View allAll Photos Tagged ECOSYSTEMS
Bonefish Pond National Park, established in 2002 consists of 1,235 acres of coastal wetlands and is the last remaining tidal mangrove ecosystem on the shores of Southern New Providence in the Bahamas. Print Size 13x19 inches.
Corkscrew Regional Ecosystem Watershed (CREW) Wildlife and Environmental Area.
myfwc.com/recreation/cooperative/crew/
ABC's and 123's F is for Flowers
The Northern Leopard Frog is named for the spots across its back that resemble that of a leopard. These frogs inhabit wetlands across North America. Sometimes they venture far from water and are found in pastures and meadows.
Northern leopard frogs play an important role transferring nutrients between terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. They are an indicator species that reflect the health of the wetland ecosystems where they live. Currently these frogs are uncommon or rare in many areas but can be locally found in suitable habitat.
Quick fact: Neither frogs nor toads will give you warts!!!
“If the bee disappeared off the face of the earth, man would only have four years left to live.”
― Albert Einstein
An image of a modern city, downtown Toronto. Lots of concrete and glass, asphalt and noise. I'll take the 'burbs any day :-)
Please click on image to view Large on black.
Africa has five main kinds of ecosystems: coastal environments, deserts and semideserts, mountain environments, savanna grasslands, and forests. Each ecosystem has its typical environment and climate.
A strange phenomenon has occurred, " Flora and Fauna " in a snowy desert in the middle of nowhere!. Well, that's what we're here to study...
I love using the 2x4 rock slope pieces!!. they are so useful for creating ice and it turned out so well for these ice formations
Build made with Bricklink Studio 2.0 with existing parts and image enhanced and edited in Photoshop.
Macro Mondays theme In the Eye of the Beholder
Dandelions are an important part of our ecosystems and they are good for our lawns. Bees need them as an early source of nectar and pollen before any flowers and blossoms have started to bloom. Their wide spread roots loosen hard packed soil, aerate the earth and help reduce erosion. Their deep taproots pull nutrients such as calcium from deep in the soil and makes them available to other plants. And they provide a bright splash of colour early in the season when everything is still bare. So please do not spray them with them with weed killer! Hmm...
In the second half of April there are fantastic white carpets of anemones. I love to walk there in this time :)
The Rogów Arboretum, established in 1925, is the Station of Protection and Shaping of Forest Ecosystems. It covers an area of 54 ha and is of an exceptional character as compared with other centers of the type in Poland or Europe, because it has been built from the very beginning as a research – didactic object and, moreover, it was located in the forest and has been tightly connected with the forest experimental study from the moment of its origin. The Arboretum consists of three basic parts: the dendrological collections (about 22 ha), the forest experimental plots (about 18 ha) and the alpine garden (1.5 ha).
The dendrological collections that is tree and shrub individuals planted either separately or in groups or small area forms, are mainly concentrated in the central and southern part of the Arboretum, covering a total of 2350 species and varieties. The Arboretum’s specialty is its collection of maples and shrubs from China. This segment is managed naturally, having the look of more a forest park than a typical botanical garden. The trees give the shelter and the proper microclimate for the introduced trees and shrubs.
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W drugiej połowie kwietnia arboretum w Rogowie przystaraja się w białe zawilcowe dywany. Zdjęcia tego nie oddają, ale wygląda to bajecznie :)
Arboretum w Rogowie – należy do grupy najcenniejszych, najbogatszych w gatunki i odmiany drzew i krzewów tego typu ogrodów w Europie. Położony jest w dawnym siedlisku leśym i ma charakter parku leśnego. Od początku istnienia (1925 r.) podlega pod Wydział Leśny SGGW. Na jego obszarze znajdują się jedne z najbogatszych i najciekawszych kolekcji drzew i krzewów Europy Środkowo-Wschodniej. Najchetniej odwiedzanym miejscem w ogrodzie jest alpinarium. Oprócz wyniesionych na 2 m ponad poziom gruntu skalniaków, założono tu ciąg strumyków, kilka oczek wodnych i 5-arowy staw z wyspą. W rogowskim alpinarium można obejrzeć ponad 400 gatunków i odmian roślin, pochodzących z gór całego świata. W większości są to byliny, ale nie tylko. Rosną tu także krzewy i drzewa terenów górzystych, np. majestatyczne świerki serbskie, kształtne limby czy srebrzyste jodły kalifornijskie.
Towering red formations provide drama in the backdrop behind the Wind River and its nearly dry tributary along US highway 26 between Dubois and Riverton, WY
COMPANIONS OF THE REDWOODS
A mixture of trees and shrubs creates a multi-layered canopy that supports the growth of each species in the grove. Diversity is crucial to the redwood forest; every plant, tree, and even fallen logs, play a crucial role. The following trees and plants are commonly found in a redwood forest and each plays its part in the ecosystem. A more comprehensive list of plants, trees and shrubs thriving in the Grove can be picked up at the park.
Grassy Waters Preserve is a 23 square mile wetlands ecosystem that serves as the freshwater supply for the City of West Palm Beach and the towns of South Palm Beach and Palm Beach Island. Historically, Grassy Waters was both a key component of the Greater Everglades watershed and the headwaters of the Northwest Fork of the Loxahatchee River.
Although human needs have lead to severe alterations to the flow of water through South Florida, Grassy Waters Preserve remains a pristine remnant of the once great Everglades system. A mosaic of wetlands, tree islands, and forested hammocks, Grassy Waters Preserve is home to a variety of native wildlife. Commonly sighted species including the everglades snail kite, wood stork, white ibis, great blue heron, white tailed deer, otter, bobcat, and alligator. Another Shot in the Arthur R. Marshall Loxahatchee national Wildlife Refuge. The Arthur R. Marshall Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge is a 147,392-acre wildlife sanctuary is located west of Boynton Beach, in Palm Beach County, Florida. It includes the most northern remnant of the historic Everglades wetland ecosystem THANK YOU FOR ALL THE COMMENTS, VIEWS AND FAVORITES.
"Elephants are important ecosystem engineers. They make pathways in dense forested habitat that allow passage for other animals. An elephant footprint can also enable a micro-ecosystem that, when filled with water, can provide a home for tadpoles and other organisms."
© Ben Heine || Facebook || Twitter || www.benheine.com
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One of my experimental compositions with black ink in water.
I took this photo while the ink was spreading inside a big vase.
I really love that kind of unexpected effects. It's wild and magic!
You can view some details (close ups) and other shots below.
