… a blog written by Jamie Robins, Buglife’s Programmes Manager.
The Save Coul Links Conservation Coalition has been working together to save a special corner of the Scottish coast and the amazing wildlife found there. But it can sometimes be easy to lose focus on what is really being fought for in such impassioned campaigns to save nature. With an imminent inquiry that will help determine its future, it is timely to reflect on the beautiful landscape at Coul Links and the incredible wildlife that calls it home.
So just what is it that makes Coul Links so special?
With golden sands, rolling dunes, wildflower dotted grasslands, dune heath and dune slack wetlands, it is not just precious to the people that tread its paths every day, but also the walkers and nature lovers just passing through- and even people who have never been there before, but feel uplifted by just knowing such places exist. A remnant of the wild world that used to be, it is one of the last dynamic natural coastal dune systems in the UK, a place where the land meets the sea unconstrained. These sorts of landscapes are forever changing, but on most parts of our coast our actions have put a stop to natural processes and changes- to keep things fixed in time for our benefit. The rarity of dynamic sand dune habitats makes them so special and is a key reason why it has been so vigorously defended.
There are many places that are important for animals and plants, but only the very best sites bring together rare species of such diversity as Coul Links. It is home to Skylarks, migrant geese, Northern Brown Argus butterflies (Aricia artaxerxes), and rare plants such as Coral Root Orchid and Purple Milk Vetch. It is also vital for the Globally Endangered Fonseca’s Seed Fly (Botanophila fonsecai), an endemic species found only from this corner of Scotland. What could be more special about a stretch of coast than to be able to claim it as the only place in the entire world that is known to be home to a species? As one of the UK’s rarest endemic species, known from just 8.1km of East Sutherland coast, Coul Links is a key site in its global range. The Ragwort and Sow-thistle that blow and bend in the wind across Coul Links are essential to the future survival of this tiny fly.
Dynamic landscapes seem even more so when you look across the seasons. During the summer, wildflowers dot the site, each type perfectly adapted to their part of the habitat mosaic, with Small Blue butterflies (Cupido minimus) flitting in sheltered, sunny pockets and a host of other rare invertebrates spring into life. But in winter it offers a safe haven for ducks such as Wigeon and Teal during bad weather, while the shore attracts roosting and feeding Dunlin and Oystercatcher. Predictable cycles in an ever-changing coastal landscape.
Talk of protected site designations like Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), Special Protection Area (SPA) and Ramsar site tell us that these sites are important for wildlife- but they don’t tell you how important they are for people. They also can’t capture how it feels to explore nature or to wonder at how such a wild area can be so important for the wildlife that calls it home.
This is why we have to Save Coul Links.
- Main Image Credit: Coul Links aerial © Craig Allardyce
- Additional Image Credits:
(row one) Coul Links © Vince Lowe, Meadowsweet in winter loch, Coul Links © Andrew Weston, Coul Links © Buglife
(row two) Small Blue (Cupido minimus) © Iain H Leach, Knapweed, Ragwort & Restharrow, Coul Links © Andrew Weston, Northern Brown Argus (Aricia Artaxerxes) © Scott Shanks
