Centuries of mining activity in the Alyn Valley, and the building of a
chemical
weapons factory have left their mark, but nature has proved resilient. The
site today contains a mosaic of features, natural and man-made, providing
a diverse habitat which has been recolonized by many plant and animal species.
More than sixty bird species have been recorded nesting, feeding or passing through the site and bird boxes designed to attract a variety of birds are now located throughout the site.
The valley is important for eight bat species. Building 45 for
instance, provides conditions required by long-eared and the
rare lesser horseshoe bat. Many bat boxes have also been
erected throughout the site.
This covers most of the western slope which has remained relatively undisturbed. It has all the indicators of an ancient semi-natural woodland. Dog’s mercury, wood anemone, bluebell and wild garlic cover the ground in spring.
In late spring,
mounds constructed during earlier
demolition work, are covered in common spotted orchids. It is
also possible to see the occasional bee orchid.
Through the seasons more than
150 species have been recorded
flowering on the site. A colourful
sight in July is this stretch of road
where meadow cranesbill and musk
mallow transform the grassland on
each side into a haze of pink and blue.
During remedial work, signs of otter
use were observed in this part of
the river. An artificial otter
holt has been constructed
in the bank.
Although culverted through the site, it is often
possible to see several fish species and occasionally a kingfisher
after his lunch. The valley supports a healthy population of
grass snakes which can often be seen here
basking in the sun. On occasions,
they can also be seen
swimming down
the river culvert.
A pond was constructed in 2003 to replace one outside the site lost through remedial works. Vegetation and pond life was transferred from the old pond to the new one. The pond is used for breeding by smooth newts, common toads and dragonflies.
The box located high on this building is designed for kestrels which have also been recorded on the site. They can sometimes be seen sunning themselves on the woodpiles. Approach quietly and you might see one.
The Arkive
If you're interested in wildlife, have a look at the Arkive web site - Arkive is a small conservation charity.
Their web site is an image library set up to create a lasting audio-visual image of life on earth. This self-proclaimed "Noah's Ark for the internet era", has two main sections, One for globally endangered species and one for British flora and fauna. You can see their wide range of images at http://www.arkive.org.
Rhydymwyn Valley Site's Ecology Year Planner
We've made our Ecology Year Planner available online. You can get to the detail and be able to print off your own copy, by either clicking on the Planner below or using the following link to access the plan in Acrobat Reader format (PDF).
Mick Brummage & Dave Williams
North East Wales Reptile Recorder Mick Brummage (on the left) has been
recording reptiles here at Rhydymwyn Valley for several years with help
from other volunteers including Dave Williams (on the right).
This is one of the grass snakes photographed by Dave.
The snakes are wary and very sensitive to ground vibrations. To catch one basking in the grass you have to walk slowly and tread very lightly.
On one occasion Mick came upon a young fox asleep in the grass and managed to take this excellent photo. (Top photo by Barry Barnacal)
Matthew McIntyre & Iolo Williams
Below is Matthew McIntyre - Rhydymwyn Valley Site's very own bush craft expert and Iolo Williams who has spent two days at Rhydymwyn filming the wildlife. All the tools Matty is displaying to Iolo were all made by Matty with traditional materials.
Iolo is trying out Matty`s long bow which he made from an Ash tree branch which had been blown down in the recent gales at the Rhydymwyn Valley Site.
For further information on Iolo's visit, including a video,
please click on the following link:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/nature/sites/programmes/archive/programme_archive2007.shtml
The pics below are a credit to Matthew McIntyre's skills in tracking,
stalking and photographing. As you can tell by the pics the fox did not
have a clue that Matty had found his tracks on site and followed them until
he found the fox on the banks of the River Alyn at the the southern end
of the site. The Fox cub pics were also taken by Matty, but this time one
of Matty`s students found the cubs while out on one of Matty's Bushcraft
courses in the woods.
Matty teaches his students to use all their senses. This particular day
it was smell, sight and sound, One of the students noticed slight movement
in the bottom of a dark tree trunk, Matty had a look and was delighted
to find the fox cubs and even more delighted that these young men had paid
attention and really tuned into their environment.
Betty Lee
The pictures below were taken by Betty Lee (a member of the
Three Rivers Project and Clwyd Badger Group), Dave Groom (the NEWW Reserves
Manager at Rhydymwyn Valley site) and Mathew Mcintyre, along the River
Alyn. The spraint and otter foot prints were discovered in the river culvert
close to the existing otter holt just outside the reserve. Dave, Betty
and Mathew McIntyre NEWW’s animal tracking and bushcraft expert,
also found mink, fox, heron, and moorhen foot prints along the river.
For more
information about Clwyd Badger Group please visit http://www.badgers.org.uk/clwydbadgergroup
Below left otter spraint and right front otter print.
Below right hind otter print in the river culver and otter spraint (that’s faeces to people not in the Know!)
Below - moorhen pints in the river culvert.
Below - two Mink prints in the river culvert.
Below to the left are some Pheasant prints and to the right are some Cat prints.
Mick Brummage
The photographs below are of a female grass snake at Rhydymwyn Valley site. The grass snake is 112 cm long. The pictures were taken by Mick Brummage - a North East Wales Reptile Recorder. Mick is currently doing a Grass Snake Population Study, and a reptile survey at Rhydymwyn Valley Site.
(Pictures taken by Mick Brummage - North East Wales Reptile Recorder)
Female and male slow worms relocated on the Rhydymwyn Valley
Site 12.06.06.
Pictures below taken by D. Groom/A.Riach. NEWW Reserves
Manager/Assistant Officer.
The slow worms were relocated from a development site in Llangollen by
Adrian Bailey of Environment Matters
Jan Miller
The butterfly pictures below were taken by Jan Miller who is a volunteer organizer, education and publicity officer for the North Wales Branch of Butterfly Conservation and is currently doing a butterfly survey at Rhydymwyn Valley. So far she has found two nationally scarce species – the Grayling and Dingy Skipper, which require special habitat conditions. For more information on these and all the other North Wales butterflies and moths see the Butterfly Conservation website at http://www.northwalesbutterflies.org.uk
On the left below is a Dingy Skipper and on the right
is a Small Skipper,
taken in the North end of the Site in
May and June 2006.
On the left is a Grayling, which was also found at the
Southern end of the site, while on the right is a Common Blue,
seen throughout
the Rhydymwyn Valley
site
On the left is a male Common Blue, while on the right is a Large Skipper.
The Identification of the Butterflies of North Wales is part funded by DEFRA through North East Wales Wildlfe (NEWW) with project direction by Butterfly Conservation North Wales Branch.
An online identification workshop is available at http://www.northwalesbutterflies.org.uk to help you learn to recognise the different types of butterflies found in and around North Wales. If you make any sightings of butterflies, please let Butterfly Conservation North Wales know through the contact details on their web site.
To help you identify butterflies, please use the links below to access the full sized versions of the identification charts. After clicking one of the pages of the chart, the full sized version should open - simply print all four and then sit back in the comfort of your own back garden and enjoy spotting and naming some of North Wales' finest Butterflies.