(The above photo has been shot with the Samsung NX10)
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For more information about my art: info@benheine.com
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Distorsion
A poem by Peter S. Quinn
Life's look of distortion is never simple
Naked it comes in its lines and face
Minimal transparent in anyplace
Through every its emotion and path wimple
The daughters of sea and the sons of air
Both woven in subterranean of one
Curves to another like subtle waves there
Round the colored surfaces smoothly done
His mouth with rosy lips for loving more
Her eyes of unreachable dreams and longing
To make beyond life's reality to explore
His tongue of pure love never in wronging
Together they drift in fantasy and heart
When the painter's brush makes them its art
More land was converted to cropland in the 30 years after 1950 than in the 150 years between 1700 and 1850. Cultivated systems (areas where at least 30% of the landscape is in croplands,shifting cultivation, confined livestock production, or freshwater aquaculture) now cover one quarter of Earth’s terrestrial surface.
For any form of publication, please include the link to this page:
This photo has been graciously provided to be used in the GRID-Arendal resources library by: Philippe Rekacewicz, Emmanuelle Bournay, UNEP/GRID-Arendal
Learn more here
portal.theellipsis.exchange/?afmc=V4NSgnY0iQwK5Oa-ZmQ8l
#CyberPrivacy #Blockchain #PaulaKavanagh #PaulaJulianoKavanagh #AdvancedMedicine #DrButtar #IMeX #AdvancedMedicineMarketplace #AdvancedMedicine #BlockchainEcosystem #HealthcareExchange #InteractiveMedia
Fauna and flora on the walls of a pontoon coming out of the water
Faune et flore sur les parois d'un ponton sortie de l'eau.
Port de Saint-Nazaire
FRANCE
"Welcome to ORBEC 05 ; Ecosystems for rent."
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I couldn't sleep last night so between 4 in the morning and noon , I did this ...
Again, this concept Art has been cropped to fit my horizontal Flickr layout.
I recommend checking out the entire image on www.renderstorm.fr/concept-art/
To make sure you don't miss any, as they won't all be posted here, you can like the Renderstorm page on facebook here:
www.facebook.com/renderstorm.fr/
Hope you guys enjoy these Concept Arts as much as I do making them! There will be much more of em in 2016!
Urban systems are built environments with a high human density. For mapping purposes, the MA uses known human settlements with a population of 5,000 or more, with boundaries delineated by observing persistent night-time lights or by inferring areal extent in the cases where such observations are absent.
For any form of publication, please include the link to this page:
This photo has been graciously provided to be used in the GRID-Arendal resources library by: Philippe Rekacewicz, Emmanuelle Bournay, UNEP/GRID-Arendal
By Jo Williams
The Parque Nacional de Doñana is one of Europe's most important wetland reserves and a major site for migrating birds. It is an immense area; the parque itself and surrounding parque natural or Entorno de Doñana (a protected buffer zone) amount to over 1,300 sq km in the provinces of Huelva, Sevilla and Cádiz. It is internationally for recognised for its great ecological wealth. Doñana has become a key centre in the world of conservationism.
Doñana is well known for its enormous variety of bird species, either permanent residents, winter visitors from north and central Europe or summer visitors from Africa, like its numerous types of geese and colourful colonies of flamingo. It has one of the world's largest colonies of Spanish imperial eagles. The park as a whole comprises three distinct kinds of ecosystem: the marismas, the Mediterranean scrublands and the coastal mobile dunes with their beaches.
l
The configuration of the Parque Nacional de Doñana is a result of its past as the delta of the Guadalquivir river, the 'big river', or Wada-I-Kebir, of the Moors. But it is a delta with a difference. Unlike most, the river has only one outlet to the sea, just below Sanlúcar de Barrameda. The rest of what used to be its delta has gradually been blocked off by a huge sandbar that stretches from the mouth of the Río Tinto, near Palos de la Frontera, to the riverbank opposite Sanlúcar, and which the sea winds have gradually formed into high dunes. Behind this natural barrier stretches the marshlands (marismas).
The effect of this extraordinary mélange of land and water was to create an environment shunned by people but ideal for wildlife. As early as the thirteenth century, the kings of Castille set aside a portion of the Doñana as a royal hunting estate; later the dukes of Medina Sidonia made it their private coto too. One of the duchesses of Medina Sidonia, Doná Ana de Silva y Mendoza, indulged her antisocial instincts by building a residence there that was more hermitage than palace. As a result, the entire region came to be known as the 'forest of Doná Ana', or Doñana. In the eighteenth century, Goya is known to have visited the Duchess of Alba at the Palacio de Doñana when she was its proprietress. Subsequently, the land passed through many hands before the official creation of the parque nacional in 1969.
Meanwhile, adjoining areas of wetland were being dramatically reduced. Across the Guadalquivir vast marshes were drained and converted to farmland, until only the protected lands of the Doñana remained intact. For centuries there had been only a vacant spot on the map between Lebrija in the east and Almonte in the north west, but in recent years whole towns and villages have sprung up west of the Guadalquivir, and the resort town of Matalascañas has brought urban sprawl to the south-western edge of the Doñana, a place once occupied by reed-thatched fishermen's huts. The proximity of these settlements has further complicated the work of the park's wildlife guardians. Two of the Doñana's precious lynxes, for example, have been run over by cars on the highway to Matalascañas; cats and dogs straying out of the nearest towns have killed animals in the park, and birds that have overflown the fences have been gunned down by trigger-happy hunters despite stringent conservation laws.
A more permanent threat to the Doñana's ecosystem are the new ricefields and other agricultural projects north of El Rocío, whose run-off waters sluice pesticides into the marismas and the sulphur mines upstream at Aznalcóliar which was effluvium into the river.
Access
Marismas de Odiel, Huelva
Marismas de Odiel, Huelva
Entrance to the park is strictly controlled. You can take half-day trips with official guides or explore the environs of the visitors' centres on foot.
To visit the principal visitors' centre at El Acebuche, take the A483 south of Almonte and about 12km from El Rocío is the signposted turn at Km29 for Centro de Recepción El Acebuche (959 44 87 11), 1½km from the main road. Alternatively, you can drive 3km north of Matalascañas to the turn-off at Km29. The centre has an exhibition about the park, a café and a shop selling maps and books. From the centre is a signposted 5km trail through scrubland and pine trees. Next to the centre is the El Acebuche lagoon, with bird hides, where you can see purple gallinules, among other birds.
From El Acebuche there are four-hour trips into the park run by the Cooperativa Marsimas del Rocío (959 43 04 32), which must be booked in advance. The four-wheel drive vehicle can seat 21 people and guides speak some English. There are two trips a day (excluding Mondays), at 0830 and 1500 (1700 in summer). Full day trips can also be organised for groups, with lunch in Sanlúcar de Barrameda. A typical trip will take in all three ecosystems in the park - dunes, matorral and marshland - but the amount of exposure to each environment varies with the seasons. One thing is guaranteed - no two visits will be alike.
