The Ings

Fairburn Ings Nature Reserve is nowadays well known throughout Great Britain for being an excellent example of what can be achieved in the field of nature conservation in what is otherwise an industrialized environment. It is unique in being both very good for wildlife and an educational resource for use by large numbers of the general public and school parties in particular. The reserve covers an area of 618 acres which can be roughly sub-divided into 3 habitat types - open water, formed by mining subsidence, mainly at the eastern end; rough grazing and arable at the western end; and spoil heaps and slurry lagoons still being worked by the National Coal Board (NCB). The area is owned by the NCB and leased to West Yorkshire Metropolitan and North Yorkshire County Councils (WYMCC and NYCC) who, in turn, lease it to the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB). Although only a reserve since 1957, the area has a long history and once formed part of the much larger Lower Aire Valley Wetlands which must have been an outstanding area for waterfowl. The earliest historical reference to the Fairburn marshes dates from 655 AD and relates that following the Battle of Winwoed between Penda, King of Mercia, and Oswi, King of Northumbria, Penda's forces, fleeing south, suffered considerable casualities when trying to cross the flooded wetland between Castleford and Ferrybridge. The area was relatively undisturbed until the early 1600s after which extensive drainage converted the marshes into farmland, though it was still subject to winter flooding. Indeed, the reserve is nowadays designated as a washland by the Yorkshire Water Authority (YMA) and acts as a "safety valve" for the River Aire to prevent flooding of Castleford and other towns upstream. With the coming of the Industrial Revolution and the accompanying demand for coal, the NCB began mining activities under the reserve.

This began to cause subsidence, first apparent in the early 1900s, and became especially noticable in c1926 when the present Village Bay lake formed. Subsidence continued and by the late 1950s both Village and Main Bays were much as they are today. The Cut area was largely marshland with a dense cover of Reedmace and Reed Sweet Grass. Subsidence is a continuing process and by the mid 1960s the increased water depth led to the loss of much of the emergent aquatic vegetation at the eastern end but had, almost to compensate matters, caused the formation of a small wetland area around Newton Priory. Further subsidence occurred at the western end in 1976 and the Flashes were formed.

This woodland has reached the stage where it is spreading naturally and in 1982, thinning operations were started to improve the quality over the years and public hides now overlook most of the wetland areas. In 1979, an Information Centre was built for use by visiting school parties and the general public.

Fairburn is primarily known for its birdlife and up to 1982, 248 species have been recorded, a truly amazing number considering the reserve's industrial setting. Approximately 170 species recorded annually and about 60 species breed. The reason for this diversity is that Fairburn lies on the Trans-Pennine Flyway for migrating birds. Many species, gulls, terns and waders in particular, tend to follow water courses whilst migrating and in northern England, the Humber - Aire - Wharfe river complex is a natural route connecting the east and west coasts through a shallow depression in the Pennine Chain. Birds are therefore channelled past the reserve and often tempted to stop off, especially during inclement weather. Most autumns see the formation of a large and impressive Swallow roost, birds gathering together before starting the return journey to their South African wintering grounds. Before subsidence removed much of the emergent vegetation, incredible numbers were recorded - over 1 million birds at times between 1959 and 1965! Nowadays the figure is more modest, c50,000, but nevertheless still an amazing spectacle on a mid-September evening.

However it is the wildfowl which are most important on the reserve, with all of the commoner species resident and breeding. In late autumn and winter, birds move in from Northern Europe and large numbers are present until the spring, with good numbers of Goldeneye, Goosander and Whooper Swans regularly recorded. Fairburn is now the most important site in Yorkshire for wintering Whooper Swans and one of the major sites in England.

The swans been breeding in Britain since 1938 and are very much a southern species so Fairburn is an important site close to the northern limit of its breeding range. A similar situation is true for Garganey, Turtle Dove, Reed Warbler and Yellow Wagtail, all of which are mainly restricted to the southern half of Britain as breeding species. However, Fairburn is more than just a bird reserve, it is a nature reserve. It is necessary to conserve all the components of the environment if a reserve is to maintain itself properly. Over 300 species of plant, 277 species of moth, 16 species of butterfly, 46 species of spider and 19 species of mammal have been recorded, some of which are quite scarce either locally or nationally. Research into the various groups continues each year and new species are still being added to the reserve list. This research also monitors the effects of management on the various plant and animal communities and so enables better planning for the future conservation of the area. Fairburn, like most other reserves, is in a constant state of change, both naturally and through management, and so presents a changing face to visitors from year to year. As more areas of wetland disappear through reclamation so the importance of those remaining increases. Fairburn is one of these remaining sites and needs everyones support to maintain it not just for the wildlife but also for future generations to appreciate and enjoy. It is because of this unique environment that has resulted in the designation of the reserve as a SSSI site, ie a Site of Special Scientific Interest.