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 ( , gle, Contae Shligigh) is a county in Ireland. It is located in the Border Region and is part of the province of Connacht. Sligo is the administrative capital and largest town in the county. Sligo County Council is the loc ...
.
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, with wet heath and mountain blanket bog set on the steep slopes of the
Ox Mountains
The Ox Mountains or Slieve Gamph () are a mountain range in County Sligo on the west coast of Ireland. They are also known as Saint Patrick's Mountains after the saint who built churches on its slopes and left his name to some of its wells.
G ...
. 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 lagopus scotica'') is a medium-sized bird of the grouse family which is found in heather moorland in Great Britain and Ireland. It is usually classified as a subspecies of the willow ptarmigan but is sometimes consid ...
and
curlews
The curlews () are a group of nine species of birds in the genus ''Numenius'', characterised by their long, slender, downcurved bills and mottled brown plumage. The English name is imitative of the Eurasian curlew's call, but may have been ...