The nearest visitors' centre to El Rocío is La Rocina (959 44 23 40), 500m from the village and just off the Matalascañas road. It has information on the park and a 3km-long nature trail along the freshwater lake and marshland Charco de la Boca, which feeds into the Madres de la Marismas at El Rocío. The trail has five bird hides and it's possible to see purple gallinules, hoopoes, herons and Savi's warblers, among other birds.
Seven kilometres on from La Rocina is the Palacio del Acebrón, an old hunting lodge containing exhibitions on the park. In the grounds is a pleasant 1½-km nature trail through woodland and around a small lake, the Charco del Acebrón.
The Centro de Visitantes José Antonio Valverde on the northern edge of the park has some excellent birdwatching opportunities. It is 30km south of the town of Villamanrique de la Condesa, from where it is signposted.
The Playa de Castilla beach, reached on foot east of Matalascañas, runs alongside the park boundary and although you can't enter Doñana here, it is a beautiful, unspoilt stretch of coastline with good birdwatching possibilities.
The park can also be reached (but not entered) by taking the ferry boat across the Guadalquivir river from Sanlúcar de Barrameda where there is a visitors' centre, the Centro de Visitantes Fábrica de Hielo (956 38 16 35), with exhibitions on the Doñana. You can take the Real Fernando boat daily (except in January) from Sanlúcar for 13km up the Guadalquivir river, stopping in a few places for guided walks into the park. It's advisable to book in advance, especially during the summer and holidays.
Accommodation
The closest accommodation to the entry point of El Acebuche in the park is in Matalascañas, about 3km from El Acebuche. Ten kilometres north of El Acebuche is the village of El Rocío, with various hotels. Alternatively, between Matalascañas and Huelva there is Mazagón or Villamanrique de la Condesa to the north of the park. Accommodation will be very hard to find (or extremely expensive) around the time of the El Rocío pilgrimage at Pentecost. During the summer months Matalascañas and Mazagón are also very busy, so book ahead at this time.
• El Cortijo de los Mimbrales (959 44 22 37) Conveniently located for the park on the A483 El Rocío-Matalascañas road, 3km south of El Rocío. A former farm in an orange grove with delightful rooms set in beautiful gardens. Excellent bar and restaurant.
• Hotel Toruño (959 44 23 23) This is the best hotel in El Rocío. It is in a great location overlooking the marismas, so you can even birdwatch from your bedroom, if you choose your room carefully (ask for rooms 219, 221, 223 or 223).
Camping
There are many campsites close to the Playa de Castilla beach along the A494 between Mazagón and Matalascañas, which runs alongside the park boundary. In the summer it's well worth booking in advance when the campsites could be full, particularly in August.
• Camping Doñana (959 53 62 81) At the Mazagón end of the A494 at Km34.6, this shady campsite has wooden cabins and tents for rent and a swimming pool.
• Camping La Aldea Located inland on the edge of El Rocío village near the marismas, this campsite has bungalows for hire, a bar and a shop.
• Camping Rocío Playa (959 43 02 38) On the A494 Mazagón-Matalascañas road at Km 45.2, 1½km west of Matalascañas, is this large campsite. Facilities include a restaurant, tennis court, football pitch and a bar with wonderful views. There are wooden bungalows and tents for hire.
Flora
The park supports an incredible array of vegetation in a variety of virgin habitats. Inland are large expanses of stone pines, as well as Mediterranean scrublands, with narrow leaved cistus heather, mastic tree, rosemary, cistus scrub, glasswort, red lavender, rosemary and thyme. There are also junipers and forests of cork oaks, known as "las pajareras" for the enormous quantity of birds that nest in them. Among the flowering plants are lavender, tree heaths, gladioli, irises and rock roses. In the spring the marshlands are covered with flowers.
Fauna
This is a vast wilderness that supports an unrivalled wealth of fauna; 125 species of birds are known to be resident here, as well as 125 migratory bird species, 17 reptiles, nine amphibians and eight species of fish. There is a rich variety of mammals, 28 species in total, with some in danger of extinction, such as the lynx and the Egyptian mongoose. Also here are badgers, rabbits and otters. Game is also plentiful, with red deer, fallow deer and wild boar.
Birds
Doñana comprises delta waters which flood in winter and then drop in the spring leaving rich deposits of silt and raised sandbanks and islands. These conditions are perfect in winter for geese and ducks but most exciting in spring when they draw hundreds of flocks of breeding birds. If you're lucky you may also catch a glimpse of the rare Spanish Imperial Eagle, now down to 15 breeding pairs. In the marshes and amid the cork oak forests behind you've a good chance of seeing grey herons, lanner falcons, ring and turtle doves, partridges, oxpeckers, cattle egret, storks and vultures.
What you see at Doñana depends on the time of year and the luck of the draw - November, December and January constitute the off-season for visitors but is an ideal time for waterfowl, since the autumn rains have brought life back to the marismas and filled the lagunas. Gradually, the water attains a uniform depth of 30-60 centimetres (12-24 inches) over vast areas and the resulting marches attract huge flocks of wildfowl, ducks, geese and other water birds of the most varied kind. These are freshwater marshes, incidentally, although there are traces of sea salt in the underlying silt. Here and there small islands (vetas) rise above the water. These remain dry throughout the year, creating an ideal breeding ground for waders and terns.
Towards the end of February the geese that have migrated here from northern Europe commence their return journey, but at the same time the spoonbills arrive from North Africa to nest in the cork oaks. In March the waters begin to recede and spring begins in earnest. This is also the time when the imperial eagle hatches its eggs: 15 breeding pairs of these formidable hunters were counted recently in the park - above a third of all the imperial eagles known to survive in Spain. Each pair requires nearly 2,600 hectares of land to hunt over in summer, and even more in winter. This is a far from perfect environment for these great birds and Doñana pairs seldom raise as many young as those elsewhere in Spain.
In spring the marismas are alive with birds - some settling down to breed, others en route for more northern climes. Huge numbers of kites hang in the air, harriers send the duck scurrying skywards in fear of their lives. There are black-tailed godwit and ruff on their way to Holland and beyond, greenhank and wood sandpiper bound for Scandinavia, little stint and curlew sandpiper heading for northern Siberia and usually a marsh sandpiper that should be a thousand kilometres or more further east.
Overhead, vast flocks of whiskered terns wheel and circle along with a few gullbilled terns and racy pratincoles. There are swallows galore, some of them red-rumped, and bee-eaters and rollers perch on post and wire. All of these and more can be seen from the bridge at El Rocío - perhaps the best free birdwatching in Europe.
From bird hides at the reserve centre, just south of the bridge, you will hear Cetti's and Savi's warblers and watch egrets, herons and little bitterns come and go. Marsh harriers and kites are continually on view and sometimes a majestic imperial eagle will soar from the woods of Doñana over El Rocío to the Coto del Rey.
