Loch Fleet () is a sea loch on the east coast of Scotland, located between Golspie and Dornoch. It forms the estuary of the River Fleet, a small spate river that rises in the hills east of Lairg. The loch was designated a National Nature Reserve (NNR) in 1998, and is managed by a partnership between NatureScot, the Scottish Wildlife Trust (SWT) and Sutherland Estates. The NNR extends to 1058 hectares, including the Loch Fleet tidal basin, sand dunes, shingle ridges and the adjacent pine woods, including Balbair Wood and Ferry Wood. The tidal basin of the loch covers over 630 ha, and forms the largest habitat on the NNR. Geography and geology Loch Fleet is a shallow, bar-built estuary with extensive sand-flats and mud-flats backed by saltmarsh and sand dunes. The loch connects to the Dornoch Firth via a narrow channel between Coul Links and Ferry Links. Beneath the sand dunes lies a bedrock of old Red Sandstone, overlain by shingle ridges, which extend from the western NNR boundary to the current coastline and north from Littleferry to Golspie. At the end of the last ice age Loch Fleet became a was a wide-open bay with a tidal delta reaching inland as far as Rogart. The current gradually dragged shingle across the entrance of the bay, producing a tidal basin linked to the sea by a narrow tidal channel. Flora and fauna The mudflats are an important habitat for many bird species, and over 100 species have been recorded at the reserve, with the highest numbers seen during the spring and autumn migrations. Species that spend the winter at the loch include bar-tailed godwit, greylag goose, wigeon, curlew, dunlin, and teal. Approximately 2% of the entire UK population of greylag geese use the wider Dornoch Firth and Loch Fleet SPA, with Loch Fleet being particularly important during the autumn: as winter progresses many of the geese move on to the Dornoch Firth. The geese spend summers further north, with some heading for Iceland and some remaining within Scotland at sites in Caithness and Sutherland. Breeding birds at Loch Fleet include Arctic terns, common terns, oystercatchers, ringed plovers, wheatears, European stonechats, cuckoos, meadow pipits and skylarks, these species tending to favour the links habitat. The pinewoods hold species including crossbills, siskin, common redstart, treecreeper, great spotted woodpecker, buzzard and sparrowhawk. Loch Fleet is a good place to see osprey fishing,