The Forvie National Nature Reserve is a national nature reserve owned and managed by NatureScot. It is located north of Newburgh in Aberdeenshire, in the northeast of Scotland. The reserve includes the Sands of Forvie, which are the fifth largest sand dune system in Britain, and the least disturbed by human activity. The dune system is an integral part of the Ythan Estuary, which also forms part of the reserve, and separates the sands from Balmedie beach. The reserve contained at one point the largest breeding colony of breeding common eider in Britain and while they are still a protected feature of the reserve the eider colony suffered dramatic losses starting in 2006 and the subsequent years. The reserve also hosts an internationally important ternery and a protected seal haul-out containing both common seals and grey seals, predominantly the latter. The area is designated as a both a Special Protection Area and a Special Area of Conservation under the Natura 2000 scheme, as well as being a Site of Special Scientific Interest. The site is designated a Category II protected area by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. The sands were the site of the village of Forvie that was abandoned due to drifting sands. Sands of Forvie The Sands of Forvie are one of the largest areas of blown sand in Scotland. The sand at Forvie is formed from the remains of sediment that was transported by rivers to the coast at the end of the last ice age. The sediment settled in the sea, but was gradually washed onshore by the action of waves and wind. The sand dunes at Forvie can be divided into three distinct parts. The southernmost point of the reserve consists of a sand spit at the point where the River Ythan enters the sea. To the north the sand rests on raised beaches terraces and glaciated rocks. North of this region is an area where the sand lies on top of a rock plateau, with glacial deposits of varying depths sandwiched between the rock and the sand. The dunes are highly mobile, and can reach up to in height. As there is relatively little plant life on these mobile dunes, they have been likened to the Sahara Desert. Flora and fauna The reserve contains large areas of sandy foreshore, mobile and fixed dunes, dune pasture and lowland heath and the successional development