Skip to main content
Part of the RCT Living Landscape Project

Parc Blaennantygroes

Bordering a recreation ground in Cwmbach, these species-rich meadows are home to so many songbirds, bumblebees, butterflies and grasshoppers that take advantage of the abundance of fantastic wildflowers here.

 

Parc-Blaennantygroes
Small-Tortoiseshell
Small Tortoiseshell | © Keith Warmington

Habitat

Before you is a wonderful wildflower grassland. Here, mown grass has naturally been replaced by native wildflowers thanks to a simple management change. All summer the grassland is left to flower and seed, then in the early autumn we cut and remove the hay. This is all that’s needed to allow wildflowers to thrive.

When to Visit

From April to September, the grassland is full of wildflowers and alive with insects. Listen to the springtime chorus of songbirds in the surrounding woodland, and on summer evenings watch bats chase and catch moths for their dinner. After the hay is cut in the autumn, scan the ground for fantastically colourful waxcap fungi.

Biodiversity

Meander through the meadows to find flowering black knapweed, bird’s-foot trefoil, red clover, cuckooflower and self-heal, as well as other interesting species. This is great invertebrate habitat, so keep an eye out for furry-bodied bee flies as they feed on pollen and nectar with their long proboscises. In summer follow foraging bumblebees as they flit between flowers, and small skipper, ringlet and small tortoiseshell butterflies. The seeds of the wildflowers found here provide a rich food source for finches, and the worm-rich soil attracts blackbirds and song thrushes. These birds are amongst the star singers of the dawn chorus.

We Live Here... Can You Spot Us?

Common-Birds-Foot-Trefoil

Common Bird's-Foot Trefoil - © Bethan Dalton

Song Thrush

Song Thrush - © Tate Lloyd

Bee-Fly

Bee Fly - © Tate Lloyd

Red-Clover

Red Clover - © Bethan Dalton

Cuckooflower

Cuckooflower - © Wayne Withers

Chaffinch

Chaffinch - © Wayne Withers

Small-Skipper

Small Skipper - © Andrew Cooper, Butterfly Conservation

Red-Tailed-Bumblebee

Red-Tailed Bumblebee - © Liam Olds