In mid-summer the temperature in the parched marismas easily exceeds 40°C. Aquatic birds that remain in the stagnant pools die of botulism, and each year thousands more die during the advancing drought in the Doñana. In August, there is almost nothing left of the marsh's aquatic fauna, but it is a good time for observing dozens of summer residents, which include griffon vulture, booted eagle, red and black kites, short toed eagle, Baillon's crake, purple gallinule, great spotted cuckoo, Scops owl, red necked nightjar, bee eater, hoopoe, calandra, short toed and thekla larks, golden oriole, azure winged magpie. Cetti's and Savi's warblers, tawny pipit, great grey shrike, woodchat shrike and serin.
Rivers
As part of the Guadalquivir delta, the park is riddled with creeks and streams, the main ones being the Brazo de la Torre, the Caño de Guadiamar and Caño Real. The park is dotted with ponds (lucios) that, like the marshlands themselves, can dry up almost completely in summer.
Walks
The core of the park is off-limits to independent walkers. There are footpaths, often with bird hides, leading from the following visitors' centres: El Acebuche, La Rocina and El Palacio del Acebrón. You can also walk alonside the park boundary on the Playa de Castilla, near Matalascañas. A signposted walk, the Sendero Laguna del Jaral Medano del Asperillo, is off the A494 at Km 47. Coming from Matalascañas, there is a car park on the left with an information board and map. It is a challenging circular 5.6km trail that crosses sand dunes and pine woods and will take around 3½ hours. It has superb views of the sea. Make sure you take plenty of water and go when it is not too hot.
Also signposted is the Sendero Cuesta del Maneli. This is a circular trail through the dunes and pine woodland between the road and the beach. It is 2.3km long and takes around 1½ hours and is easier than the Sendero Laguna del Jaral Medano del Asperillo. To get there, take the off the A494 Matalascañas-Mazagón road and at Km 38 there is a car park and information board.
Villages
El Rocío
Matalascañas
Mazagón
Sanlúcar de Barrameda
Villamanrique de la Condesa
By Jo Williams
The Parque Nacional de Doñana is one of Europe's most important wetland reserves and a major site for migrating birds. It is an immense area; the parque itself and surrounding parque natural or Entorno de Doñana (a protected buffer zone) amount to over 1,300 sq km in the provinces of Huelva, Sevilla and Cádiz. It is internationally for recognised for its great ecological wealth. Doñana has become a key centre in the world of conservationism.
Doñana is well known for its enormous variety of bird species, either permanent residents, winter visitors from north and central Europe or summer visitors from Africa, like its numerous types of geese and colourful colonies of flamingo. It has one of the world's largest colonies of Spanish imperial eagles. The park as a whole comprises three distinct kinds of ecosystem: the marismas, the Mediterranean scrublands and the coastal mobile dunes with their beaches.
l
The configuration of the Parque Nacional de Doñana is a result of its past as the delta of the Guadalquivir river, the 'big river', or Wada-I-Kebir, of the Moors. But it is a delta with a difference. Unlike most, the river has only one outlet to the sea, just below Sanlúcar de Barrameda. The rest of what used to be its delta has gradually been blocked off by a huge sandbar that stretches from the mouth of the Río Tinto, near Palos de la Frontera, to the riverbank opposite Sanlúcar, and which the sea winds have gradually formed into high dunes. Behind this natural barrier stretches the marshlands (marismas).
The effect of this extraordinary mélange of land and water was to create an environment shunned by people but ideal for wildlife. As early as the thirteenth century, the kings of Castille set aside a portion of the Doñana as a royal hunting estate; later the dukes of Medina Sidonia made it their private coto too. One of the duchesses of Medina Sidonia, Doná Ana de Silva y Mendoza, indulged her antisocial instincts by building a residence there that was more hermitage than palace. As a result, the entire region came to be known as the 'forest of Doná Ana', or Doñana. In the eighteenth century, Goya is known to have visited the Duchess of Alba at the Palacio de Doñana when she was its proprietress. Subsequently, the land passed through many hands before the official creation of the parque nacional in 1969.
Meanwhile, adjoining areas of wetland were being dramatically reduced. Across the Guadalquivir vast marshes were drained and converted to farmland, until only the protected lands of the Doñana remained intact. For centuries there had been only a vacant spot on the map between Lebrija in the east and Almonte in the north west, but in recent years whole towns and villages have sprung up west of the Guadalquivir, and the resort town of Matalascañas has brought urban sprawl to the south-western edge of the Doñana, a place once occupied by reed-thatched fishermen's huts. The proximity of these settlements has further complicated the work of the park's wildlife guardians. Two of the Doñana's precious lynxes, for example, have been run over by cars on the highway to Matalascañas; cats and dogs straying out of the nearest towns have killed animals in the park, and birds that have overflown the fences have been gunned down by trigger-happy hunters despite stringent conservation laws.
A more permanent threat to the Doñana's ecosystem are the new ricefields and other agricultural projects north of El Rocío, whose run-off waters sluice pesticides into the marismas and the sulphur mines upstream at Aznalcóliar which was effluvium into the river.
Access
Marismas de Odiel, Huelva
Marismas de Odiel, Huelva
Entrance to the park is strictly controlled. You can take half-day trips with official guides or explore the environs of the visitors' centres on foot.
To visit the principal visitors' centre at El Acebuche, take the A483 south of Almonte and about 12km from El Rocío is the signposted turn at Km29 for Centro de Recepción El Acebuche (959 44 87 11), 1½km from the main road. Alternatively, you can drive 3km north of Matalascañas to the turn-off at Km29. The centre has an exhibition about the park, a café and a shop selling maps and books. From the centre is a signposted 5km trail through scrubland and pine trees. Next to the centre is the El Acebuche lagoon, with bird hides, where you can see purple gallinules, among other birds.
From El Acebuche there are four-hour trips into the park run by the Cooperativa Marsimas del Rocío (959 43 04 32), which must be booked in advance. The four-wheel drive vehicle can seat 21 people and guides speak some English. There are two trips a day (excluding Mondays), at 0830 and 1500 (1700 in summer). Full day trips can also be organised for groups, with lunch in Sanlúcar de Barrameda. A typical trip will take in all three ecosystems in the park - dunes, matorral and marshland - but the amount of exposure to each environment varies with the seasons. One thing is guaranteed - no two visits will be alike.
The nearest visitors' centre to El Rocío is La Rocina (959 44 23 40), 500m from the village and just off the Matalascañas road. It has information on the park and a 3km-long nature trail along the freshwater lake and marshland Charco de la Boca, which feeds into the Madres de la Marismas at El Rocío. The trail has five bird hides and it's possible to see purple gallinules, hoopoes, herons and Savi's warblers, among other birds.
