Otters are carnivorous mammals in the Rank (zoology), subfamily Lutrinae. The 13 extant otter species are all semiaquatic, aquatic animal, aquatic, or Marine ecology, marine. Lutrinae is a branch of the Mustelidae Family (biology), family, whi ...

and

penguins Penguins are a group of aquatic flightless birds from the family Spheniscidae () of the order Sphenisciformes (). They live almost exclusively in the Southern Hemisphere. Only one species, the Galápagos penguin, is equatorial, with a sm ...

), also features a butterfly walk, an opportunity for visitors to see the insects in an environment designed for them. One notable species is the orange tip. Ballaugh Curraghs has a persistent breeding colony of wild

wallabies A wallaby () is a small or middle-sized macropod native to Australia and New Guinea, with introduced populations in New Zealand, Hawaii, the United Kingdom and other countries. They belong to the same taxonomic family as kangaroos and som ...

, said to be the largest in the British Isles, descended from two that escaped from the wildlife park some years ago. They seem to occupy a similar ecological niche to hares.Harby, A.P.B.: " An Assessment of the Ballaugh Curragh Wallaby Population", 2008.

Flora

The Curraghs are a tapestry of

scrubland Shrubland, scrubland, scrub, brush, or bush is a plant community characterized by vegetation dominance (ecology), dominated by shrubs, often also including grasses, herbaceous plant, herbs, and geophytes. Shrubland may either occur naturally o ...

, including willow and bog myrtle scrub.

Sphagnum moss ''Sphagnum'' is a genus of approximately 380 accepted species of mosses, commonly known as sphagnum moss, also bog moss and quacker moss (although that term is also sometimes used for peat). Accumulations of ''Sphagnum'' can store water, since ...

, a common species, is responsible for the high levels of

in the area. The peat and wetland topography of the area combine to create a series of

bog A bog or bogland is a wetland that accumulates peat as a deposit of dead plant materials often mosses, typically sphagnum moss. It is one of the four main types of wetlands. Other names for bogs include mire, mosses, quagmire, and musk ...

s. The abundance of peat has had a direct effect on the island's human inhabitants over the years, with the peat being used as fuel in people's homes. The Curraghs are also home to six different species of

orchid Orchids are plants that belong to the family Orchidaceae (), a diverse and widespread group of flowering plants with blooms that are often colourful and fragrant. Orchids are cosmopolitan plants that are found in almost every habitat on Eart ...

, including the heath spotted orchid.

Etymology

Manx Gaelic Manx ( or , or ), also known as Manx Gaelic, is a Goidelic language, Gaelic language of the insular Celtic branch of the Celtic language family, itself a branch of the Indo-European language family. Manx is the heritage language of the Manx ...

, a ''curragh'' originally referred to open wetland or mites habitats, however as the Ballaugh Curragh has dried up and transitioned from open mire into

willow Willows, also called sallows and osiers, of the genus ''Salix'', comprise around 350 species (plus numerous hybrids) of typically deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist soils in cold and temperate regions. Most species are known ...

carr and scrub

habitat In ecology, habitat refers to the array of resources, biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species' habitat can be seen as the physical manifestation of its ...

, now widely found in the

, the meaning of the word curragh has changed accordingly.

References

{{Reflist

External links

Manx National Heritage informationIsland guide to the Wildlife ParkPiece on the Curraghs as part of a BBC nature series
Environment of the Isle of Man Fauna of the Isle of Man Ramsar sites in the Isle of Man