Derryleckagh Ramsar Site

Area: 42.41 hectares

Grid Reference: J 121253

Date Designated: 31/10/1994

Derryleckagh Area of Special Scientific Interest has been selected as a Ramsar site because of its important wetland habitats.
Derryleckagh, situated 1km east of Newry is a long narrow valley mire and contains wetland and adjoining habitat which supports a wide range of plant communities and a number of notable plant species.
The site qualifies under Criterion 1 because it is a representative example of a natural wetland type found within its biogeographic region. jncc ramsar info
Derryleckagh is in a transitional stage between fen and bog and is characterised by a broad range of surface conditions, ranging from slightly base-rich to markedly acidic.
The main plant community of the wet mire surface is formed by a rather open bottle sedge and brown moss association, with such species as bogbean, marsh cinquefoil and the mosses Calliergon cuspidatum, Calliergon giganteum  and Scorpidium scorpioides forming the bulk of the vegetation.
In places, the more base-loving Sphagnum species such as Sphagnum squarrosum and the rare Sphagnum contortum can replace the brown mosses, the latter species is particularly abundant at this site.
Other, more localised communities include lesser tussock-sedge, mixed sedge swards and common reed beds around old flooded peat cuttings, with soakaways through the centre characterised by marsh St John's-wort and many-stalked spike-rush.
The peaty margins support tall herb rich vegetation which gives way to a low, flushed sedge-rich sward on more mineral soils.
Additional habitat diversity is provided by the presence of raised areas of drier, more acidic peat, which support relict bog vegetation, and a number of adjoining fields, in which species-rich dry grassland communities occur.
The diversity of wetland habitats supports a rich invertebrate community.
Fifty species of aquatic Coleoptera and eleven species of aquatic water bug Heteroptera have been recorded. The area is one of the most species-rich sites for these groups in Ireland. Records for other insect groups indicate similarly rich and notable communities. There have been records that Derryleckagh is also a breeding site for the marsh fritillary butterfly. In addition to its overall diversity, the site also contains a number of notable individual species.

Species typical of oligotrophic waters are common in the open water pools, including the whirligig beetles Gyrinus natator and Gyrinus minutus and the corixid Sigara scotti. Many of the most notable species are associated with the moss carpets, including the water beetles Hydroporus scalesianus, Rhanthus grapii and Chaetarthia. seminulum.
The rove beetle Schistoglossa aubei is also recorded from the fen; this is its only known Irish site.
Derryleckagh supports a high density of breeding wetland passerine and rail species including grasshopper warbler, sedge warbler, reed bunting, water rail and common snipe.