Seven kilometres on from La Rocina is the Palacio del Acebrón, an old hunting lodge containing exhibitions on the park. In the grounds is a pleasant 1½-km nature trail through woodland and around a small lake, the Charco del Acebrón.
The Centro de Visitantes José Antonio Valverde on the northern edge of the park has some excellent birdwatching opportunities. It is 30km south of the town of Villamanrique de la Condesa, from where it is signposted.
The Playa de Castilla beach, reached on foot east of Matalascañas, runs alongside the park boundary and although you can't enter Doñana here, it is a beautiful, unspoilt stretch of coastline with good birdwatching possibilities.
The park can also be reached (but not entered) by taking the ferry boat across the Guadalquivir river from Sanlúcar de Barrameda where there is a visitors' centre, the Centro de Visitantes Fábrica de Hielo (956 38 16 35), with exhibitions on the Doñana. You can take the Real Fernando boat daily (except in January) from Sanlúcar for 13km up the Guadalquivir river, stopping in a few places for guided walks into the park. It's advisable to book in advance, especially during the summer and holidays.
Accommodation
The closest accommodation to the entry point of El Acebuche in the park is in Matalascañas, about 3km from El Acebuche. Ten kilometres north of El Acebuche is the village of El Rocío, with various hotels. Alternatively, between Matalascañas and Huelva there is Mazagón or Villamanrique de la Condesa to the north of the park. Accommodation will be very hard to find (or extremely expensive) around the time of the El Rocío pilgrimage at Pentecost. During the summer months Matalascañas and Mazagón are also very busy, so book ahead at this time.
• El Cortijo de los Mimbrales (959 44 22 37) Conveniently located for the park on the A483 El Rocío-Matalascañas road, 3km south of El Rocío. A former farm in an orange grove with delightful rooms set in beautiful gardens. Excellent bar and restaurant.
• Hotel Toruño (959 44 23 23) This is the best hotel in El Rocío. It is in a great location overlooking the marismas, so you can even birdwatch from your bedroom, if you choose your room carefully (ask for rooms 219, 221, 223 or 223).
Camping
There are many campsites close to the Playa de Castilla beach along the A494 between Mazagón and Matalascañas, which runs alongside the park boundary. In the summer it's well worth booking in advance when the campsites could be full, particularly in August.
• Camping Doñana (959 53 62 81) At the Mazagón end of the A494 at Km34.6, this shady campsite has wooden cabins and tents for rent and a swimming pool.
• Camping La Aldea Located inland on the edge of El Rocío village near the marismas, this campsite has bungalows for hire, a bar and a shop.
• Camping Rocío Playa (959 43 02 38) On the A494 Mazagón-Matalascañas road at Km 45.2, 1½km west of Matalascañas, is this large campsite. Facilities include a restaurant, tennis court, football pitch and a bar with wonderful views. There are wooden bungalows and tents for hire.
Flora
The park supports an incredible array of vegetation in a variety of virgin habitats. Inland are large expanses of stone pines, as well as Mediterranean scrublands, with narrow leaved cistus heather, mastic tree, rosemary, cistus scrub, glasswort, red lavender, rosemary and thyme. There are also junipers and forests of cork oaks, known as "las pajareras" for the enormous quantity of birds that nest in them. Among the flowering plants are lavender, tree heaths, gladioli, irises and rock roses. In the spring the marshlands are covered with flowers.
Fauna
This is a vast wilderness that supports an unrivalled wealth of fauna; 125 species of birds are known to be resident here, as well as 125 migratory bird species, 17 reptiles, nine amphibians and eight species of fish. There is a rich variety of mammals, 28 species in total, with some in danger of extinction, such as the lynx and the Egyptian mongoose. Also here are badgers, rabbits and otters. Game is also plentiful, with red deer, fallow deer and wild boar.
Birds
Doñana comprises delta waters which flood in winter and then drop in the spring leaving rich deposits of silt and raised sandbanks and islands. These conditions are perfect in winter for geese and ducks but most exciting in spring when they draw hundreds of flocks of breeding birds. If you're lucky you may also catch a glimpse of the rare Spanish Imperial Eagle, now down to 15 breeding pairs. In the marshes and amid the cork oak forests behind you've a good chance of seeing grey herons, lanner falcons, ring and turtle doves, partridges, oxpeckers, cattle egret, storks and vultures.
What you see at Doñana depends on the time of year and the luck of the draw - November, December and January constitute the off-season for visitors but is an ideal time for waterfowl, since the autumn rains have brought life back to the marismas and filled the lagunas. Gradually, the water attains a uniform depth of 30-60 centimetres (12-24 inches) over vast areas and the resulting marches attract huge flocks of wildfowl, ducks, geese and other water birds of the most varied kind. These are freshwater marshes, incidentally, although there are traces of sea salt in the underlying silt. Here and there small islands (vetas) rise above the water. These remain dry throughout the year, creating an ideal breeding ground for waders and terns.
Towards the end of February the geese that have migrated here from northern Europe commence their return journey, but at the same time the spoonbills arrive from North Africa to nest in the cork oaks. In March the waters begin to recede and spring begins in earnest. This is also the time when the imperial eagle hatches its eggs: 15 breeding pairs of these formidable hunters were counted recently in the park - above a third of all the imperial eagles known to survive in Spain. Each pair requires nearly 2,600 hectares of land to hunt over in summer, and even more in winter. This is a far from perfect environment for these great birds and Doñana pairs seldom raise as many young as those elsewhere in Spain.
In spring the marismas are alive with birds - some settling down to breed, others en route for more northern climes. Huge numbers of kites hang in the air, harriers send the duck scurrying skywards in fear of their lives. There are black-tailed godwit and ruff on their way to Holland and beyond, greenhank and wood sandpiper bound for Scandinavia, little stint and curlew sandpiper heading for northern Siberia and usually a marsh sandpiper that should be a thousand kilometres or more further east.
Overhead, vast flocks of whiskered terns wheel and circle along with a few gullbilled terns and racy pratincoles. There are swallows galore, some of them red-rumped, and bee-eaters and rollers perch on post and wire. All of these and more can be seen from the bridge at El Rocío - perhaps the best free birdwatching in Europe.
From bird hides at the reserve centre, just south of the bridge, you will hear Cetti's and Savi's warblers and watch egrets, herons and little bitterns come and go. Marsh harriers and kites are continually on view and sometimes a majestic imperial eagle will soar from the woods of Doñana over El Rocío to the Coto del Rey.
