Easkey Bog is a blanket bog, national nature reserve, and
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)
**
County Sligo
County Sligo ( , ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Northern and Western Region and is part of the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht. Sligo is the administrative capital and largest town in ...
, Ireland.
Features
Easkey or Easky Bog was legally protected as a national nature reserve by the Irish government in 1990. In 1990, the site was also declared
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)
**
A large portion of the bog has been deemed to be of international scientific interest.
The reserve contains the Cowagh River headwaters, a large plateau of highland
blanket bog
Blanket bog or blanket mire, also known as featherbed bog, is an area of peatland, forming where there is a climate of high rainfall and a low level of evapotranspiration, allowing peat to develop not only in wet hollows but over large expanses ...
, with wet heath and mountain blanket bog set on the steep slopes of the
Ox Mountains
The Ox Mountains or Slieve Gamph (, 'storm mountains') are a mountain range in County Sligo on the west coast of Ireland
Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Eu ...
. There is a wide variety of diverse habitats, from quaking areas, stream, pool, flushes, heath slopes, and rock and peat lakes. Easkey Bog is one of only a small number of large areas of intermediate blanket bogs in Ireland, encompassing lowland and mountain blanket bog. It is rare in that it contains all three types of blanket bogs within close proximity. The reserve is home to
red grouse
The red grouse (''Lagopus scotica'') is a medium-sized bird of the grouse family which is found in Calluna, heather moorland in Great Britain and Ireland.
It was formerly classified as a subspecies of the willow ptarmigan (''Lagopus lagopus'') ...
European golden plover
The European golden plover (''Pluvialis apricaria''), also known as the Eurasian golden plover, or just the golden plover within Europe, is a relatively large species of plover. This species is similar to two other golden plovers, the American ...
overwintering there. There is also a population of
Irish hare
''Lepus timidus hibernicus'', more commonly known as the Irish hare, is a subspecies of the mountain hare (''Lepus timidus'') that is native to the island of Ireland
Ireland (, ; ; Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic ...