- Cemlyn Bay and lagoon
Cemlyn Bay is a bay on the northwest coast of
Anglesey ,North Wales , approximately 2.5 km west ofWylfa nuclear power station , within the parish ofLlanfairynghornwy .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
Site of Special Scientific Interest in 1958, and is currently part of theAnglesey Heritage Coast and theIsle of Anglesey Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty . The Cemlyn estate is owned by the National Trust; the lagoon and its immediate surrounds comprise Cemlyn Nature Reserve (25.2 ha in extent, set up in 1971 and leased by theNorth Wales Wildlife Trust ). TheAnglesey Coastal Path passes through it.Birds
On islands at the western end of the lagoon, there is an important
tern colony, with the only breedingSandwich Tern s inWales . The numbers of breeding Sandwich Terns have increased to around 1,500 pairs in recent years, making Cemlyn the third-largest colony in the United Kingdom. Arctic andCommon Tern s breed here regularly in smaller numbers butRoseate Tern now only occasionally. For this reason Cemlyn has been designated as part of aSpecial Protection Area along with two other nearby sites,Ynys Feurig and The Skerries, and all three are also classed byBirdlife International as anImportant Bird Area . Birds interchange regularly between all three sites, and form part of a largerIrish Sea tern population together with birds at sites inIreland such asRockabill Island . The tern colony is wardened from May to August.Other breeding birds found at Cemlyn include
Black-headed Gull ,Ringed Plover , Oystercatcher and Shelduck. The site is locally important for wintering wildfowl, withWigeon ,Shoveler and Teal.Cemlyn has attracted a number of vagrant birds. It is most famous among twitchers as the site where a
Bridled Tern spent several weeks in July1988 , and where the similarly rare (in a British context)Sooty Tern was present on and off in July2005 . Both species had at these times been seen by only a very small number of birders in Britain. Also at Cemlyn in 2005 were anAmerican Golden Plover in May and aTerek Sandpiper in June. In 1998, anIsabelline Shrike was present for most of the month of July.Other biological interest
The shingle ridge supports a
maritime plant community ; species present here includeSea Kale ,Sea Beet ,Sea Campion , Thrift andYellow horned poppy . Around the edges of the lagoon,saltmarsh plant communities are present, with species such asSea aster ,Sea purslane ,Danish Scurvygrass and saltmarshorache s.Grey mullet are found in the lagoon.Gallery
External links
* [http://www.wildlifetrust.org.uk/northwales North Wales Wildlife Trust]
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