Brecknock Nature Reserves Update August 2023
It's been a busy summer for our Brecknock team with lots of work on balsam and bracken!
It's been a busy summer for our Brecknock team with lots of work on balsam and bracken!
The extensive, golden-brown reedbeds that are formed by stands of Common reed are a familiar sight in our wetlands. They provide an important home for many species, including the rare Bittern.
The Dark bush-cricket, as its name suggests, is dark brown or reddish. It can be found in woodlands, hedgerows and gardens throughout summer. Its irregular chirpings are a familiar sound of summer…
Late summer is the best time to discover one of the UK’s chunkiest caterpillars, the elephant hawk-moth.
A classic fern of woodlands across the UK, the male-fern is also a great addition to any garden. It grows impressive stands from underground rhizomes, dying back in autumn.
A tall plant, Rosebay willowherb is a successful coloniser; it can form dense stands of bright pink flower spikes on disturbed ground, such as woodland clearings, verges and waste ground.
The aromatic fragrance of Large thyme can punctuate a summer walk over a chalk grassland. It is an evergreen that grows low to the ground, with erect spikes of tiny, lilac flowers appearing over…
An iconic tree, particularly in the south of the UK, the Common beech stands tall and proud in woodlands and parks. It turns beautiful golden-brown in autumn, strewing the floor with its '…
The Pen y Waun nature reserve consists of two small fields situated on the edge of Waun-y-Mynach common. The fields were former garden plots for nearby cottages.
The large, fluffy caterpillars of this moth are often seen in summer and early spring.
Ancient broadleaved woodland with some scrub and a meadow. Part of the Nant Whitton Woods SSSI.
Our most familiar fern, bracken can be found growing in dense stands on hillsides, moorland, heathland and in woodlands. It is very large and dies back in winter, turning the landscape orangey-…