Westhay Heath

Westhay Heath
Site of Special Scientific Interest

Location within Somerset
Area of Search	Somerset
Grid reference	ST415422
Coordinates	51°10′34″N 2°50′18″W / 51.17603°N 2.83823°W / 51.17603; -2.83823Coordinates: 51°10′34″N 2°50′18″W / 51.17603°N 2.83823°W / 51.17603; -2.83823
Interest	Biological
Area	25.9 hectares (0.259 km²; 0.100 sq mi)
Notification	1990 (1990)
Natural England website

Westhay Heath (grid reference ST415422) is a 25.9 hectare (64.0 acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest 2km west of Westhay village in Somerset, notified in 1990.

Westhay Heath, which is managed by the Somerset Wildlife Trust is an area of tall fen vegetation containing scrub, marshy grassland, ditches and small ponds in the heart of the peat moors on the Somerset Levels. This mosaic of habitats has developed on areas previously used for peat extraction. The site is of importance for the presence of a nationally rare fen community, including a diverse assemblage of breeding and wintering birds. This is the only site in Somerset where the nationally rare Marsh Harrier (Circus areuginosus) breeds.^[1]

References

↑ "Westhay Heath" (PDF). English Nature. Retrieved 2006-08-22.

External links

"Westhay Heath". Somerset Wildlife Trust. Retrieved 2006-08-22.

Biological Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Somerset

Summarised data for all sites (biological and geological)

Aller and Beer Woods Aller Hill Asham Wood Axbridge Hill and Fry's Hill Babcary Meadows Barle Valley Barrington Hill Meadows Berrow Dunes Black Down and Sampford Commons Brean Down Bridgwater Bay Briggins Moor Catcott, Edington and Chilton Moors Chancellor's Farm Cheddar Complex Cheddar Reservoir Cheddar Wood Cleeve Hill Cogley Wood Crook Peak to Shute Shelve Hill Curry and Hay Moors Deadman Draycott Sleights Dunster Park and Heathlands East Polden Grasslands Ebbor Gorge Edford Woods and Meadows Exmoor Coastal Heaths Fivehead Woods and Meadow Freshmoor Friar's Oven Ge-mare Farm Fields Great Breach and Copley Woods Grove Farm Hardington Moor Hestercombe House Holme Moor & Clean Moor King's Sedgemoor Kingdown and Middledown Kingweston Meadows Lang's Farm Langford Heathfield Langmead and Weston Level Long Lye Long Lye Meadow Longleat Woods Millwater Moorlinch Nettlecombe Park North Brewham Meadows North Curry Meadow North Exmoor North Moor Old Iron Works, Mells Perch Porlock Ridge and Saltmarsh Postlebury Wood Priddy Pools Prior's Park & Adcombe Wood Quantock Hills Quants Ringdown River Barle Rodney Stoke Roebuck Meadows Ruttersleigh Severn Estuary Shapwick Heath Sharpham Moor Plot South Exmoor Southey and Gotleigh Moors Southlake Moor Sparkford Wood St. Dunstan's Well Catchment Stowell Meadow Street Heath Tealham and Tadham Moors Thurlbear Wood and Quarrylands Twinhills Woods and Meadows Vallis Vale Walton and Ivythorn Hills West Moor West Sedgemoor Westhay Heath Westhay Moor Wet Moor Whitevine Meadows Windsor Hill Marsh Wookey Hole Woolhayes Farm

Neighbouring areas Avon Devon Dorset Wiltshire

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