RSPB Ynys-hir
Encyclopedia
Ynys-hir RSPB reserve is a nature reserve of the RSPB situated beside the Dyfi
estuary in Ceredigion
, Mid Wales
between Aberystwyth
and Machynlleth
. The reserve covers 550 hectares and includes a variety of habitats extending inland from mudflat
s and salt marsh
through farmland and pools to oak
woodland and hillside scrub. Facilities include a small visitor centre and seven hides
.
The name means "long island" in Welsh
referring to a wooded ridge which was once surrounded by marshland. The area was a private estate until it was bought by the RSPB and became a reserve in 1970.
Breeding birds include important numbers of wader
s such as Lapwing
and Redshank
. Little Egret
s have recently joined Grey Heron
s in the heronry. The woodlands hold Redstart
, Wood Warbler
and Pied Flycatcher while Red Kite
s frequently pass overhead.
Wintering birds include many ducks such as Shelduck
, Wigeon and Teal
and waders such as Oystercatcher
and Curlew
. There are smaller numbers of Greenland White-fronted Goose and, in recent years, Barnacle Goose
.
Other wildlife on the reserve includes Otter
, Polecat
and Hazel Dormouse
. Among the insects are various dragonflies
, damselflies
and butterflies
and the scarce weevil
Procas granulicollis
. Among the wild flowers are woodland species such as bluebell
s and species associated with peat bogs such as sundew
s, bog asphodel
and bog-rosemary
.
RSPB Ynys-hir was founded on the estate of the late Hugh Maplin, who invited naturalist Bill Condry
and his wife Penny to move into one of the estate cottages Ynys Edwin. Condry became the first warden of the nature reserve in 1969. Condry was one of the main forces in the preservation of the Red Kite. Condry, who died in 1998 received an hon. MSc from the University of Wales in 1980. He wrote many guides and nature books.
The reserve is playing host to the BBC
's Springwatch programme from May to June 2011. According to the BBC, the move from Pensthorpe Nature Reserve
in Norfolk
took a year of planning.
River Dyfi
The River Dyfi is a river in Mid Wales. The Dyfi estuary forms the border between the counties of Gwynedd and Ceredigion.- Source :...
estuary in Ceredigion
Ceredigion
Ceredigion is a county and former kingdom in mid-west Wales. As Cardiganshire , it was created in 1282, and was reconstituted as a county under that name in 1996, reverting to Ceredigion a day later...
, Mid Wales
Mid Wales
Mid Wales is the name given to the central region of Wales. The Mid Wales Regional Committee of the National Assembly for Wales covered the counties of Ceredigion and Powys and the area of Gwynedd that had previously been the district of Meirionydd. A similar definition is used by the BBC...
between Aberystwyth
Aberystwyth
Aberystwyth is a historic market town, administrative centre and holiday resort within Ceredigion, Wales. Often colloquially known as Aber, it is located at the confluence of the rivers Ystwyth and Rheidol....
and Machynlleth
Machynlleth
Machynlleth is a market town in Powys, Wales. It is in the Dyfi Valley at the intersection of the A487 and the A489 roads.Machynlleth was the seat of Owain Glyndŵr's Welsh Parliament in 1404, and as such claims to be the "ancient capital of Wales". However, it has never held any official...
. The reserve covers 550 hectares and includes a variety of habitats extending inland from mudflat
Mudflat
Mudflats or mud flats, also known as tidal flats, are coastal wetlands that form when mud is deposited by tides or rivers. They are found in sheltered areas such as bays, bayous, lagoons, and estuaries. Mudflats may be viewed geologically as exposed layers of bay mud, resulting from deposition of...
s and salt marsh
Salt marsh
A salt marsh is an environment in the upper coastal intertidal zone between land and salt water or brackish water, it is dominated by dense stands of halophytic plants such as herbs, grasses, or low shrubs. These plants are terrestrial in origin and are essential to the stability of the salt marsh...
through farmland and pools to oak
Oak
An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus Quercus , of which about 600 species exist. "Oak" may also appear in the names of species in related genera, notably Lithocarpus...
woodland and hillside scrub. Facilities include a small visitor centre and seven hides
Bird hide
A bird hide is a shelter, often camouflaged, that is used to observe wildlife, especially birds, at close quarters. Although hides were once built chiefly as hunting aids, they are now commonly found in parks and wetlands for the use of bird watchers, ornithologists and other observers who do not...
