St Cyrus Nature Reserve

 The St Cyrus Nature Reserve lives a few miles north of where we live. It has one of the most varied stretches of coastline in North-east Scotland, consisting of sand dunes, species rich grassland, river estuary and cliffs.

The natural barriers of inland cliffs and a seaward ridge of sand dunes protect the St Cyrus grasslands from the ravages of the weather, creating a small strip of warmth nestled on the North East coast. It is a refuge for a great variety of plants, insects and birds. It is a favourite place for dog walkers, walkers and twittchers alike. The beach is popular with families in the summer. Dogs are welcome but have to be kept at heel or on a lead until they get to the beach.

The beach is reached over a wooden bridge with viewing points over the grasslands and sand dunes.
 

 Traditional salmon fishing with nets was still carried from St Cyrus beach until about two years ago. (you can see the nets on my post about Lunan Bay) Two ice houses that used to provide ice for packing salmon before transporting to market can still be seen. One had now been turned into a private dwelling.

We usually head for the beach so that the dog can have a run.

 The beach viewed from the rocks (and caves) at the far end.

We often used to walk along the paths at the top of the cliffs and down to the beach from there but erosion has made this more difficult. The view from the top is spectacular.

The andesite cliffs, made of lava from a volcano which was active 395 million years ago. The grasslands are sheltered from the south westerly winds by the cliffs and the easterly winds by the sand dunes. Wild flowers thrive in the warmer drier conditions.

You may be able to pick out the finger of rock in the above photo. We had been visiting St Cyrus for a while before we noticed it. The shadow behind and the yellow lichen on the top helps it to stand out.

There are over 65 species of breeding birds  at St Cyrus during the summer; some that live here all year round and some that travel great distances to breed on the reserve.
The variety of habitats on the reserve encourages a range of birds from dunnocks and stonechats in the gorse bushes to skylarks and meadow pipits in the dunes. Sedge warblers and reed buntings nest in the reedbeds while the fulmars and peregrines live on the cliffs.
There are also special bird boxes put up for the swallows and housemartins which fly in for the summer

A special feature of the reserve between April and August is the songs of the skylark.They make their nests on the ground so part of the reserve is closed off during the breeding season to prevent disturbance by humans and dogs.

There is an abundance of wildflowers. There are also  some moths and butterflies, but these do seem  scarcer than in the past. Here are some of the ones we saw...

A Common Blue on a campanula

 Campanula glomerata  Clustered Bellflower

Ameria maritima Thrift

Echium vulgare Viper's bugloss

Vicia cracca Tufted Vetch

Campanula  Rotndifolia Harebell

Towards the end of the walk there are a few fields that are sown with wild flowers every year. This year there are grasses mixed with daisies. It is a stunning sight.