Orton Moss
Encyclopedia
Orton Moss is a Site of Special Scientific Interest
located west of the City of Carlisle
in northwest England
.
Orton Moss is a former raised mire and divided into strips and fields which would traditionally have been used for peat
cutting and grazing. Formerly noted for its butterflies, it was once the homes of the Wood White
, (Leptidea sinapis), the Large Heath
, (Coenonympha tullia) and the Marsh Fritillary
(Euphydryas aurinia). Most fields are now abandoned causing an increase in woodland cover and these species have disappeared.
Part is maintained as wet meadow by annual mowing or grazing and Devil's-bit Scabious, Knapweed, Meadowsweet
and Wild Angelica
are abundant. Small remnants of raised mire vegetation including Sphagnum Moss, Bog Rosemary and Royal Fern.
Birds to be seen are willow tit
s, woodcock
, great spotted woodpecker
s and willow warbler
s.
Site of Special Scientific Interest
A Site of Special Scientific Interest is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom. SSSIs are the basic building block of site-based nature conservation legislation and most other legal nature/geological conservation designations in Great Britain are based upon...
located west of the City of Carlisle
City of Carlisle
The City of Carlisle is a local government district of Cumbria, England, with the status of a city and non-metropolitan district. It is named after its largest settlement, Carlisle, but covers a far larger area which includes the towns of Brampton and Longtown, as well as outlying villages...
in northwest England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
.
Orton Moss is a former raised mire and divided into strips and fields which would traditionally have been used for peat
Peat
Peat is an accumulation of partially decayed vegetation matter or histosol. Peat forms in wetland bogs, moors, muskegs, pocosins, mires, and peat swamp forests. Peat is harvested as an important source of fuel in certain parts of the world...
cutting and grazing. Formerly noted for its butterflies, it was once the homes of the Wood White
Wood White
The Wood White , is a butterfly of the Pieridae family.-Distribution and ecology:It is found in Europe and eastwards across the Caucasus, Asia Minor, the Middle East, Middle Asia, Kazakhstan and South Siberia to the Baikal region....
, (Leptidea sinapis), the Large Heath
Large Heath
The Large Heath or Common Ringlet is a butterfly in the family Nymphalidae. It flies in variety of grassy habitats, including roadsides, woodland edges and clearings, prairies, bogs, and arctic and alpine taiga and tundra. It is a poor flyer, but can sometimes be found along ditches seeking new...
, (Coenonympha tullia) and the Marsh Fritillary
Marsh Fritillary
The Marsh Fritillary, Euphydryas aurinia, is a butterfly of the Nymphalidae family.It is widespread in the Palaearctic region from Ireland in the West to Yakutia in the East, and to North-west China and Mongolia in the South.E. aurinia is represented by many subspecies.The most widely accepted...
(Euphydryas aurinia). Most fields are now abandoned causing an increase in woodland cover and these species have disappeared.
Part is maintained as wet meadow by annual mowing or grazing and Devil's-bit Scabious, Knapweed, Meadowsweet
Meadowsweet
Filipendula ulmaria, commonly known as Meadowsweet, is a perennial herb in the family Rosaceae that grows in damp meadows. It is native throughout most of Europe and Western Asia...
and Wild Angelica
Wild Angelica
Wild Angelica is a species of plant that grows about one metre tall. It has broad, double-finned leaves. The stem is coarse, tubular and violet at the bottom, with broad leaf shafts.At the top the stem has fine hairs....
are abundant. Small remnants of raised mire vegetation including Sphagnum Moss, Bog Rosemary and Royal Fern.
Birds to be seen are willow tit
Willow Tit
The Willow Tit is a passerine bird in the tit family Paridae. It is a widespread and common resident breeder throughout temperate and subarctic Europe and northern Asia. It is more of a conifer specialist than the closely related Marsh Tit, which explains it breeding much further north...
s, woodcock
Woodcock
The woodcocks are a group of seven or eight very similar living species of wading birds in the genus Scolopax. Only two woodcocks are widespread, the others being localized island endemics. Most are found in the Northern Hemisphere but a few range into Wallacea...
, great spotted woodpecker
Great Spotted Woodpecker
The Great Spotted Woodpecker , Dendrocopos major, is a bird species of the woodpecker family . It is distributed throughout Europe and northern Asia, and usually resident year-round except in the colder parts of its range...
s and willow warbler
Willow Warbler
The Willow Warbler is a very common and widespread leaf warbler which breeds throughout northern and temperate Europe and Asia, from Ireland east to the Anadyr River basin in eastern Siberia...
s.