In mid-summer the temperature in the parched marismas easily exceeds 40°C. Aquatic birds that remain in the stagnant pools die of botulism, and each year thousands more die during the advancing drought in the Doñana. In August, there is almost nothing left of the marsh's aquatic fauna, but it is a good time for observing dozens of summer residents, which include griffon vulture, booted eagle, red and black kites, short toed eagle, Baillon's crake, purple gallinule, great spotted cuckoo, Scops owl, red necked nightjar, bee eater, hoopoe, calandra, short toed and thekla larks, golden oriole, azure winged magpie. Cetti's and Savi's warblers, tawny pipit, great grey shrike, woodchat shrike and serin.
Rivers
As part of the Guadalquivir delta, the park is riddled with creeks and streams, the main ones being the Brazo de la Torre, the Caño de Guadiamar and Caño Real. The park is dotted with ponds (lucios) that, like the marshlands themselves, can dry up almost completely in summer.
Walks
The core of the park is off-limits to independent walkers. There are footpaths, often with bird hides, leading from the following visitors' centres: El Acebuche, La Rocina and El Palacio del Acebrón. You can also walk alonside the park boundary on the Playa de Castilla, near Matalascañas. A signposted walk, the Sendero Laguna del Jaral Medano del Asperillo, is off the A494 at Km 47. Coming from Matalascañas, there is a car park on the left with an information board and map. It is a challenging circular 5.6km trail that crosses sand dunes and pine woods and will take around 3½ hours. It has superb views of the sea. Make sure you take plenty of water and go when it is not too hot.
Also signposted is the Sendero Cuesta del Maneli. This is a circular trail through the dunes and pine woodland between the road and the beach. It is 2.3km long and takes around 1½ hours and is easier than the Sendero Laguna del Jaral Medano del Asperillo. To get there, take the off the A494 Matalascañas-Mazagón road and at Km 38 there is a car park and information board.
Villages
El Rocío
Matalascañas
Mazagón
Sanlúcar de Barrameda
Villamanrique de la Condesa
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Introduction to Cemlyn
Cemlyn is one of North Wales Wildlife Trust’s star reserves and regarded by the Anglesey County Council as the “jewel in the crown” of its Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
It is valued both for its scenic qualities and its unique range of wildlife, and is as popular with general visitors – local people, holidaymakers, walkers etc. as it is with birdwatchers and naturalists.
Situated on the North coast of Anglesey, about three miles West of Cemaes, the reserve land, which is owned by the National Trust and has been leased by NWWT since 1971, includes a large lagoon, separated from the sea by a spectacular, naturally-created shingle ridge.
The ridge, known as Esgair Gemlyn, is formed by the process of longshore drift, its profile changing with the action of tide and weather. This unique geographical feature also provides a habitat for interesting coastal plants such as Sea Kale, Sea Campion, and Yellow Horned Poppy.
In the summer, the lagoon is the backdrop for Cemlyn’s most famous wildlife spectacle. Clustered on islands in the brackish water is a large and internationally important seabird colony, including breeding Common and Arctic Terns, and one of the U.K.’s largest nesting populations of Sandwich Terns. From the vantage point of the tern viewing area on the ridge, visitors experience these rare and elegant birds close-up – chasing and diving in courtship displays; incubating eggs; preening and bathing in the lagoon, or calling to their hungry chicks as they come winging in with freshly-caught fish.
Around the reserve there are also areas of coastal grassland, farmland, scrub, wetland, and both rocky and sandy shore encircling Cemlyn Bay. These are home to a wealth of life - birds, mammals, insects, wildflowers and marine creatures which, together with the tern colony, make up a fascinating ecosystem: an ideal ‘outdoor classroom’ for studying biodiversity.
In addition to being a Wildlife Trust reserve, Cemlyn is a Special Protection Area, a candidate Special Area of Conservation, and a Site of Special Scientific Interest. It is also part of the Anglesey Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
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History of the reserve
Much of Cemlyn’s history as a wildlife site is tied to the story of Captain Vivian Hewitt, who came to the area in the 1930s, settling in Bryn Aber, the large house that dominates the western end of the reserve, and buying up much of the surrounding land.
A wealthy eccentric, his interest in birds led him to construct the first dam and weir at Cemlyn, replacing tidal saltmarsh with a large and permanent lagoon which he intended as a refuge for wildfowl. He also had a scheme to nurture an area of woodland within the grounds of Bryn Aber, to attract smaller birds. To this end he began construction of an imposing double wall, which was intended both as a wind-brake for the trees, and a means for observing the birds – the gap between the two walls had viewing holes. A further plan to top the walls with polished stone was never completed, and after Captain Hewitt’s death the house was left to his housekeeper’s family, but the walls themselves remain, and lend the site its mysterious, even foreboding presence.
It is the legacy of the lagoon that has had most significance for wildlife however. The change from a tidal habitat that frequently dried out in summer, to a stable body of water encompassing small islands, has provided the terns with nesting sites that are less attractive to ground predators. Over the following decades, various changes have occurred to the lagoon – some natural, eg. storms breaking over and swamping – some man-made, eg. the reconstruction of the weir and the creation or removal of islands. The water level and salinity of the lagoon is now monitored to maintain the ideal habitat for terns and other wildlife.
A couple of years after Captain Hewitt died, the Cemlyn estate was bought by the National Trust. Since 1971, they have leased the land around the lagoon to the North Wales Wildlife Trust, who manage it as a nature reserve. The two organisations work in partnership to enhance and maintain the site for wildlife and the public.
The reserve has had a warden every summer since 1981, with two wardens being employed every season since 1997. With the help of numerous volunteers, their work has included the detailed monitoring of the tern’s breeding success, protection of the colonies from a variety of natural predators (and in a couple of cases from the unwanted attentions of egg-collectors), as well as recording other forms of wildlife, and providing information to the public. Their presence on the ridge and around the reserve helps maintain the profile of Cemlyn as an important and nationally valuable site.
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Terns
Three species of tern breed regularly at Cemlyn. The numbers of Sandwich Tern nesting on the islands in the lagoon have been going up in recent years, making the colony one of the largest in the country.
There were over 1000 nests in 2005, and a good percentage of chicks fledged. The Sandwich Terns generally nest in dense groups, and seem to benefit from being close to groups of nesting Black-headed Gulls, which react aggressively to the threat of a predator, while the Sandwich Terns sit tight. Common Terns nest in sparser groups and smaller numbers on the islands, as do the very similar Arctic Terns, which make an epic journey from the southern to the northern hemisphere and back every year - the longest migration of any bird.
One of Britain's rarest seabirds, the Roseate Tern was a former breeder at Cemlyn, and is still sometimes seen on passage, as are other rarities like Little Tern and Black Tern. A vagrant Sooty Tern caused great excitement when it visited the colony in the summer of 2005.
The tern colony is the main focus of conservation work at Cemlyn. Because of disturbance at their traditional breeding areas, due to increased coastal access and development, terns have declined historically in Britain, so sites like Cemlyn, which still hold healthy populations, are a precious and nationally importance resource.