.
The name means "long island" in Welsh
Welsh language
Welsh is a member of the Brythonic branch of the Celtic languages spoken natively in Wales, by some along the Welsh border in England, and in Y Wladfa...
referring to a wooded ridge which was once surrounded by marshland. The area was a private estate until it was bought by the RSPB and became a reserve in 1970.
Breeding birds include important numbers of wader
Wader
Waders, called shorebirds in North America , are members of the order Charadriiformes, excluding the more marine web-footed seabird groups. The latter are the skuas , gulls , terns , skimmers , and auks...
s such as Lapwing
Northern Lapwing
The Northern Lapwing , also known as the Peewit, Green Plover or just Lapwing, is a bird in the plover family. It is common through temperate Eurasia....
and Redshank
Common Redshank
The Common Redshank or simply Redshank is an Eurasian wader in the large family Scolopacidae.- Description and systematics :...
. Little Egret
Little Egret
The Little Egret is a small white heron. It is the Old World counterpart to the very similar New World Snowy Egret.-Subspecies:Depending on authority, two or three subspecies of Little Egret are currently accepted....
s have recently joined Grey Heron
Grey Heron
The Grey Heron , is a wading bird of the heron family Ardeidae, native throughout temperate Europe and Asia and also parts of Africa. It is resident in the milder south and west, but many birds retreat in winter from the ice in colder regions...
s in the heronry. The woodlands hold Redstart
Common Redstart
The Common Redstart , or often simply Redstart, is a small passerine bird in the redstart genus Phoenicurus...
, Wood Warbler
Wood Warbler
The Wood Warbler is a common and widespread leaf warbler which breeds throughout northern and temperate Europe, and just into the extreme west of Asia in the southern Ural Mountains...
and Pied Flycatcher while Red Kite
Red Kite
The Red Kite is a medium-large bird of prey in the family Accipitridae, which also includes many other diurnal raptors such as eagles, buzzards, and harriers. The species is currently endemic to the Western Palearctic region in Europe and northwest Africa, though formerly also occurred just...
s frequently pass overhead.
Wintering birds include many ducks such as Shelduck
Common Shelduck
The Common Shelduck is a waterfowl species shelduck genus Tadorna. It is widespread and common in Eurasia, mainly breeding in temperate and wintering in subtropical regions; in winter, it can also be found in the Maghreb...
, Wigeon and Teal
Common Teal
The Eurasian Teal or Common Teal is a common and widespread duck which breeds in temperate Eurasia and migrates south in winter. The Eurasian Teal is often called simply the Teal due to being the only one of these small dabbling ducks in much of its range...
and waders such as Oystercatcher
Eurasian Oystercatcher
The Eurasian Oystercatcher Haematopus ostralegus, also known as the Common Pied Oystercatcher, or just Oystercatcher, is a wader in the oystercatcher bird family Haematopodidae. It is the most widespread of the oystercatchers, with three races breeding in western Europe, central Eurasia,...
and Curlew
Eurasian Curlew
The Eurasian Curlew, Numenius arquata, is a wader in the large family Scolopacidae. It is one of the most widespread of the curlews, breeding across temperate Europe and Asia...
. There are smaller numbers of Greenland White-fronted Goose and, in recent years, Barnacle Goose
Barnacle Goose
The Barnacle Goose belongs to the genus Branta of black geese, which contains species with largely black plumage, distinguishing them from the grey Anser species...
.
Other wildlife on the reserve includes Otter
European Otter
The European Otter , also known as the Eurasian otter, Eurasian river otter, common otter and Old World otter, is a European and Asian member of the Lutrinae or otter subfamily, and is typical of freshwater otters....
