Killough Bay and Strand Lough ASSI

Killough Bay and Strand Lough ASSI is a coastal site with linked tidal lough, swamp, fen and wet meadows. Killough Bay is an important over-wintering site for many birds, but it especially supports nationally important numbers of light-bellied Brent geese.

The coastal area is composed of sand, silt and mud shores plus one boulder shore and there are both sheltered and moderately exposed intertidal zones. This rich shoreline variation provides sub-habitats for a variety of flora and fauna, particularly the sand-binding polychaete Sabellaria alveolata, a Biodiversity Action Plan species at its northern limit.

Inland, a much wider area would have been regularly flooded by seawater in the past, however Strand Lough remains a brackish lake, whilst many of the surrounding fields still contain species indicative of their saline nature. Notable plants in and around Strand Lough are tasselweed, sea club-rush and grey club-rush.