Two wardens are employed by NWWT every summer, to monitor and protect the terns. As well as dealing with disturbance and predation, they record the numbers of nests, the fledging success of chicks, and also the kinds of fish being brought in by their parents. Feeding studies are important because availability of fish, especially the terns ideal food, Sandeels, can be the key factor in a successful breeding season. The combined results of warming seas and commercial overfishing of Sandeels around Shetland for example, have had a disastrous effect on the productivity of Arctic Terns there.
All terns are migratory. Sandwich Terns are usually the first to be seen, in late March and April, with the bulk of breeding adults of all species arriving on site in May. June and July are the busiest months for the terns, and a good time to visit the reserve, the lagoon islands becoming a hive of activity.
By mid-August, the majority of chicks should have fledged, and be ready to join their parents on the journey south to their wintering areas - the coast of West Africa in the case of most Common and Sandwich Terns, even further south for Arctics.
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Other Birds
Oystercatcher and Ringed Plover both breed on the reserve, making their nests in the shingle of the Esgair.
In such an exposed choice of site, both species rely on wonderful camouflage of eggs and chick. In response to a direct perceived threat however, adult Ringed Plovers may resort to the 'broken wing trick' - drawing the attention of a potential predator by feigning injury and leading it away from the nest. To protect these waders, as well as the tern colony, visitors are asked to avoid walking on the lagoon-side of the Esgair during the summer months.
Cemlyn's situation and range of habitats make it a haven for a range of birds at all times of the year. Coot, Little Grebe and Shelduck can usually be seen around the lagoon, and Stonechats are a regular feature of the surrounding areas of scrub.
A variety of waders such as Curlew, Dunlin, Golden Plover, and Redshank use the area, and Purple Sandpiper may be seen on the rocky shoreline.
Summer visitors to look out for include Whitethroat and Sedge Warbler, while Wigeon, Teal, Red-breasted Meganser and other widfowl may be present in significant numbers in Autumn and Winter.
Other migrants turn up from time to time, and over the years a variety of rarities have been spotted –
2005 sightings included, apart from the Sooty Tern, an American Golden Plover, a Terek Sandpiper and a Melodious Warbler. Any keen birdwatcher will want to scour the site for something unusual.
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Other animals
Grey Seals can often be seen in the sea around Cemlyn, or hauled up on Craig yr Iwrch, the rocky island just off the Trwyn, and Harbour Porpoise sometimes feed close to the western end of Cemlyn Bay.
Brown Hares can be seen in or around the reserve, occasionally crossing the Esgair at dawn or dusk.
Weasels and Stoats both hunt the hedgerows and grassland at Cemlyn, and during the summer, basking Adders and Common Lizards may be spotted.
There’s also a wide range of insect life – butterflies, such as Grayling, Wall Brown and Common Blue, and day-flying moths like the Six-spot Burnet can all be seen, as can various beetles, grasshoppers and dragonflies.
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Underwater Life
The coastline of Cemlyn includes areas of shingle, sand and exposed rocky shore. These provide habitats for a variety of marine life including sea-anemones, crabs, prawns, blennies, butterfish, winkles, whelks, limpets, coastal lichens and a range of seaweeds. e.g. kelp.
The lagoon, with its changing mixture of fresh and salt water is a challenging environment, but Grey Mullet and Eels thrive in the brackish conditions. In fact Cemlyn is one of the top sites for specialised saline lagoon wildlife including shrimps and molluscs, and waterplants like Tassel Pondweed.
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Plantlife
The shingle of the Esgair is one of the harshest habitats imaginable for plants – arid because of the quick-draining pebbles, and exposed to wind, salt-spray, and the ravages of winter storms. Nevertheless it provides a home to specialists like the rare Sea Kale, whose deep roots and fleshy leaves enable it to survive close to the tide-line, and whose profuse white flowers give off a strong sweet smell.
Other characteristic coastal plants to look for along the ridge include Sea Campion, Sea Beet, and the striking Yellow Horned Poppy. Stands of Sea Purslane and Glasswort (Sea Asparagus) can be found at low tide close to the car park at Bryn Aber.
The grassland around Cemlyn is rich in wildflowers; an early spread of colour is provided by Spring Squill and Thrift which punctuate the grass with blues and pinks, while later blooming flowers along the Trwyn include Tormentil, Yellow Rattle, Knapweed and Centaury.
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Cemlyn through the Seasons
Spring
Early signs of Spring may include the first Wheatears arriving on Trwyn Cemlyn, the first Manx Shearwaters weaving through the waves out to sea, or the first Sandwich Tern’s call in the Bay - these are all possible from March onwards. Later on, Spring colour on the grassland around the reserve is provided by Spring Squill and Thrift which stud the ground with blues and pinks, and the first sunny spells may tempt out Common Lizards or Adders to bask. By mid-May, a range of birdlife is becoming visible and audible around the reserve, including terns settling on the islands in the lagoon, Whitethroat and Sedge Warbler singing in the scrub and water-margins, Whimbrel foraging along the rocky shore, and other waders like Dunlin and Black-tailed Godwit on the beach or in the lagoon.
Summer
Summer sees activity on the lagoon islands reach fever pitch with the terns and Black-headed Gulls using every hour of daylight to bring food to fast-growing chicks. The sight, sound and smell of this bustling seabird metropolis make up a memorable Cemlyn experience. June and July is the time to see the stands of Sea Kale in full flower, and to spot Yellow Horned Poppy and Sea Campion along the Esgair - Oystercatcher and Ringed Plover are also nesting on the shingle during this period. On the Trwyn, look out for Tormentil and the deep pink flowers of Centaury, as well as the passing colours of butterflies like Small Heath and Common Blue.
Also look out for the red and green leaf-beetle Chrysolina polita on the Dwarf Willow along Trwyn Pencarreg.
Autumn
The tern chicks are usually fledged by mid-August, ready to start the long migration south to their wintering grounds on the coast of Africa, so by early Autumn, the islands seem strangely peaceful. Other wildlife moves in however – flocks of Golden Plover, along with other waders like Lapwing and Curlew can be seen. Big Autumn tides can uncover interesting marine life that usually remains hidden on the lower reaches of the shore, and rough weather at this time brings a range of seabirds passing close to Trwyn Cemlyn – Manx Shearwaters, Gannets, Kittiwakes and Guillemots.
Winter
The lagoon remains an important resource for birds throughout the Winter months – Little Grebe, Shoveler, and Shelduck can regularly be seen, along with the Coot and Wigeon that also graze on the surrounding fields. The Herons that fish the lagoon at Cemlyn through the year are sometimes joined by a Little Egret darting in the shallows for shrimps. Red-breasted Merganser and Great Crested Grebe can often be spotted either in the lagoon or out in the Bay, while on the rocky shore, a keen eye may pick out a Turnstone or Purple Sandpiper foraging close to the water’s edge.