, Polecat
European polecat
The European polecat , also known as the black or forest polecat , is a species of Mustelid native to western Eurasia and North Africa, which is classed by the IUCN as Least Concern due to its wide range and large numbers. It is of a generally dark brown colour, with a pale underbelly and a dark...
and Hazel Dormouse
Hazel Dormouse
The Hazel Dormouse or Common Dormouse is a small mammal and the only living species in the genus Muscardinus....
. Among the insects are various dragonflies
Dragonfly
A dragonfly is a winged insect belonging to the order Odonata, the suborder Epiprocta or, in the strict sense, the infraorder Anisoptera . It is characterized by large multifaceted eyes, two pairs of strong transparent wings, and an elongated body...
, damselflies
Damselfly
Damselflies are insects in the order Odonata. Damselflies are similar to dragonflies, but the adults can be distinguished by the fact that the wings of most damselflies are held along, and parallel to, the body when at rest...
and butterflies
Butterfly
A butterfly is a mainly day-flying insect of the order Lepidoptera, which includes the butterflies and moths. Like other holometabolous insects, the butterfly's life cycle consists of four parts: egg, larva, pupa and adult. Most species are diurnal. Butterflies have large, often brightly coloured...
and the scarce weevil
Weevil
A weevil is any beetle from the Curculionoidea superfamily. They are usually small, less than , and herbivorous. There are over 60,000 species in several families, mostly in the family Curculionidae...
Procas granulicollis
Procas granulicollis
Procas granulicollis is a beetle in the family Curculionidae, the true weevils. It was first described in 1848 from a specimen collected in Cumbria and has since been found at a number of other sites in Britain, mainly in the west...
. Among the wild flowers are woodland species such as bluebell
Common Bluebell
Hyacinthoides non-scripta, commonly known as the common bluebell, is a spring-flowering bulbous perennial plant. -Taxonomy:...
s and species associated with peat bogs such as sundew
Sundew
Drosera, commonly known as the sundews, comprise one of the largest genera of carnivorous plants, with at least 194 species. These members of the family Droseraceae lure, capture, and digest insects using stalked mucilaginous glands covering their leaf surface. The insects are used to supplement...
s, bog asphodel
Bog Asphodel
Narthecium ossifragum, commonly known as bog-, Lancashire- or bastard asphodel, is a plant of Western Europe, found on wet, boggy moorlands up to about 1000 m. It produces spikes of bright yellow flowers in summer. The bright orange fruits have been used as a colourant to replace saffron by...
and bog-rosemary
Bog-rosemary
Andromeda polifolia, commonly known as Bog-rosemary, is a heath found across northern parts of the Northern Hemisphere. It is the only member of its genus. Bog rosemary is only found in bogs in cold peat-accumulating areas....
.
RSPB Ynys-hir was founded on the estate of the late Hugh Maplin, who invited naturalist Bill Condry
William Moreton Condry
William Moreton Condry M.A., M.Sc. , or Bill Condry as he was often known, was a naturalist who was born in the Birmingham area. He was warden at Ynys-hir from its inception in 1969 when he was invited there by Hugh Mapin, the owner of the estate on which Condry and his wife Penny also lived, at...
and his wife Penny to move into one of the estate cottages Ynys Edwin. Condry became the first warden of the nature reserve in 1969. Condry was one of the main forces in the preservation of the Red Kite. Condry, who died in 1998 received an hon. MSc from the University of Wales in 1980. He wrote many guides and nature books.
The reserve is playing host to the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
's Springwatch programme from May to June 2011. According to the BBC, the move from Pensthorpe Nature Reserve
Pensthorpe Nature Reserve
The Pensthorpe Nature Reserve is located at Pensthorpe, Norfolk, England about one mile from Fakenham and close to the A1067 road. The reserve covers , with the River Wensum running through the site, is a designated Special Area of Conservation . The reserve was the location of the BBC programme...
in Norfolk
Norfolk
Norfolk is a low-lying county in the East of England. It has borders with Lincolnshire to the west, Cambridgeshire to the west and southwest and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the North Sea coast and to the north-west the county is bordered by The Wash. The county...
took a year of planning.