Machair threat

Machair is a rare habitat found only on the west coast between Galway Bay and Malin Head. It is "a mosaic of dunes, grassland and wetland grazed by sheep and cattle". It is an important landscape for the growth of three vulnerable bird species - corncrake, dunlin and red-necked phalarope. Irish sand dunes and machairs are listed in the EU habitats directive but are highly vulnerable to human pressures, the report warns.