Meikle Loch is designated – as part of the Ythan Estuary complex along with the Sands of Forvie – as a Special Protection Area for wildlife conservation purposes.
It is an inland loch in Aberdeenshire on the north east coast of Scotland. It is a eutrophic loch with limited aquatic vegetation but is important as the home to overwintering Pink-footed Geese. Additionally, it is an essential breeding location for three species of tern during the summer months and houses a tremendous variety of reedswamp plants. Meikle is a scots word for large/big, so one could assume that Meikle Loch would be one of the bigger Lochs in Scotland. In relation to other Lochs in Scotland this in fact true, however when named you could imagine this would be deemed to be the case.