Blaenau Gwent County Borough
Birding Blaenau Gwent
Blaenau Gwent is a county borough in South Wales, sharing its name with a parliamentary constituency. It borders the unitary authority areas of Monmouthshire and Torfaen to the east, Caerphilly to the west and Powys to the north. Its main towns are Abertillery, Brynmawr, Ebbw Vale and Tredegar. Its highest point is Coity Mountain at 1,896 ft.Areas with potential for wildlife viewing include Cwmcelyn Pond, Cwmtillery Lakes, Festival Park, Parc Bryn Bach, Silent Valley Local Nature Reserve and St James Pond. Perhaps the best being Silent Valley – Once a farm with meadows and an old coal pit, this local reserve is now the highest and most westerly beech wood in Britain. The reserve is managed jointly by Gwent Wildlife Trust and Blaenau Gwent County Borough Council and some of the reserve has been designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI).
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Trefil Quarries
InformationSatellite ViewTrefil Quarries used to have Ring ouzel, raven, peregrine etc, but the quarries are in active use again. Use an OS map, and discover for yourself dipper, grey wagtail, common sandpiper, sand martins ,buzzard and sparrowhawk of course, raven, pied flycatcher, wood warbler, all 3 woodpeckers, common redstart, all the tits (except crested); red grouse are sparse.
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Darryl Spittle
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Birds of Gwent
by WA Venables, AD Baker, RM Clarke, C Jones, JMS Lewis and SJ Tyler | Helm | 2008 | Hardback | 416 pages, line drawings, 32 pages of colour photos, distribution maps ISBN: 9780713676334 Buy this book from NHBS.com
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Gwent Ornithological Society
WebsiteTJ Russell, The Pines, Highfield Road, Monmouth, Gwent NP5 3HP 01600 716266 - Home Page for the Gwent Ornithological Society (GOS) now up and running with news, the latest newsletter, meetings dates, links and more -
Gwent Wildlife Trust
WebsiteGwent covers the lower Wye and Usk river valleys and the Severn Estuary in South East Wales. In the last fifty years Gwent has lost two thirds of its ancient woodland and the lowlands surrounding the Severn Estuary are threatened by industrial development
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GWT LNR Silent Valley SSSI
WebpageSatellite ViewThis beautiful woodland reserve has been designated a Local Nature Reserve in recognition of its importance to the local community as well as its precious wildlife. With far-reaching views across the Ebbw Valley, Silent Valley is constantly changing – it is a reserve that merits several visits throughout the year. -
Parc Bryn Bach
WebsiteSatellite ViewSet in 340 acres of idyllic grass and woodland with a stunning 36 acre lake at its heart. Wildlife at the park is diverse and thriving. Water fowl are abundant and many species can be seen throughout the changing seasons. A special area has been set aside for attracting lapwings to the park that will hopefully soon be home to a resident breeding colony. It is hard to believe that in 1980, this was an industrial wasteland, exploited by the excavation of coal. Now Parc Bryn Bach is a beautiful nature reserve enjoyed by locals, visitors and wildlife.
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Ebbw Vale Owl Sanctuary
WebsiteThe sanctuary is in Ebbw Vale, Gwent, and it is run by a man called Malcolm. He doesn`t charge a penny for entry into the sanctuary, you are free to donate anything you might wish to, whatever you can afford. All his owls are rescued birds which have suffered some horrible fate, or been injured at some time, and Malcolm takes them in and looks after them…
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Steve Williams - Valley Naturalist
BLOGA natural history journal for Gwent… News, observations, field reports, identification, commentary, opinion, nostalgia, humour, free thinking…