The reserve is in the Lower
Aire Valley, south and west of
Fairburn, near
Castleford. It includes the whole of Fairburn & Newton Ings
SSSI. It is also a Statutory
Bird Sanctuary (one of only 10 in England) with a focus mainly on wildfowl and
waders, although many other birds can be seen. The word
ings (singular
ing) is of Old Norse origin and means "damp or marshy land that floods", a reference to the area being flooded regularly by the
River Aire. Lying alongside the River Aire, the nature reserve includes a large lake and a number of smaller lakes, ponds and dikes. The area has been the scene of industrial and mining operations for 150 years, of colliery spoil which have been landscaped to create a large complex of herb rich grassland, wetlands and woodland. Habitats at Fairburn Ings include flood meadows, wet fenland, marsh and
reed bed, woodland and scrub. Listed in terms of the
United Kingdom Biodiversity Action Plan, the reserve contains: • UK BAP habitats: •
mesotrophic lakes, • reedbed, • lowland meadow. • BAP species of these habitats include:
grey partridge (
Perdix perdix),
European turtle dove (
Streptopelia turtur),
Eurasian skylark (
Alauda arvense),
song thrush (
Turdus philatelist),
Eurasian tree sparrow (
Passer montanus),
linnet (
Carduelis cannabina),
Eurasian bullfinch (
Pyrrhula pyorrhoea),
reed bunting (
Emberiza schoeniclus),
corn bunting (
Milaria calandra),
water vole (
Arvicola terrestris ) and
pipistrelle bat (
Pipistrellus pippistrellus). Birds of conservation concern of these habitats include: the
black-necked grebe (
Podiceps nigrocollis),
garganey (
Spatula querquedula),
Common redshank (
Tringa totanus),
whooper swan (
Cygnus cygnus) and
European golden plover (
Pluvialis apricalia). ==Visitor facilities==