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| Dalby
Mountain Moorland SC 233769 Status: Open to the public Size: 28 hectares (69 acres) Acquired: Purchased 1995 with a grant from WWF, the global environmental network. Habitats: Wet and dry dwarf shrub heath, marshy grassland and scrub. Notable species: Breeding red grouse, hen harrier, bog asphodel and heath spotted orchid. Description: The reserve is traditional heath moorland, sandwiched between two conifer plantations and bisected by the A27 public road. It comprises 5% of the Island's wet heath. Heather, purple moor grass and rushes with locally abundant bog asphodel dominate the wet heath. Other species include devil's bit scabious, cross-leaved heath and heath-spotted orchids. The dry heath is dominated by bell heather, ling / heather and western gorse. In addition to the grouse and hen harriers, snipe and curlew may be observed. Adders tongue fern was found on the roadside verge in 1996.The area was liable to have become planted with conifers to link adjoining plantations and was bought by the Trust to prevent destruction of the moorland habitats. A public road and a public footpath cross the reserve. Management:
Parts of the heath on Dalby Mountain are neglected and being invaded by
gorse. Previous management had been ad hoc burning of large blocks of
heather. Future management will involve rotational strip burning with
a small area burned each year to create a mosaic of heather stands of
different ages. How to get to Dalby Mountain Moorland: The A27 Dalby to Round Table Road passes through the reserve and there is off-road parking space at the point on the west side of the road where a track to Eary Cushlin commences.
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Protecting
Manx Wildlife for the Future
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