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Education & Outreach
The aim of the project is to raise awareness in local children about the importance of biodiversity and conservation by enabling them to explore the array of unique wildlife habitats on their local doorstep.
The project is designed to link in with National Curriculum topics covered in subjects including Science, Geography, History, English & RE, and provide a basis for ongoing work in the classroom. These different topics are often linked in with general environmental themes, in a conscious effort to encourage pupils to think about their relationship to their surroundings.
The activities include carrying out habitat surveys, where pupils record different species along a line of samples (as in an ecological transect), investigating the wildlife of the lagoon and shore using nets, and observing the tern colony through binoculars. Art-based exercises focus on perception of surroundings through the senses and encourage pupils to explore, using materials found on the beach to create their own 3D designs.
In some cases, the People and Wildlife Officers can visit schools to give illustrated talks and initiate written or interactive exercises in the classroom.
Outreach
The Coastal Nature Reserves project also involves general education, awareness-raising and outreach to the local community. Activities have been organised both on and off the reserve - there was a Cemlyn Creature Count in June 2010, and guided walks have also been arranged for the general public as well as for youth clubs and a daycentre group for people with learning difficulties. The project has been represented in The Anglesey Show and the Wylfa Community Fun Day. Illustrated talks have also been carried out for groups such as the Urdd, Scouts and for two branches of the University of the 3rd Age.
The People and Wildlife team aim to extend the range of this work, and are very keen to hear from any organisations or community groups interested in either on or off-site activities.
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How to get involved
Anglesey’s coastline is famous for its stunning scenery and the fantastic array of wildlife it holds. North Wales Wildlife Trust has a number of ways you can get involved in helping to protect this resource and raise awareness about its importance. The emphasis is very much on getting people involved, interacting with and enjoying their local naturalheritage.
As a volunteer with the Coastal Nature Reserve Project, opportunities will vary depending on the reserve and time of year. There’s a rough guide (by location) to the possibilities below.
Cemlyn Nature Reserve
The season will commence with a volunteer open day in March. This is a fantastic opportunity to meet the rest of the Cemlyn team, learn more about the work, the reserve and the wildlife you may encounter, with a guided walk and volunteer fact sheets also provided.
Check out the detailed information on helping at Cemlyn here (pdf 80k)
Mariandyrys Nature Reserve
Working to maintain the diverse grasslands and heathlands by scrub clearance and fencing
Monitoring and species survey work
Help with events and raising awareness
Coed Porthamel Reserve
Scrub clearance
Path and fence maintenance
Building and erecting bird and bat boxes
Porth Diana and Trearddur Bay
Help with events such as guided walks and beach cleans
Surveys (including Spotted Rock Rose) and monitoring
Working to maintain the diverse grasslands and heathlands by scrub clearance and fencing
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Visiting the reserve
Cemlyn is sign-posted from Tregele on the A5025 between Valley and Amlwch. Although the roads to the site are narrow, there are two car parks adjacent to the reserve (OS 1:50, 000 Sheet 114 and Explorer 262. Grid ref. SH329936 & SH336932).
The reserve is open throughout the year: admission is free.
Group visits are possible by appointment
Suggested walks around Cemlyn
These are a few popular routes around the reserve, focussing mainly on wildlife and landscape features.
Esgair Gemlyn
The shingle ridge at Cemlyn is accessible from the Beach car park at the eastern end of the reserve.
Although the distance along the ridge to the tern viewing area opposite the islands is only about 0.5 km, it's worth bearing in mind that during the summer months, visitors are asked to use only the seaward side of the ridge, and the shingle can make for arduous walking.
It’s a much shorter walk from the Bryn Aber car park on the western side of the lagoon, but beware – the causeway linking the car park and the ridge can flood an hour or more either side of high tide, so it’s worth checking the times to avoid getting stranded.
During the summer, daily tide-times may be chalked up close to the causeway by the wardens.
Outside of the tern breeding season, the lagoon-side of the ridge is open to the public, and its interesting habitat can be explored at closer range.
Trwyn Cemlyn
This little peninsula (Trwyn is Welsh for nose) makes a favourite short walk for local people. Accessible via the Bryn Aber car park, it comprises coastal grassland with small patches of gorse and heather, and a rocky shoreline allowing views out to The Skerries in the west, Wylfa to the east, and if there’s good visibility, sometimes the Isle of Man to the north.
It’s a good spot for spring wildflowers, and also for seeing seabirds, seals, and sometimes porpoises.
It also links up with the National Trust coastal footpath to the west.
Lagoon inlet
The narrow bridge at the western end of the lagoon, just before Bryn Aber, makes a good vantage point for the lagoon islands if the ridge is inaccessible. It also allows views over the freshwater inlet and the adjacent area of gorse and scrub known as Morfa. The road alongside the inlet that leads to the farm of Tyn Llan has no parking, but a walk down gives views of the reedy inlet margins and surrounding damp pasture, which sometimes harbour interesting birdlife.
Coastal footpath towards Hen Borth
.Cemlyn forms the eastern end of a stretch of wonderful coastal footpath, taking in rugged landscape characteristic of the north Anglesey coast.
From the stile at the ‘brow’ of Trwyn Cemlyn, the path leads off the reserve up past Craig yr Iwrch, an outlying rock favoured by seals, cormorants and roosting curlews, and along the cliffs, passing Tyn Llan farm on the left, to the bay of Hen Borth.
Keen walkers may wish to carry on following the coastline as far as Carmel Head or Ynys y Fydlyn, while others may wish to visit the small church of St Rhwydrus, returning through the gate by the farm and back past the lagoon inlet.
Coast towards Wylfa Head
Trwyn Pencarreg - the area of rocky outcrops, grassland and coastal heath to the east of the Beach car park at Cemlyn, is interesting for its plant communities, wildflowers and insects, and for its impressive views back across Cemlyn Bay. A circular walk is possible via the old mill at Felin Gafnan.
The National Trust has produced a booklet detailing several circular walks around, or starting from Cemlyn. It includes illustrated routes for all of the areas described above, and of walks that take you further afield.
To obtain a copy, or for further information regarding other National Trust walks on Anglesey, contact:
The National Trust Wales, Trinity Square, Llandudno, LL30 2DE
Corkscrew Regional Ecosystem Watershed (CREW)
"CREW (Corkscrew Regional Ecosystem Watershed) is the largest intact watershed in Southwest Florida, straddling Lee and Collier Counties."
CREW Cypress Dome Trails
Afternoon storm about to cut loose; we were pretty far out on the trail and just made it back to our car!