I didn't get the chance to go out today until after 5pm, my wife having taken the car, so I spent the day browsing the internet. On my friend Steve Williams' blog I noticed that he reported finding large numbers of the rare fern moonwort near Coity pond, close to Blaenavon. Moonwort is a plant I've always wanted to see, and I had never been to Coity pond before, so as soon as Tracy returned I was up and away.
Coity pond sits above Coity tip, a series of old spoil mounds from the industrial coal mining days of Blaenavon. For those of you familiar with the area, it is right next to Big Pit mining museum.
Coity tip is semi-vegetated coil spoil. From a distance it doesn't look like all that much.
Look again. There are small pearl bordered fritillary butterflies here (I've have to come back another time to see them), and as the spoil heaps are gradually re-vegetated more and more wildlife is moving in. As it was early evening, and windy, and beginning to cloud over, I concentrated on the plant life, although I did catch a common carder bee in the last of the good light.
There were large patches of the wonderfully frothy-looking heath bedstraw.
Lots of heath speedwell poking through the grass.
Carline thistle. This is one from last year. Normally associated with lime-rich soils, these thrive on old industrial sites.
There was a wonderful show of pea-flowers too. Here is bird's foot trefoil with grass vetchling mixed in.
This spectacular broom was sheltering in a gully.
Even the lichen was in full bloom.
But this is what I went for. Moonwort, with its fruiting bodies on show as well. A lovely little fern, not more than 6 inches tall, but with a single, beautifully sculptured frond.
Having found the moonwort, I wandered up to the Coity pond, which looked rather nice in the evening light.
There were a pair of tufted duck on the water that didn't mind me getting fairly close. I also heard a peregrine calling up here, but couldn't see it.
Lesser spearwort was frequent.
On the way back I went through the marshy areas caused by the outflow from the pond, where a boardwalk has been constructed. There were lots of southern marsh orchids
Just one thought about all this. The Coity tips are part of the Blaenavon World Heritage Site, and as such are somewhat protected from development, but this is still a brownfield site. Areas like this are being earmarked for 'development' all the time. I know of several similar sites a little further down the valley, with the same wonderful mix of plants and animals (including moonwort), but those are all under threat of being lost to building schemes. In many cases I think I would rather see houses built on greenfield land, which is often just a field of perennial ryegrass with no biodiversity value at all, than lose a site like this.
In the mean time, I'm pleased to have a new site to enjoy. It was a really nice place to visit, and I will certainly be going back soon.
Coity pond sits above Coity tip, a series of old spoil mounds from the industrial coal mining days of Blaenavon. For those of you familiar with the area, it is right next to Big Pit mining museum.
Coity tip is semi-vegetated coil spoil. From a distance it doesn't look like all that much.
Look again. There are small pearl bordered fritillary butterflies here (I've have to come back another time to see them), and as the spoil heaps are gradually re-vegetated more and more wildlife is moving in. As it was early evening, and windy, and beginning to cloud over, I concentrated on the plant life, although I did catch a common carder bee in the last of the good light.
There were large patches of the wonderfully frothy-looking heath bedstraw.
Lots of heath speedwell poking through the grass.
Carline thistle. This is one from last year. Normally associated with lime-rich soils, these thrive on old industrial sites.
There was a wonderful show of pea-flowers too. Here is bird's foot trefoil with grass vetchling mixed in.
This spectacular broom was sheltering in a gully.
Even the lichen was in full bloom.
But this is what I went for. Moonwort, with its fruiting bodies on show as well. A lovely little fern, not more than 6 inches tall, but with a single, beautifully sculptured frond.
Having found the moonwort, I wandered up to the Coity pond, which looked rather nice in the evening light.
There were a pair of tufted duck on the water that didn't mind me getting fairly close. I also heard a peregrine calling up here, but couldn't see it.
Lesser spearwort was frequent.
On the way back I went through the marshy areas caused by the outflow from the pond, where a boardwalk has been constructed. There were lots of southern marsh orchids
Just one thought about all this. The Coity tips are part of the Blaenavon World Heritage Site, and as such are somewhat protected from development, but this is still a brownfield site. Areas like this are being earmarked for 'development' all the time. I know of several similar sites a little further down the valley, with the same wonderful mix of plants and animals (including moonwort), but those are all under threat of being lost to building schemes. In many cases I think I would rather see houses built on greenfield land, which is often just a field of perennial ryegrass with no biodiversity value at all, than lose a site like this.
In the mean time, I'm pleased to have a new site to enjoy. It was a really nice place to visit, and I will certainly be going back soon.
