Charity expands nature reserve in Dalby

A nature reserve in the west of the Isle of Man has been expanded to make it the second largest reserve owned by a conservation charity.

Dalby Mountain Nature Reserve, owned by Manx Wildlife Trust (MWT), is being expanded from 69 acres (27.9 hectares) to 112 acres (45.3 hectares).

The land is recognised as being of international significance for nature conservation for its blanket bog habitat and an important bird area for Hen Harrier, UNESCO Biosphere Isle of Man has said.

Graham Makepeace-Warne, MWT's head of engagement, said the best way to protect land on the island was through the charity owning it with "wildlife in mind".

The Dalby reserve was the charity's only upland nature reserve, made up of peatland, moorland and heathland, and it is "really good habitat and feeding ground" for some birds, he said.

Expansion of existing nature reserves was the charity's preference as the greatest costs associated with the management of the land lied in the boundaries of the reserves, he added.

The land, which is one of the charity's 30 nature reserves, was given as a gift to MWT by an asset management firm which has a branch based on the island.

The charity would not make many changes to the site as the land required little management and was "good quality peatland and heathland, with a small car park meaning the public could visit", Mr MakePeace-Warne said.

The charity had doubled its land holding in recent years which was due to the availability of funding he continued.

David Bellamy, head of conservation and land at MWT, said the charity had owned about a third of the bog but now the "entire ecological unit is under our perpetual stewardship".

The site supports key species including hen harriers, curlews, skylarks, cuckoos and snipes, and the land acquisition would help MWT raise awareness about the "importance of our island's precious peatlands", he added.

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