The site is called “Tirfounder Fields,” and it is part of the Mid Cynon Floodplain Site of Importance for Nature Conservation (SINC) “Sites of Importance for Nature Conservation” No 33. It is a fantastic area of ponds, reedbeds, wet grassland all on the floodplain of the River Cynon. It is astonishing and it shows what nature can do. It supports a really interesting flora (including large stands of reedmace and reed, and bogbean), all sorts of interesting wetland birds, there are grass snakes, and we get reports of otter feeding in the ponds. It is a very species-rich and, interesting site.
A SINC is a planning designation that we use to identify Sites of County Borough Importance. So, the good news is that we do know about the Site and we have placed our ecological designation on the site.
Birds seen there between March-May 2012
The bird watches on Tirfounder Field and sent the following excellent list of 45 species seen between March and May 2012; blackbird, blackcap, blue tit, bullfinch, chaffinch, Canada goose, carrion crow, chiffchaff, coot, dipper, dunnock, garden warbler, grasshopper warbler, goldfinch, great tit, greenfinch, grey heron, grey wagtail, greylag goose, house martin, house sparrow, jackdaw, kingfisher, little grebe, long-tailed Tit, magpie, mallard, moorhen, pied wagtail, reed bunting, reed warbler, robin, sedge warbler, snipe, song thrush, swallow, swift, teal, treecreeper, willow warbler,
willow tit, whitethroat, woodpigeon, and wren plus unconfirmed records for water rail, pied flycatcher, common sandpiper, otter, mink, goosander, pintail, goldeneye, lesser whitethroat.
Tirfounder Fields is a fantastic wetland site, and it figures in the Glamorgan Bird Club publication Birding in Glamorgan.
Special Thanks to R.C.T.C.B.C. Ecology Unit for the information
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