The Slamannan Plateau is a geographic area and

special protection area A special protection area (SPA) is a designation under the European Union Directive on the Conservation of Wild Birds. Under the Directive, Member States of the European Union (EU) have a duty to safeguard the habitats of migratory birds and cer ...

in the

Central Belt The Central Belt of Scotland is the Demographics of Scotland, area of highest population density within Scotland. Depending on the definition used, it has a population of between 2.4 and 4.2 million (the country's total was around 5.4 million in ...

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

which encompasses the small villages of

Slamannan Slamannan () is a village in the south of the Falkirk council area in Central Scotland. It is south-west of Falkirk, east of Cumbernauld and north-east of Airdrie. Slamannan is located at the cross of the B803 and B8022 roads, near the ...

, Limerigg and

Caldercruix Caldercruix is a semi-rural village in North Lanarkshire, Scotland. The nearest major town is Airdrie, to the west. It has a population of about 2,440. The village is about east of Glasgow and west of Edinburgh. The local Church of Scotl ...

. It is situated 5 km south of

Falkirk Falkirk ( ; ; ) is a town in the Central Lowlands of Scotland, historically within the county of Stirlingshire. It lies in the Forth Valley, northwest of Edinburgh and northeast of Glasgow. Falkirk had a resident population of 32,422 at the ...

and about 4 km east of

Cumbernauld Cumbernauld (; ) is a large town in the Shires of Scotland, historic county of Dunbartonshire and council area of North Lanarkshire, Scotland. It is the tenth List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, most-populous locality in Scotl ...

, at around 170 m above sea level. The area is a mosaic of improved

grasslands A grassland is an area where the vegetation is dominated by grasses (Poaceae). However, sedge ( Cyperaceae) and rush ( Juncaceae) can also be found along with variable proportions of legumes such as clover, and other herbs. Grasslands occur ...

and

rough pasture Rough pasture or rough grazing is non-intensive grazing pasture, commonly found on poor soils, especially in hilly areas, throughout the world. In agricultural environment, it is an area outside of a field, a meadow or an area without any or wi ...

which includes wetlands dominated by ''

Juncus ''Juncus'' is a genus of monocotyledonous flowering plants, commonly known as rushes. It is the largest genus in the family Juncaceae, containing around 300 species. Description Rushes of the genus ''Juncus'' are herbaceous plants that superfici ...

'' species (rushes),

raised ''Raised'' is the third studio album by American country artist Hailey Whitters. It was released on March 18, 2022, via a partnership between Big Loud and her own imprint, Pigasus. Background Heavily inspired by her Midwestern upbringing in Iow ...

blanket A blanket is a swath of soft textile, cloth large enough either to cover or to enfold most of the user's body and thick enough to keep the body warm by trapping radiant body heat that otherwise would be lost through Thermal conduction, condu ...

and intermediate bogs and two shallow

loch ''Loch'' ( ) is a word meaning "lake" or "inlet, sea inlet" in Scottish Gaelic, Scottish and Irish Gaelic, subsequently borrowed into English. In Irish contexts, it often appears in the anglicized form "lough". A small loch is sometimes calle ...

s within Fannyside Muir. The area attracts a nationally important population of taiga bean geese (''Anser fabalis fabalis''). The area became an area of special scientific interest on 5 September 2007 due to the Slamannan Plateau becoming the primary site for wintering taiga bean geese in the UK with over 50% of the total population in recent years. The majority of the rest of the UK population winters in

Norfolk Norfolk ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in England, located in East Anglia and officially part of the East of England region. It borders Lincolnshire and The Wash to the north-west, the North Sea to the north and eas ...

with occasional small flocks elsewhere. The geese feed, mostly by day, on agricultural fields mainly eating grasses. In the early evening they fly to their roost sites, or if the weather is bad they can roost within their preferred feeding fields. The birds visit the area between October and the end of February each year.{{Cite web, url=https://sitelink.nature.scot/site/9184, title=Slamannan Plateau SPA, date=9 October 2008, website=Sitelink , access-date=27 April 2019

References

Geography of Scotland