Cullaloe

Cullaloe was originally two reservoirs that provided drinking water for Burntisland. The main reserve was drained completely leaving bare mud to colonise with mosses, lichen and higher plants. The northern reservoir was partially drained and it is open water that is visible today. During the draining areas of mud and silts were exposed, which now support a mixture if willow scrub and marsh vegetation and associated wildlife. The loch level is lowered each summer. This gives the rare mudwort the opportunity to colonise the bare mud and set seed. It is no co-incidence that the plant previously flourished under annual draw down, when the reservoir supplied drinking water.The large grass areas are rich in wild flowers including showy orchids in the early summer and sweeps of purple knapweed in late summer.The mixture of vegetation here is ideal for birds, with lapwings nesting on the open ground and sedge warbler and whitethroat breeding in the willows.In winter, snipe feed in the rushes and there are large numbers of teal and smaller numbers of other wildfowl including mute swan, great crested grebe, pochard, tufted duck and mallard.Mud exposed by changes to the water level can attract a range of less common passage waders including black-tailed godwit and spotted redshank.The loch, which is designated a SSSI, is most important for the unusual concentration of rare plants including water sedge and the easily overlooked mudwort. Visitors are asked to keep dogs on leads at all times. No fishing is permitted.

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