Cemlyn Bay and lagoon
 | This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. (November 2014) |
Cemlyn Bay is a bay on the northwest coast of Anglesey, North Wales, approximately 2.5 km west of Wylfa nuclear power station, within the community of Cylch-y-Garn.
Separated from the bay by a shingle beach is a brackish lagoon, which is fed by a number of small streams. A weir at the western (Bryn Aber) end of the beach regulates the lagoon's water level.
The site was designated a
National Trust; the lagoon and its immediate surrounds comprise Cemlyn Nature Reserve (25.2 ha in extent, set up in 1971 and leased by the North Wales Wildlife Trust). The Anglesey Coastal Path
passes through it.
Birds
On islands at the western end of the lagoon, there is an important
Rockabill Island
. The tern colony is wardened from May to August.
Other breeding birds found at Cemlyn include
teal
.
Cemlyn has attracted a number of
vagrant birds. It is famous among twitchers as the site where a bridled tern spent several weeks in July 1988, and where the similarly rare (in a British context) sooty tern was present on and off in July 2005. Both species had at these times been seen by only a very small number of birders in Britain. More recently, a squacco heron was present in June 2015.[2]
Other biological interest
The shingle ridge supports a maritime plant community; species present here include
oraches. Grey mullet
are found in the lagoon.
Gallery
-
Tern colony in lagoon -
Twitcher admiring sooty tern -
Sooty and Sandwich terns in colony -
Looking west -
A spotted redshank on the edge of the lagoon -
Sunset at Cemlyn Bay
References
- ^ "SSSI Citation: Cemlyn Bay" (PDF). Natural Resources Wales. Retrieved 12 December 2018.
- ^ Hudson, Nigel. "Report on rare birds in Great Britain in 2015" (PDF). British Birds Rarities Committee. Retrieved 1 July 2020.
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Cemlyn Bay and lagoon.
- North Wales Wildlife Trust
- seafishingandwalking.co.uk website - Sandwich Terns and Six Spot Burnet Moths
53°24′36″N 4°30′50″W / 53.41001°N 4.51393°W
