Fairy Water Bogs RAMSAR

Fairy Water Bog is situated in County Tyrone in the centre of Northern Ireland. The raised bog which covers most of the site exhibits the full range of characteristic vegetation and structural features associated with this type of habitat and is surrounded by cut-over bog with poor fen. The Ramsar site boundary is entirely coincident with both that of the Fairy Water Bogs Area of Special Scientific Interest and the Fairy Water Bogs candidate Special Area of Conservation.

The site qualifies under criterion 1a of the Ramsar Convention by being a particularly good representative example of lowland raised bog. In western Europe most of the relatively intact raised bogs occur in the UK and Ireland. Three examples of bogs - Bomackatall, Claragh and Kilmore Robinson - are included in this composite site.

As other bog complexes in Northern Ireland have suffered much more severe exploitation, this hummock and hollow pool complex is considered to be one of the largest and most intact concentrations of active lowland raised bogs in Northern Ireland and represents one of the best examples of this habitat type in the UK. Many invertebrate species such as the Brown hawker dragonfly can be seen in this habitat.

Each bog has a classic dome structure and hummocks and hollows are also generally well developed on all three bogs, with significant pool complexes at Claragh and Bomackatall. Sphagnum austinii and Sphagnum fuscum are widespread, with Sphagnum fuscum especially abundant on Kilmore Robinson. As other bog complexes in Northern Ireland have suffered much more severe exploitation, the overall extent of intact bog make this complex unique.

Bryophytes typically associated with western blanket bog are well represented, with Pleurozia purpurea being prominent in bog pools on Kilmore Robinson and Claragh.

Annaghs Lough at the margin of Bomackatall bog shows various stages in the vegetation succession from open water to peaty swamp and fen. At North Drumnafallow this type of succession is well advanced, with the development of a schwingmoor, an advancing floating raft of bog-moss, over the site of an old pond.