Curry and Hay Moors

Curry and Hay Moors
Site of Special Scientific Interest
Curry Moor Pumping Station
Location within Somerset
Area of Search	Somerset
Grid reference	ST323273
Coordinates	51°02′28″N 2°58′01″W / 51.04105°N 2.96701°W / 51.04105; -2.96701Coordinates: 51°02′28″N 2°58′01″W / 51.04105°N 2.96701°W / 51.04105; -2.96701
Interest	Biological
Area	472.8 hectares (4.728 km²; 1.825 sq mi)
Notification	1992 (1992)
Natural England website

Curry and Hay Moors (grid reference ST323273) is a 472.8 hectare (1168.1 acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Somerset, notified in 1992.

Curry and Hay Moors form part of the complex of grazing marshes known as the Somerset Levels and Moors. The low-lying site is situated adjacent to the River Tone which annually overtops, flooding the fields in winter. Soils are predominantly alluvial clays overlying Altcar series peats. The flora and fauna of the ditches and rhynes is of national importance. Over 70 aquatic and bankside vascular plants have been recorded including frogbit (Hydrocharis morsus-ranae), flowering rush (Butomus umbellatus), wood club-rush (Scirpus sylvaticus) and lesser water-plantain (Baldellia ranunculoides). Over 100 species of aquatic invertebrates inhabit the ditches including one nationally rare soldier fly, (Odontomyia ornata) and 13 nationally scarce species including the water beetles Agabus uliginosus, Hydaticus transversalis and Helophorus nanus.

In winter the flooded fields provide food for large numbers of waterfowl with several thousand lapwing (Vanellus vanellus), hundreds of snipe (Gallinago gallinago) and smaller numbers of golden plover (Pluvialis apricaria) and dunlin (Calidris alpina) regularly present. Over two hundred Bewick's swans (Cygnus bewickii) have been recorded, making the site an internationally important wintering ground for this species. Raptor species such as short-eared owl (Asio flammeus), merlin (Falco columbarius) and peregrine (Falco peregrinus) regularly hunt over the site in winter. Vertebrate species present include grass snake (Natrix natrix) and common frog Rana temporaria. Otters (Lutra lutra) are regularly recorded on the site.^[1]

The moor was flooded during the winter flooding of 2013–14 on the Somerset Levels.

References

↑ "Curry and Hay Moors" (PDF). English Nature. Retrieved 2006-08-12.

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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